SEC Chairman Harvey L. Pitt calls for the commission’s greater influence over FASB to ensure it addresses urgent topics and issues standards more swiftly than it has. He also says the commission will quickly establish a private-sector regulatory body—composed largely of individuals independent of the accounting profession—to replace the Public Oversight Board. And reaffirming the importance of effective corporate governance, Pitt says, the SEC is asking Congress for the power to bar officers and directors—if guilty of serious malfeasance or nonfeasance—from similar positions in other public companies. ( www.sec.gov/news/speech/spch540.htm )