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• House Panel Exempts Small Companies from SOX Audits

  November 4, 2009

  The House Financial Services Committee voted to exempt small and midsized public companies from Sarbanes-Oxley audit requirements.

• Small COS. get final SOX 404 reprieve

  November 2, 2009

  But this is absolutely the last time, swears the SEC

• PCAOB Mulls New Related-Party Standards

  October 23, 2009

  Worried that corporate auditors are being duped by widespread related-party transaction frauds, officials at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board are considering new standards establishing stiffer and more specific requirements for accountants who encounter these arrangements.

• Video: Grant Thornton CEOs Discuss Supreme Court’s PCAOB Case

  October 15, 2009

  Current Grant Thornton CEO Ed Nusbaum and incoming CEO Stephen Chipman talked about the Supreme Court’s upcoming hearing of a challenge to the constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

• Small Public Companies Get Final SOX Reprieve

  October 5, 2009

  The Securities and Exchange Commission has again delayed the deadline for small public companies to begin providing an audited assessment of internal controls over financial reporting, but said this will be the last time.

• Tech Glitches Push Back Date of PCAOB Reports

  October 1, 2009

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has delayed the effective date of its new rules requiring accounting firms to report on events such as litigation so it can resolve technical issues with the Web-based system it plans to use for receiving the reports.

• PCAOB Sees Room for Improvement in AS5 Audits

  September 24, 2009

  Many accounting firms are doing a good job of following new standards for conducting risk-based audits of internal controls, but others are not applying the standards properly, according to a new report by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

• Dangers of Corporate Derivative Transactions

  September 17, 2009

  It’s easy for managers to overlook risks.

• Niemeier to Leave PCAOB

  September 2, 2009

  Public Company Accounting Oversight Board member Charles Niemeier said he plans to leave the board in the near future.

• Risk Assessment Is a Necessity

  August 27, 2009

  The creation of SOX provided a false sense of security to stakeholders and management because it was a reactive approach to old problems not focusing on how to proactively prevent future problems.

• Richard Chambers

  August 21, 2009

  The president of the Institute of Internal Auditors explains why the role of internal audit is evolving from Sarbanes-Oxley to risk management.

• PCAOB Reporting Rules Take Effect October 12

  August 14, 2009

  The SEC has approved rules requiring registered public accounting firms to report events such as legal proceedings and changes in a firm’s contact information within 30 days to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, as well as file annual reports on disciplinary matters and other issues.

• PCAOB to spotlight faulty firms

  August 17, 2009

  Firm regulator mulls wider exposure of audit deficiencies

• Tax Software Compliance, Security Risks

  May 20, 2009

• NYSE Chief Wants Accounting Firms to Cut SOX Fees

  May 12, 2009

  NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer thinks accounting firms are charging small companies too much to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley requirements and suggested the SEC may pressure the firms to reduce their fees.

• PCAOB Mulls Revising Audit Confirmation Standards

  April 14, 2009

  Board considers changes in the wake of scandals.

• PwC India Auditors Charged in Satyam Case

  April 8, 2009

  Two auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers' Indian member firm have been charged in the Satyam accounting scandal.

• PCAOB Plans Small Business Audit Forums

  April 7, 2009

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has scheduled a series of forums around the country on auditing in the small business environment.

• Commentary: Build a better financial statement

  April 5, 2009

  Are you able to get what you need from reviewing financial statements? Do you think there are ways to enhance the usefulness of the presentation of the information?

• Companies Foresee More Tax Audits

  April 6, 2009

  As governments desperately seek all kinds of additional revenue, senior business professionals see the increased possibility of an audit by taxing authorities as the most significant tax risk facing their organizations today, according to a new survey.

• Former KPMG Execs Sentenced in Tax Case

  April 3, 2009

  Two former KPMG managers received prison terms and multimillion-dollar fines in a long-running tax shelter case.

• Accounting & Auditing Briefs

  March 31, 2009

• Support, Questions for IFRS

  March 31, 2009

• Auditors' Resource Online

  March 31, 2009

• Guidance on Internal-Control Audits

  March 31, 2009

• CAQ to Spend $200,000 on Audit Research

  April 1, 2009

  The Center for Audit Quality plans to award $200,000 in research grant funds to academics working on topics related to auditing and accounting.

• Internal Auditors Weigh In on Financial Crisis

  March 25, 2009

  -- More than 40 percent of internal auditors within the financial services sector felt that better risk management practices could have helped prevent their organization's current financial situation, according to a just-released study from the Institute of Internal Auditors.

• Audit Committees Change Oversight

  March 24, 2009

  About 89 percent of the 150 audit committee members at a recent KPMG conference said that the financial crisis had caused their company's board or audit committee to change the nature and scope of its oversight.

• IRS Audit Rates for Millionaires Plummet

  March 23, 2009

  Audits by the Internal Revenue Service of the tax returns of millionaires nosedived in the just-ended fiscal year, according to a new report.

• Restatements Drop to Five-Year Low

  March 23, 2009

  Financial restatements in 2008 dipped 49 percent from the prior year, the lowest level in the past five years, according to a report compiled by proxy researcher Glass Lewis.

• Ernst & Young, UBS Sued over Madoff Feeder Fund

  March 20, 2009

  Ernst & Young and Swiss bank UBS have been sued by a group of investors in Luxembourg who put money in a fund that directed 95 percent of their assets to Bernard Madoff's firm.

• Internal Audit Teams Face Reduced Budgets

  March 19, 2009

  The economic crisis will force many companies to cut costs at their internal audit departments, according to a new study from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

• Leisha John

  March 19, 2009

  Environmental sustainability director makes Ernst & Young a greener firm.

• Madoff's Auditor Arrested

  March 18, 2009

  David Friehling, the accountant who ran the tiny auditing firm that serviced Bernard Madoff's broker/dealer firm, has been arrested and charged with securities and investment advisor fraud.

• Small business to face closer audit scrutiny

  March 15, 2009

  The nation's small businesses are squarely in Washington's crosshairs - targeted for more rigorous, more painful scrutiny by both federal tax enforcement officials and the nation's auditing standard-setters.

• How much should financial reports tell?

  March 15, 2009

  One of the many problems the ongoing financial crisis has brought to light is the fact that generally accepted accounting principles do not necessarily give investors all the information they need to foresee the perils that a company faces. And though auditors have to certify that an entity is a "going concern," they do not have to note that the concern is going over a cliff.

• IRS Audits Credit Card Counseling Industry

  March 13, 2009

  The Internal Revenue Service has been spending tens of thousands of hours auditing nonprofit credit counseling agencies and ordering changes at the vast majority of them, according to newly released data.

• Madoff Goes to Jail

  March 12, 2009

  Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 charges in connection with a gigantic Ponzi scheme that swindled his clients out of up to $65 billion.

• Audit Software Vendor Sues SEC

  March 12, 2009

  A trio of related companies have filed suit to stop the Securities and Exchange Commission from infringing the trademark of their auditing software product.

• CPA to Oversee Tennessee's Stimulus Spending

  March 10, 2009

  Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen has tapped a CPA, Charles L. Harrison, to lead the state's "implementation" of the stimulus funding it receives.

• Frank & Freedman Merges with Hirsch Subelsky

  March 10, 2009

  Michigan CPA firms Frank & Freedman and Hirsch, Subelsky & Associates have merged to form Frank, Hirsch, Subelsky & Freedman.

• Quality Control Tips for Small, Midsized Audit Firms

  March 9, 2009

  To help small and midsized accounting firms cope better with implementing international auditing standards, the International Federation of Accountants has published a "Guide to Quality Control for Use by Small- and Medium-sized Practices."

• Internal Audit Critical in Financial Crisis

  March 6, 2009

  The internal audit function has become crucial to helping companies cope with the economic crisis and complex regulatory requirements, according to a new guidebook.

• Tax Season Essentials: Avoiding a Tax Audit

  March 6, 2009

  All taxpayers dread the prospect of facing an Internal Revenue Service audit. Here is some advice from the New Jersey Society of CPAs on some steps taxpayers can take to minimize the likelihood they will be audited or ensure a more positive experience if they are.

• PCAOB Tries Again on Audit Quality Review

  March 5, 2009

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has re-proposed for comment a standard for auditing firms to use for reviewing their audit reports internally by a second or concurring partner before they are issued.

• Auditing Clarity Project Completed

  March 3, 2009

  The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has completed a project aimed at updating and clearing up ambiguities in auditing standards.

• AICPA Adds Four Members to Auditing Board

  March 3, 2009

  The American Institute of CPAs has appointed four new members of the Auditing Standards Board.

• Bill Would Beef up Broker-Dealer Auditor Oversight

  February 27, 2009

  Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., has introduced a bill in Congress to close a legal loophole that allowed Bernard Madoff's tiny auditing firm to avoid scrutiny.

• Thomas Ray to Leave PCAOB

  February 27, 2009

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's chief auditor and director of professional standards, Thomas Ray, has resigned and plans to return to the private sector on March 6.

• Ric Rosario

  February 26, 2009

  Ric Rosario is stepping into some big shoes at Camico Mutual Insurance Co.

• IDEA Visually Documents Audit Workflow

  February 26, 2009

  CaseWare IDEA and Audimation Services plan to introduce the latest version of their IDEA audit software, including a new project overview feature that presents a graphical representation of the entire audit or investigation process.

• What the Heck is a Financial Stress Test?

  February 25, 2009

  Bankers could start huffing and puffing after a few minutes on the treadmill once Tim Geithner cranks up the dial a few notches.

• The post-IFRS world

  February 23, 2009

  From my vantage point on the other side of the Atlantic, I was delighted to see the Securities and Exchange Commission publish its roadmap to adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards. I just hope the U.S. constituents are as pleased as I am and that we can make some real progress towards global accounting standards.

• The spirit of accounting: Convertible debt: Progress at a glacial rate

  February 23, 2009

  Page 330 of our 2002 book, Quality Financial Reporting, includes this comment: "No one should accuse accountants of being glacial; after all, glaciers move."

• AICPA Reappoints Melancon

  February 23, 2009

  The American Institute of CPAs' board of directors has extended Barry Melancon's term as president and CEO for another five years.

• PCAOB Starts Registering Broker-Dealer Auditors

  February 20, 2009

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued guidance on the recent requirement for registration of auditors of privately held broker-dealers.

• CAQ Releases Internal Control Audit Lessons

  February 10, 2009

  The Center for Audit Quality has published a free online reference source for public company auditors with lessons on performing audits of internal control over financial reporting.

• Madoff Reaches Partial Settlement with SEC

  February 9, 2009

  The Securities and Exchange Commission said that Bernard Madoff has consented to a proposed partial judgment imposing a permanent injunction on him.

• Ernst & Young Chief Calls for More Audit Regulation

  February 6, 2009

  As the economic crisis calls into question the financial statements of banks and companies, the head of Ernst & Young advocated greater regulation of all types of auditing firms.

• McGladrey Sued in Madoff Case

  February 5, 2009

  McGladrey & Pullen has been sued by a hedge fund for failing to detect red flags in Bernard Madoff's investment schemes, leading the hedge fund to lose $280 million.

• COSO Issues Internal Control Guidance

  February 4, 2009

  New guidance aims to help organizations better monitor the effectiveness of their internal control systems.

• Accelerated Filers, Restructuring Mortgage Loans and Assets

  February 1, 2009

• PCAOB Offers Guidance on Auditing Small Companies

  January 29, 2009

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has published guidance to help auditors apply Auditing Standard No. 5 to audits of internal controls at smaller public companies.

• Deloitte Parmalat Case Ordered to Proceed

  January 29, 2009

  A New York federal court judge has ruled that Deloitte & Touche must stand trial in a class-action suit over its Italian affiliate's audits of collapsed dairy processor Parmalat.

• Thomson Reuters Adds Checkpoint Audit Tools

  January 29, 2009

  The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has released new Checkpoint Tools to help accountants handle specialized engagements, risk assessments and internal controls.

• New SEC Chair Has Doubts about IASB

  January 27, 2009

  The incoming chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Schapiro, criticized the International Accounting Standards Board and expressed reluctance to move to International Financial Reporting Standards.

• Audit Practice Alert Issued on Going Concerns

  January 22, 2009

  The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has issued a practice alert to help auditors and management assess the impact of the credit crisis on going-concern assumptions.

• SEC Extends SOX Survey Deadline

  January 21, 2009

  The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Economic Analysis has extended the deadline to January 31 for public companies to participate in a Web-based survey about the costs and benefits of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

• Madoff Auditors' Family in Turmoil

  January 20, 2009

  Bernard Madoff's longtime auditor is gravely ill with cancer and his family has reportedly lost much of their money from investing in the $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

• CCH Introduces Risk Management Product

  January 16, 2009

  CCH has introduced a set of services, software and content aimed at managing risk in an organization.

• Henry Keizer

  January 15, 2009

  KPMG International's global head of audit contends with the turbulent worldwide economy.

• Indian Outsourcer Hires New Firms for Major Restatement

  January 14, 2009

  Indian outsourcing company Satyam Computer Services has chosen Deloitte and KPMG to help restate financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Indian affiliate, Price Waterhouse, after Satyam's chairman admitted to a massive accounting fraud.

• Broker-Dealer Auditors Need to Register with PCAOB

  January 12, 2009

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said the financial statements of non-public broker-dealers now need to be certified by PCAOB-registered auditing firms.

• AICPA Issues Economic Crisis Audit Risk Alert

  January 12, 2009

  The American Institute of CPAs has released an alert warning about audit risks from the economic crisis.

• Former PCAOB Official Joins CAQ

  January 8, 2009

  The Center for Audit Quality has named Mary Moore Hamrick as director of external relations and strategic planning.

• Board approves PCAOB budget

  January 5, 2009

  Fear that the U.S. economic meltdown will encourage corporations to cut accounting corners has helped spur the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to approve a 9 percent budget increase for itself during 2009, to $157.6 million.

• CAQ Offers Advice on Mortgage Modifications

  January 2, 2009

  The Center for Audit Quality has released a paper to provide guidance on applying accounting standards to residential mortgage modifications.

• D&T Sues Former Vice Chair

  January 1, 2009

  Deloitte & Touche has sued its former vice chairman for trading in securities of the firm's audit clients.

• Corporate Integrity Unit Launched

  January 1, 2009

  A corporate integrity unit, designed to offer "the strengths of corporate governance/fiduciary responsibilities, with the discipline of forensic accounting and the merits of internal control," has been launched by Sobel & Co.

• Accounting & Auditing Briefs

  January 1, 2009

  AICPA OKs electronic confirmations between auditors and respondents; Rothstein Kass releases paper on fair value for alternative investment funds; and Blue Coat Systems exec is charged in backdating suit by the SEC.

• CAQ and Melancon on Fair Value

  January 1, 2009

  The Center for Audit Quality and the AICPA have written to the SEC concerning fair value, the CAQ maintaining that fair value measurements are appropriate and should continue, and the AICPA urging allowance of FASB to continue to set standards for mark-to-market accounting.

• Conceptual Framework Measurement

  January 1, 2009

  FASB has approved a staff proposal aimed at determining the most appropriate way to measure assets and liabilities that are recognized in the statement of financial position.

• Exposure of Rewritten Risk Assessment

  January 1, 2009

  The AICPA's Auditing Standards Board voted to approve for exposure certain of its risk assessment standards rewritten as part of its clarity project.

• Money in Going Green

  January 1, 2009

  Greater environmental consciousness at a firm can increase efficiency, generate revenue, and aid in staff attraction and retention.

• Imparting Small-Business Services Enhancements

  January 1, 2009

  The right advisor can mean the world to a small-business owner. Here's how firms are expanding varied services to these prized clients.

• Trustee Recovers $29 Million from Madoff

  December 31, 2008

  The court-appointed trustee for the liquidation of Bernard Madoff's investment securities firm has received $29 million from the disgraced asset manager's bank account that he plans to distribute to defrauded investors.

• New Year's Resolutions

  December 31, 2008

  Once again it's the time of year for me to make resolutions that I probably won't keep for five minutes.

• Human Nature at Work

  December 30, 2008

  In many ways, the human nature aspect of the alleged Madoff fraud and the sub-prime mortgage mess reminds me of the Enron and WorldCom debacles. It is that undesirable aspect of human nature, greed, that seems to permeate all three.

• TARP Bailout Companies Remain a Big Risk

  December 30, 2008

  The majority of banks and financial services companies bailed out by the Troubled Asset Relief Program are probably in worse condition than publicly disclosed, according to an new study.

• AICPA Investigates Madoff Auditor

  December 19, 2008

  The American Institute of CPAs has begun investigating the accounting firm listed as the auditor of Bernard Madoff's investment management business after the firm told the institute for 15 years that it did not perform any audit work.

• BDO Sued in Madoff Case

  December 19, 2008

  Accounting firm BDO Seidman has been sued in connection with the $50 billion Ponzi scheme run by Bernard Madoff's investment securities business, even though it wasn't Madoff's auditor.

• Who's to Blame for the Madoff Scam?

  December 17, 2008

  The SEC, a tiny auditing firm, and some of the most sophisticated financial companies and hedge funds are just some of the players who missed the warning signs in the Bernard Madoff scandal.

• Internal Auditors Need More Risk Skills

  December 10, 2008

  An Ernst & Young survey of internal auditors found more of a need for specialty skills, especially in focusing on operational risks.

• Economy Could Heighten Audit Risks Like Fraud

  December 10, 2008

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued an alert highlighting how the current economic crisis could increase various audit risks such as fraud.

• PCAOB Reviews Four Years of Audit Firm Deficiencies

  December 8, 2008

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has released a report summarizing its inspection findings between 2004 and 2007 of eight of the largest domestic accounting firms, outlining the many problems it has found with their audits.

• PCAOB Postpones Non-U.S. Firm Inspections

  December 5, 2008

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has voted to extend the deadlines for inspections of non-U.S. accounting firms to avoid conflicts with the laws in other countries.

• Melancon: Fair Value 'Can Be Improved'

  December 1, 2008

• Outside the Box: Audit Produces Novel Recommendation

  December 1, 2008

• FAF, Europe, IASB Weigh In on Fair Value

  December 1, 2008

  Financial Accounting Foundation FAF chair Robert Denham opposes an overturn or suspension of FASB Statement 157 on fair value measurements.

• Exposure Drafts on Going Concerns, Subsequent Events

  December 1, 2008

• Accounting & Auditing Briefs

  December 1, 2008

  Financial rescue warrants and GASB and AICPA agree to shift guidance literature.

• Recession-Proof Valuation Engagements

  December 1, 2008

  Tough economic times, a new president, and a focus on fair value accounting will increase the demand.

• Board Approves $157.6 Million PCAOB Budget

  November 26, 2008

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has approved a $157.6 million budget for calendar year 2009, a $13 million increase from the $144.6 million it approved for 2008.

• The Inevitability of Conversion to IFRS

  November 25, 2008

  I believe there is an underestimation of how difficult a conversion to IFRS will be for public companies.

• Cottrill Arbutina Acquires Tax and Audit Group

  November 25, 2008

  CPA firm Cottrill Arbutina Professional Services has acquired an eight-person tax and audit group from S.R. Snodgrass, expanding its reach in Western Pennsylvania and its auto dealership client base.

• IRS Audits Mozilla

  November 24, 2008

  The Internal Revenue Service is auditing the Mozilla Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the organization that develops the Firefox Web browser and Thunderbird e-mail software.

• Group Appeals PCAOB Case to Supreme Court

  November 21, 2008

  An advocacy group plans to bring a case challenging the constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to the U.S. Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled against the plaintiffs earlier this week.

• Growing Concern with Going Concern

  November 18, 2008

  I can confidently predict that within the next six months a number of accounting firms will be named in lawsuits.

• SOX Opportunities Still Significant

  November 18, 2008

  Significant opportunities still exist for optimization of Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 programs and reductions in compliance cost, according to a new report.

• Change of Auditors

  November 17, 2008

• The spirit of accounting: Measurement, theory, market values and AAATUC

  November 17, 2008

  One (and possibly the only) positive result of the financial crisis is that market value accounting has been brought to the public's attention.

• CAQ Tells SEC to Protect Fair Value

  November 14, 2008

  The Center for Audit Quality defended the use of fair value accounting in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission as the standard comes under attack from banking interests.

• Deloitte Sues Ex-Vice Chair for Insider Trading

  November 11, 2008

  Deloitte & Touche has sued former vice chairman Thomas Flanagan, claiming that he profited from stock trades using inside information about the firm's audit clients.

• AICPA Revises Electronic Confirmations Standard

  November 11, 2008

  The American Institute of CPAs' Auditing Standards Board has revised a standard on the use of electronic confirmations to provide further guidance on reliability.

• Accountants Should Be Vote Counters

  November 5, 2008

  They do it for the Academy Awards, so why not for the presidential elections?

Related Articles

• House Panel Exempts Small Companies from SOX Audits

• Small COS. get final SOX 404 reprieve

• PCAOB Mulls New Related-Party Standards

• Video: Grant Thornton CEOs Discuss Supreme Court’s PCAOB Case

• Small Public Companies Get Final SOX Reprieve

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