July 24, 2002

Washington, D.C. - One of the nation's leading small business advocacy groups today urged conferees responsible for crafting accounting reform legislation to assess the proposed measure's impact on small firms and entrepreneurs. According to Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) Chairman Karen Kerrigan, small auditing firms and small public companies should not have to pay for the mistakes of a few bad players in the corporate world.

"Indeed the actions of corporate executives who concealed the true value and performance of their companies is shameful and these individuals should be held accountable for their actions.  However, legislation passed by the Senate imposes a blanket approach on the entire industry that could undermine the ability of small companies to reach the public markets, and limit competition in the auditing industry," said SBSC's Kerrigan.

In a letter sent to small business leaders and key conferees on Capitol Hill, Kerrigan urged Members to scrutinize the impact of their actions on small entities.

"For small public companies, the added cost of hiring multiple accounting firms for various functions would quell the growth of promising businesses, and erect new hurdles for such firms desiring to reach the public markets," wrote Kerrigan.

SBSC also echoed the sentiments of Senator Kit Bond (R-MO), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, as he expressed concerns about future competition in the auditing industry. Senator Bond fears that smaller auditing firms may forgo providing services to public companies or simply go out of business to avoid the new fees and rules imposed by S. 2673, the "Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act."

"America's small businesses should not have to pay for the mistakes and wrongdoings of a few bad players in big business. This too, is very wrong," noted Kerrigan in her letter.

SBSC is a national nonprofit small business advocacy organization. For more information, please visit the group's website at www.sbsc.org, or call 202-785-0238.