FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                            2000-132

 Agenda for Public Hearings on Proposed Auditor Independence
                            Rules


       Washington, DC, September 15, 2000 -- Today the
Commission released the following agenda for public hearings
on proposed auditor independence rules to be held in
Washington, DC on September 20, 2000:

8:30 am:  Chairman's and Commissioners' Opening
            Remarks
Morning Session
          
8:45 am:  Panel 1
          Senator Howard M. Metzenbaum, Chairman,
            Consumer Federation of America
          Bill Patterson, Director of the Office
            of Investment,
            AFL-CIO
          Frank Torres, Legislative Counsel,
            Consumer Union
          
9:30 am:  Panel 2
          Richard Blumenthal, Attorney General
            of Connecticut
          
9:45 am:  Panel 3
          William D. Travis, Managing Partner,
            McGladrey & Pullen, LLP
          Wayne A. Kolins, National Director of
            Assurance,
            BDO Seidman, LLP
          
10:15     Panel 4
am:
          Wanda Lorenz, Litigation Support
            Consultant,
            Lane Gorman Trubitt, LLP
          Howard M. Schilit, President,
            Center for Financial Research &
            Analysis, Inc.
          
10:45     Panel 5
am:
          Philip A. Laskawy, Chairman and Chief
            Executive Officer,
            Ernst & Young, LLP
          James J. Schiro, Chief Executive
            Officer,
            PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
          
11:45     Panel 6
am:
          Mauricio Kohn, Principal, Kohn
            Financial Consulting
            Representing the Association for
            Investment
            Management  and Research
          Thomas M. Rowland, Senior Vice
            President,
            Fund Business Management Group,
            Capital Research and Management
            Company
          
12:15     Lunch Break
pm:
          
Afternoon Session
          
1:00 pm:  Panel 1
          Clarence E. Lockett, Corporate
            Controller,
            Johnson & Johnson
          James W. Barge, Controller,
            Time Warner, Inc.
          Robert L. Ryan, Chief Financial
            Officer,
            Medtronic, Inc.
          
1:45 pm:  Panel 2
          John J. Costello, Senior Director of
            Litigation,
            Gursey, Schneider & Co., LLP
          Stuart M. Grant, Director,
            Grant & Eisenhofer, P.A.
          
2:15 pm:  Panel 3
          Douglas Scrivner, General Counsel,
            Andersen Consulting
          
2:30 pm:  Panel 4
          Joseph F. Berardino, Managing Partner,
            North America Assurance and
            Business Advisory Practice
          Gail P. Steinel,
            Partner,
          Arthur Andersen, LLP
          
          James E. Copeland, Jr., Chief Executive
            Officer,
            Deloitte & Touche, LLP
          
3:30 pm:  Panel 5
          Harvey Golub, Chairman and Chief
            Executive Officer,
            American Express Company
          
3:45 pm:  Panel 6
          William Baker,
          Michael Daggett,
            Arizona State Board of Accountancy
          Michael Conaway,
            Texas State Board of Public
            Accountancy
          Thomas J. Sadler,
            Washington State Board of Accountancy
          Ronald Nielsen,
          Kathleen Chapman,
            Iowa Accountancy Examining Board
          
4:45 pm:  Panel 7
          Roderick M. Hills, Founder and Partner,
            Hills & Stern
          Charles C. Cox, Senior Vice President,
            Lexecon Inc.
          
5:15 pm:  Panel 8
          Philip D. Ameen, Chair,
            Committee on Corporate Reporting
          Philip B. Livingston, President and
            Chief Executive Officer
          Roger W. Trupin, FEI-CCR SEC
            Subcommittee Chair
          Financial Executive Institute
          
          Paul Koren, Partner,
            Goldstein, Golub & Kessler
          
5:45 pm:  Panel 9
          William R. Kinney, Jr., Professor,
            McCombs School of Business,
            University of Texas at Austin
          
6:15 pm:  Panel 10
          Joseph F. Long, President,
            Passavant Hospital Foundation
          Frank Tirelli, Chief Operating Officer,
            MyCFO, Inc.