The AICPA and the SEC jointly announced the names of the eight board members that will comprise the new Independence Standards Board. Chairing the board is William T. Allen of the Delaware Chancery Court.
The three other public members are John C. Bogle, chairman of the Vanguard Group; Robert E.. Denham, chairman of Solomon Inc.; and Manual H. Johnson,co-chairman and senior partner of John Smick International. Johnson is former vice chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve.

The four members from the accounting profession are Stephen G. Butler, chairman of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP; Philip A. Laskawy, chairman of Ernst & Young LLP; James J. Schiro, senior partner and CEO of Price Waterhouse LLP; and Barry Melancon, president of the AICPA.

The choice of Melancon to be on the panel was somewhat of a surprise to some observers because of his position as an employee, albeit its chief of staff, of the AICPA. Perhaps he is in the best position to represent all the other auditors of public companies. Still to be named are the members of the nine-member independence issues committee, all of whom are to come from CPA firms that audit public companies. This latter committee's role will be to identify issues that impact auditor independence that the independence board may wish to address.