FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                             97-110


        MICHAEL H. SUTTON, CHIEF ACCOUNTANT OF THE SEC, TO
                           DEPART
                              
     Washington, D.C. December 9, 1997 --  Michael H. Sutton
announced today that he will leave the Securities and
Exchange Commission soon after the end of the year.  Mr.
Sutton has been the Chief Accountant for the Commission
since June of 1995.  He is leaving to pursue personal
business interests.

     Mr. Sutton has been the senior advisor to the
Commission and staff on accounting issues.  He was vital in
the recent creation the Independence Standards Board, formed
to better safeguard the investing public by updating auditor
independence rules.  The need to account for and disclose
the use of derivative instruments has also been championed
by Mr. Sutton over the past two years.

     Prior to his work at the Commission, Mr. Sutton was a
partner at Deloitte and Touche.  During this time he was an
active member of the Emerging Issues Task Force at the
Financial Accounting Standards Board and also served on the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Special
Committee on Financial Reporting.

     Mr. Sutton received both his MS in accounting in 1963
and his BS in accounting in 1962 from the University of
Tennessee.

     Chairman Arthur Levitt said: "Mike has served the
Commission with distinction, insight and creativity.  Though
he will be missed, the fruits of his labor, especially his
work on international accounting standards, derivatives
accounting and disclosure and auditor independence, will be
long lasting.  Everyday investors may not know his name, but
they have felt Mike's presence; sound markets are the result
of fair and rigorous accounting standards, which Mike has
espoused and fought for throughout his career."

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