SEC names top federal auditor to accounting board

[February 04, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal regulators have appointed a top government auditor as a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which polices the accounting industry.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday announced the appointment of Jeanette Franzel, a managing director of the watchdog Government Accountability Office, to the five-member PCAOB. The board was created by Congress in 2002 in response to the corporate scandals that began with Enron.

The SEC oversees the accounting board. One of the five SEC commissioners, Luis Aguilar, voted against Franzel's appointment. He said Franzel lacks "a demonstrated commitment" to investors' interests, as required by the law establishing the board.

Franzel's department at the GAO questioned in December whether companies should be required to rotate the accounting firms that audit them, something being considered by the board.

[Associated Press]

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