The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced the selection of Susan G. Markel as Chief Accountant of the Division of Enforcement. Ms. Markel succeeds Charles D. Niemeier, who was appointed in late 2002 as a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. As Chief Accountant, Ms. Markel will serve as a senior official in the Division of Enforcement and will advise the Division on investigations involving accounting and auditing matters.

"Susan is a terrific addition to the Division's senior ranks," said Stephen M. Cutler, the director of the Division of Enforcement. "Her accounting expertise, investigative experience and superb management abilities will make her an outstanding Chief Accountant of the Division. We are lucky to have her."

Ms. Markel joined the Commission's Division of Enforcement in 1994. She has worked on a number of the Commission's important accounting investigations, including the investigations of Cendant, WorldCom and Xerox, as well as matters relating to auditor independence. Prior to joining the Commission, Ms. Markel was an auditor for a national public accounting firm and also performed litigation support services for a Washington, D.C. law firm. She received a B.S. in accounting from the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio and she became a certified public accountant in 1987.