After heavy lobbying, the "Big Five" accounting firms were able on November 15th to foil an effort by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), America's main markets regulator, to prohibit consulting and auditing services from operating under the same roof. Instead, after intense negotiations and under an SEC threat of an imposed settlement, four of the five largest audit firms agreed to a big concession. In exchange for less onerous prohibitions on their employees investing in companies audited by the firms, it was agreed that company proxy statements will now include information about how much the company has paid its auditors for non-accounting work. Consider this item essential reading.
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