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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  News  Media  contact:  August  20,  2002  Jordan  Goldstein  at  (202)  418-  2000 
 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS  ON  ACCOUNTING  ISSUES 
 I  am  heartened  by  the  Chairman’s  announced  intention  to  convene  a  Federal-  State  Joint  Conference  on  Accounting.  This  is  something  I  have  long  advocated,  and  in  light  of  the 
 accounting  depredations  we  have  witnessed  in  recent  months,  it  is  absolutely  essential.  Time  is  of  the  essence,  and  I  look  forward  to  expeditious  establishment  of  the  Joint  Conference  so  that  it 
 may  begin  addressing  these  critical  issues  within  a  very  few  weeks.  The  charter  of  the  Joint  Conference  should  be  broad,  instructing  it  to  look  anew  at  whatever  accounting  and  audit 
 authorities  that  federal  and  state  regulators  need  to  protect  consumers  and  to  ensure  the  integrity  of  the  telecom  network.  It  may  well  be  that  additional,  rather  than  fewer,  accounting  procedures 
 are  required  for  the  discharge  of  federal  and  state  regulatory  responsibilities.  The  Conference  should  also  reconsider  the  scope  of  our  rules  to  gauge  whether  limiting  accounting  rules 
 generally  to  just  dominant  carriers,  as  is  the  case  today,  is  sufficient  for  protection  of  the  public  interest  in  these  changed  and  challenging  times. 


 We  must  also  remember  that  the  clock  is  rapidly  running  out  on  a  number  of  existing  accounting  requirements  whose  scheduled  elimination,  effective  January  1,  2003,  the 
 Commission  put  in  motion  last  year.  We  need  a  prompt,  pre-  elimination  review  of  these  requirements,  taking  into  consideration  what  we  have  learned  through  the  corporate  accounting 
 excesses  that  have  come  to  light  this  summer.  While  several  of  these  rules  may  remain  good  candidates  for  elimination,  others  may  still  be  needed  in  light  of  what  we  have  learned.  I  think 
 consumers  would  feel  more  confident,  and  investors  more  secure,  by  a  quick,  but  comprehensive,  review.  This  could  be  the  early  task  of  the  Joint  Conference  or,  alternatively,  a 
 separate  exercise.  In  either  case,  the  input  of  our  state  colleagues  is  the  prerequisite  of  a  satisfactory  outcome. 


 I  am  also  pleased  that  we  will  put  on  hold  all  action  to  eliminate  additional  accounting  requirements  beyond  2003.  I  voted  against  last  autumn’s  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking,  which 
 set  the  Commission  on  the  road  to  further  cut-  backs  in  our  accounting  standards,  because  I  thought  it  headed  us  in  precisely  the  wrong  direction.  I  feel  even  more  strongly  about  it  now 
 amidst  all  the  tawdry  evidence  of  accounting  practices  gone  wildly  astray. 
 I  look  forward  to  working  with  my  federal  and  state  regulator  colleagues,  with  the  industry,  and  with  all  concerned  stakeholders  in  crafting  an  accounting  regime  that  will  serve  the 
 best  interests  of  us  all. 
 -  FCC  - 
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