FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           2002-28


  SEC Announces Financial Disclosure and Auditor Oversight
                         Roundtables
                              
     Washington, DC, February 22, 2002 -- The Securities and
Exchange Commission will convene two days of roundtable
discussions next month in New York City and Washington,
D.C., to examine proposals for better protecting investors
by reforming financial disclosure and auditor oversight.
     
     Roundtable panelists will include experts from
corporate America, securities regulation, financial
services, academia and other fields.  The SEC will announce
a list of roundtable panelists and moderators next week.
     
     The morning session (10:00 a.m. to noon) of each
roundtable will focus on financial disclosure.  Key
questions for discussion include:
     
·    What information do investors need to make informed
     investment decisions?

·    How can financial disclosures be made more
     intelligible?

·    What information needs to be communicated more quickly,
     and how can that be accomplished?

     The afternoon sessions (2:00 to 4:00 p.m.) will be
devoted to auditor oversight, including discussions of:
     
·    What structure—governmental body, private organization
     or other—can best oversee accounting regulation?

·    What should be the membership of such an organization,
     and how should it be funded?

·    How can independent decision-making be assured?
     
     The public is invited to attend the roundtables on a
first-come, first-served basis, but seating is limited.  The
SEC will also offer live Web casts of the events on the SEC
Web site free of charge.
     
     March 4, 2002                 March 6, 2002
     Inter-Continental             Securities and Exchange 
       The Barclay New York           Commission
     111 East 48th Street          50 Fifth Street, NW
     Astor Room                    William O. Douglas Room
     New York, N.Y.                Washington, D.C.
     
     

                           *  *  *