“Keeping Retirement Plans Qualified” in the March issue of Practical Accountant was written just prior to the U.S. Supreme Court decision, LaRue v. DeWolff, in which the Court held that a participant in a defined contribution pension plan may sue a fiduciary under ERISA Section 502(a)(2) when claiming that a fiduciary breach caused a loss of plan assets allocated to the participant’s 401(k) plan account. It was pointed out in the article that employee benefit plan audits have now become not only financial statements, but also compliance audits. The Supreme Court opinion is further indication of that.

Greek accounting firm Savvides & Partners/PKF Cyprus agreed to pay $261,565 to settle charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it engaged in fraud in connection with its 1999 and 2000 audits of bankrupt software developer AremisSoft.

The Internal Revenue Service has put out a call for a priority list of items it should address with its upcoming guidance.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will decide next Monday on its plans for any requirements and timeline for public companies to file their financial statements in an interactive data format.

CPAs who conduct valuations in the normal course of their practices are now required to comply with detailed standards.

CPAs who conduct valuations in the normal course of their practices are now required to comply with detailed standards.

Two former Arthur Andersen auditors have settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing them of failing to exercise due professional care and skepticism in their 2001 audits of bankrupt telecommunications giant WorldCom.