Brokers, Accountants Try to Buy Some Lenience

Republican Leanings

"The feeling may be that if Republicans retake the Senate, then accountants will have more influence in shaping any reforms," Allison said.

Both the brokerage and accounting professions have been plagued by a slew of investigations and talk of possible reforms this year. Although Merrill Lynch has settled conflict-of-interest charges with the New York attorney general, Congress still is examining the role Citigroup and J.P. Morgan played in the demise of Enron. It also is probing brokers' handling of IPOs in the late 1990s.

Meanwhile, the accounting industry is reeling from a host of new rules that were brought about by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Among other things, the act bars accounting firms from receiving consulting fees on companies they also are auditing. Also, accounting firms as well as brokers have laid off thousands of workers over the last two years, and have posted disappointing financial results of late.

In the accounting sector, KPMG's PAC is the biggest political donor, contributing $1 million to candidates. That's followed by Deloitte & Touche's PAC at $862,543. Ernst & Young's PAC added $502,909, according to the CRP.

As for brokerages, Goldman's PAC is the third-biggest contributor in the industry, having donated $414,500. Morgan Stanley's PAC gave $426,540, CSFB's PAC doled out $231,312 and National Venture Capital Association's PAC shelled out $752,700, the CRP said.

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