"Generally, claims against accountants follow company failures by between six months and three years."

That declaration, which will also be described in detail in the new letter, is an attempt to counter a surge in lawsuits against accountants.

As prosecutors built cases against lower-level accountants and executives, they often developed cooperating witnesses to take them to the next step.

In the past, he said, it has been difficult for consulting firms to compete against accountants who audit a potential client.

Stop lawsuits against accountants and lawyers who were involved in savings-and-loan scams.

As a result, it will be far more difficult for individual stockholders to file suits against underwriter-brokers, company officials and accountants in cases of securities fraud.

A spokeswoman for the commission said that cases against accountants were rare for the agency.

Regulators have brought many cases over the years against accountants who have fallen down in their jobs as watchdog.

The decision does not affect individual shareholders, who generally bring lawsuits against accountants under Federal securities laws.

To obtain fines against accountants, lawyers, corporate officers and directors or anyone else who violates securities laws, the agency must go to federal court.