A pathology of the independence standards board's conceptual framework project

In 2001, the Independence Standards Board (ISB) announced that it was closing its doors. Why did the Board dissolve before officially adopting its largely completed conceptual framework? What does the Board's demise mean for the future of independence rule making? This commentary is a pathology - which the dictionary defines as "the scientific study of the nature of disease, its causes, processes, development, and consequences" - of the ISB's conceptual framework project, which ultimately affected the Board's ability to survive. The ISB was created in 1997 to establish independence standards applicable to the auditors of SEC registrants. The ISB's decision to dissolve was precipitated not only by the SEC's failure to support its conceptual framework, but also by the SEC's decision in November 2000 to issue revised auditor independence rules.