Getting too close. (The Week in Review).

Investment News, May, 2002 by Gabriel, Frederick P., Jr.

* Maybe someone should explain the concept of auditor independence to the folks at Ernst & Young LLP. Last Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that the NewYork accounting firm had violated rules aimed at keeping accountants independent from the companies they audit.

The firm developed and marketed a product with PeopleSoft Inc., a Pleasanton, Calif., producer of business software that also used Ernst & Young as an auditor. This is the second time the SEC has brought an auditor-independence action against Ernst & Young. In 1995, the company settled an SEC action by agreeing to embrace a set of independence guidelines.