Publicly-traded companies must provide an independent financial audit substantiating their financial claims to current and potential investors. With more and more people relying on the stock market for investments. Blumenthal urged a prohibition on financial relationships between the auditing firm and the audited company. Retirement and college savings, along with everyday needs may hinge on the trustworthiness of information that underlies investments. I support the proposed SEC regulation to further restrict the types of consultant contracts an accounting firm may have with a corporation that it is auditing.
Reform is needed.
The rules should be tightened and clarified, not to make accounting and consulting work easier to obtain, but to protect the public interest and public trust, and the credibility and integrity of the institutions at stake.