The Securities and Exchange Commission has finalized its revision of auditor independence rules to change the threshold around lending relationships with clients that would raise concerns about a possible conflict of interest.
The rules are responsive to an issue raised by investment managers, especially Fidelity, which pointed out to the SEC that independence rules were so restrictive, it could not identify an audit firm qualified to audit its financial statements. The SEC amended the rules to reign in the restrictions that had become a little too far reaching in the modern marketplace.
