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• PCAOB Thwarted on Foreign Audit Firm Inspections

  February 9, 2010

  At least a dozen major nations – including several of the USA’s top international trading partners – are continuing to slam the door on efforts by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to conduct cross-border inspections of non-U.S. audit firms as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

• What to Expect from SAS 70 Audits in 2010

  January 12, 2010

  I have performed over 700 SAS 70 audits, but they are hardly ever the same.

• Supreme Court takes up the fate of the PCAOB

  January 11, 2010

  In a case that carries the potential to reshape the regulatory landscape of the accounting profession, the U.S. Supreme Court last month heard oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board - with several justices appearing to take the plaintiffs' side in the case.

• Accountants Find SOX 404 Compliance Inefficient

  December 16, 2009

  Nearly three-quarters of finance professionals believe their company could be more efficient in the implementation of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act dealing with the outside audit of internal controls.

• Supreme Court Questions PCAOB’s Constitutionality

  December 7, 2009

  The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, with several justices appearing to take the plaintiffs’ side in the case.

• PCAOB Plans Tougher Inspections with Budget Increase

  December 1, 2009

  Looking forward to 2010, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is bracing for a surge in litigation from the targets of its enforcement staff, a series of new regulatory responsibilities triggered by the Madoff Ponzi scheme, and corner-cutting by accounting firms squeezed by the ongoing economic crisis.

• SEC Distributed over $2 Billion from Fair Fund in 2009

  November 25, 2009

  For the first time, the Securities and Exchange Commission has distributed more than $2 billion in a single calendar year to injured investors as a result of SEC enforcement actions and proceedings.

• ACFE Warns Not to Change SOX Rules

  November 11, 2009

  A measure approved last week by the House Financial Services Committee to change Sarbanes-Oxley audit rules would lead to a higher incidence of fraud and an increase in the amount of fraud losses, said the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

• Grant Thornton CEOs on the PCAOB

  November 11, 2009

  Grant Thornton CEO Ed Nusbaum and incoming CEO Stephen Chipman talk to Accounting Today editor-in-chief Bill Carlino about the Supreme Court case involving the SEC's oversight of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and Sarbanes-Oxley.

• 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.

Related Articles

• PCAOB Thwarted on Foreign Audit Firm Inspections

• What to Expect from SAS 70 Audits in 2010

• Supreme Court takes up the fate of the PCAOB

• Accountants Find SOX 404 Compliance Inefficient

• Supreme Court Questions PCAOB’s Constitutionality

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