Michael Cohn

KPMG LLP announced Monday the incoming leaders of the U.S. firm’s audit, tax and advisory businesses, along with the new heads of operations and its Innovation & Enterprise Solutions unit, and other key roles.

The Institute of Internal Auditors has enhanced its International Professional Practices Framework, which has provided internal auditors worldwide professional guidance in various forms since 1947, in response to more recent risks, while also releasing a report on the current pulse of the internal audit profession.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has reappointed Public Company Accounting Oversight Board member Lewis H. Ferguson to a second term on the board.

The Justice Department said Friday that British Petroleum has agreed to pay a record-breaking $18.7 billion settlement to resolve claims related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, but advocacy groups are warning that the settlement is largely tax deductible for BP.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 jobs in June, sending the unemployment rate down two-tenths of a point to 5.3 percent.

The American Accounting Association has retracted 25 articles written or co-authored by a former accounting professor who was forced to resign after his university uncovered a “pattern of misconduct.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the offices of a Connecticut accounting firm Tuesday and seized documents in connection with a fraud complaint.

Americans donated an estimated $358.8 billion to charities last year, according to the annual Giving USA report, the highest total ever in the 60-year history of the report.

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board has issued provisional standards for seven industries in the consumption area, including agricultural products; meat, poultry and dairy; processed foods; non-alcoholic beverages; alcoholic beverages; tobacco; and household and personal products.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted Wednesday to publish a concept release asking for public comments about the current audit committee disclosure requirements, focusing particularly on toughening the committee’s oversight of independent auditors.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued two exposure drafts for state and local governments proposing accounting and financial reporting guidance related to external investment pools and how certain component units should be presented in a governmental reporting entity’s financial statements.

In the wake of high-profile data breaches at the Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies, a new government report warns the IRS against expanding its online customer service options before completing key technology upgrades.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Deloitte & Touche LLP with violating auditor independence rules when its consulting affiliate maintained a business relationship with a trustee serving on the boards and audit committees of three funds it audited.

Small business groups are sounding a warning about an obscure Internal Revenue Service rule that takes effect Wednesday imposing heavy fines on small businesses for helping defray the cost of their workers’ insurance or medical expenses.

The California Society of CPAs has elected Jennifer Ziegler as its new president and Greg Burke as president of the CalCPA Education Foundation for 2015-2016.

Private sector employment increased by 237,000 jobs last month, according to payroll giant ADP, in a sign of further strengthening in the economy.

Accountants could gain some extra business from the Obama administration’s proposed changes in determining overtime pay, according to the payroll giant Paychex, which found a slight decline in small business job growth in June in a mostly positive payroll report that it released Tuesday.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board proposed Tuesday to require firms to file a new PCAOB form to make public the name of the audit engagement partner and information about certain other participants in the audit, and also issued a concept release on audit quality indicators.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has finalized a new standard that aims to simplify the structure of the hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for state and local governments.

Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting US has released two new tax briefings on the Supreme Court’s rulings last week on the Affordable Care Act and same-sex marriage, along with trade legislation that contained several tax provisions.