The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations, the private sector group working to improve the financial reporting process, has issued a draft to help small filers comply with internal controls requirements on a cost-effective basis.

Since the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley more than three years ago, more than half of public and private companies participating in a survey revealed that they have changed their respective revenue recognition policies as a result of the sweeping reform act.

Computer equipment and telephone lines don't fall within a reasonable definition of brokerage and research services that investment managers may charge to their clients, according to proposed guidance issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission on the use of "soft dollars."

In a unanimous voice vote, the governing Council of the American Institute of CPAs agreed to refocus the mission of its Center for Public Company Audit Firms.

President Bush has nominated economic advisor Ben Bernanke to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who will retire January 31, after 18 years at the helm of the Fed.

William J. McDonough, who in two years as chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board helped guide the audit overseer from shaky beginnings to a powerful regulatory entity with eight offices and over 400 employees, will step down from his post effective Nov. 30."I have a wide range of interests in corporate governance, finance and international affairs, and will explore one or a variety of activities in those fields," McDonough, 71, said.

A backlash is beginning to be felt throughout the auditing profession in Europe over proposed changes to accountancy rules covering combinations and mergers.Several non-governmental organizations, such as the European Federation of Accountants (FEE), the European Financial Advisory Group (EFRAG) - which represents a broader range of interest groups - and the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE), are skeptical of what the International Accounting Standards Board has put forth in its proposal.