Lawmakers introduce 30 bills to address problems created by Enron, Andersen.(Chicago Tribune)

CHICAGO _ The disintegration of Enron and the public torment of the Andersen accounting firm have inspired dozens of proposed laws and regulations in Washington, but some accounting observers warn that impetuous legislators could do more harm than good.

Although the Congressional investigation into Andersen and Enron is far from complete, lawmakers have introduced at least 30 bills they say will address the problems created by the two firms.

There are bills that would divorce the auditing and consulting functions of accounting firms to prevent the possibility of conflict of interest. Another would require companies to change auditors periodically, so auditor and client could not grow to cozy. Yet another bill would ban auditors from going to work for their clients for seven years after leaving accounting firms, to head off auditors giving favorable reviews to a potential employer.

One bill would even "establish a Federal Bureau of Audits within the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct audits of all publicly registered companies" _ a proposal that would create thousands of government jobs for CPA's.

Some in the financial world say Congress could be going too far. The fear is that the laws will create new problems, worse than those they prevent, in the futile pursuit of total honesty.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan got into the act this month, warning that Congress should guard against imposing too much regulation on accountants. "Regulation has, over the years, proven only partially successful in dissuading individuals from playing with the rules of accounting," Greenspan said in a speech at New York University, using unusually direct language.

Chicago-based Andersen audited the books of Enron, telling shareholders all was well with the Houston energy company. In reality, Enron had set up a series of partnerships to conceal debt and inflate earnings. When the scheme came to light last year, Enron rapidly fell into bankruptcy while Andersen auditors shredded tons of documents.