13 January 2003

FEE responds to SEC Proposals

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FEE has responded to the US Securities and Exchange Commission's proposals on auditor independence. The US Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, requires the SEC to adopt the final rules on Auditor Independence. The SEC proposals address issues such as provision of non-audit services, audit partner rotation and the relationship between the independent auditor and the audit committee.

FEE says that there should be deferral of rulemaking in respect of foreign registrants and that rulemaking should not go further than the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Therefore, FEE strongly supports an exemption for all EU auditors from the SEC proposed rule on audit independence since the European Commission’s Recommendation on Independence should be recognised as being equivalent to the SEC proposed rule.

FEE letter

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