Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 19, 1995                   TAG: 9510190049
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

ACCOUNTANTS PAY FINES WHILE THEY ASK LAWSUIT RELIEF

Fines, settlements and jury verdicts against the firms total $1.7 billion since they began lobbying for securities litigation reform in 1991, said the study by the National Association of Securities and Commercial Law Attorneys.

``The point we're trying to make in the study is an industry that is so tarnished should not be the recipients of special benefits from Congress,'' said Jon Cuneo, NASCAT general counsel. The group has been fighting securities litigation reform proposals.

The controversial bill, pending in Congress, would limit investors' ability to file securities fraud lawsuits against accountants, stock brokers and others. Advocates say the bill is aimed at eliminating frivolous lawsuits that needlessly cost high technology companies and accountants millions of dollars to resolve - money that otherwise could be used for research or hiring new workers.

The study found that, since 1991, accounting firms and their political action committees contributed more than $6 million to House and Senate political campaigns.

The firms that paid out the most in fines and settlements in the past year include KPMG Peat Marwick, which paid $186 million to settle a case by the Resolution Trust Corp. and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that alleged improper audits of failed savings and loans. A federal jury in Florida ordered Deloitte & Touche to pay $81.3 million in damages relating to misleading audits of Koger Properties.

One accounting industry lobbyist said the study's citation of KPMG's settlement with thrift and bank regulators was misleading because that case didn't involve a securities fraud violation.