The Independence Issues Committee (IIC) assists the ISB in establishing independence standards through the timely identification and discussion of emerging independence issues within the framework of existing authoritative literature.
The IIC also addresses broader interpretative issues, including those that emerge from inquiries fielded by the ISB staff, and communicates its consensus on such issues to the board. The IIC makes publicly available its consensuses and the rationales or bases for such conclusions.
The IIC is comprised of nine certified public accountants (CPAs), drawn from SECPS member firms that audit SEC registrants, who are knowledgeable about the existing independence literature and are in positions to be aware of emerging practice issues as they develop. The SECPS Executive Committee nominates the nine members of the IIC, in consultation with and subject to the approval of the ISB. The ISB specifies the terms of the IIC members. The ISB names the chair from the nine members of the IIC.
The meetings of the IIC are usually open to the public, but sessions or portions of sessions may be closed to the public if they deal with (1) administrative matters, (2) matters that may cause substantial harm or injury (a rare occur-rence), or (3) matters involving or relating to advice of counsel; all such closed sessions must be authorized by the chair or his or her designee, and in no instance can the SEC staff be excluded from these sessions. For the IIC to reach a consensus, at least six IIC members must approve the judgment or determination and no more than two IIC members may oppose it. On reaching a consensus, the IIC will promptly forward the matter to the ISB for ratification. If a majority of the ISB ratifies the consensus, the ISB understands that the SEC will consider such consensus as having substantial authoritative support.
