SEC OKs plan to relax Sarbanes-Oxley audit rules

WASHINGTON After years of lobbying by harried companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a plan to ease the stringent auditing rules enacted under the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley anti-fraud law.

The SEC’s five commissioners voted Wednesday to back the revisions, particularly rules for auditors being drafted by the board that oversees the accounting industry. The changes would let audits be tailored to businesses’ “particular circumstances” and permit auditors to make decisions about the reliability of accounting work done by others.