The Securities and Exchange Commission appointed New York attorney Lee S. Richards III as the independent examiner for Islandia, N.Y.-based software manufacturer Computer Associates. Richards will serve as examiner for a minimum of 18 months. His appointment was part of an agreement that CA signed in September to end an investigation onto accounting fraud. In his new role, Richards, a partner in the New York law firm of Richards Spears Kibbe & Orbe LLP, will oversee compliance with the settlement, make best practices recommendations to the board, and revamp the company's finance and accounting departments. The SEC settlement stems from a $2.2 billion accounting fraud that ultimately led to the ouster of several top managers, including chief executive Sanjay Kumar. The company had been backdating purchase orders and keeping the books open past the period close.

The Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board released a report requesting an additional $11.6 billion in funding for fiscal year 2006, a 9 percent increase over the Bush administration's recommendation. President Bush is required to submit the board's request, without revision, to Congress along with his own request. "One of the board's roles is to provide a private sector perspective," observed board chairman Raymond T. Wagner Jr. "And from this vantage point, it makes perfect sense to make the additional investments in enforcement that will pay for themselves many times over. The IRS and administration estimates show that every dollar invested in enforcement generates four dollars in increased revenues." The board estimated that an additional $435 million for enforcement would result in $1.74 billion in additional tax revenue. The board also called for additional funding toward maintaining and improving customer service and supporting the Business Systems Modernization program, which is replacing the agency's antiquated computer system. In its report, the board stated that its recommendations are backed by taxpayers. Those surveyed in its annual tax compliance survey called for additional funding for the IRS -- 62 percent favored more funding for enforcement and 64 percent favored more taxpayer assistance.

Washington - Regulators at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board are wrestling with proposals to abandon the current "pass/fail" auditor reporting model for informing investors of the accuracy of corporate financial statements - a move that could require independent accountants to provide considerably more information about the veracity of their clients' financial reports.Whether the additional work and information will translate into more useful data for investors was a matter of considerable debate during the latest meeting of the PCAOB's Standing Advisory Group.

Accounting for social policy obligations has long confounded the preparers and users of governmental financial reports.The controversy currently surrounding the gargantuan obligations of the Social Security Administration is an example of the difficulties of dealing with long-term, big-number obligations of vaguely defined liability.

Brussels - Following the start of 2005, when the EU's International Financial Reporting Standards ventured out of port, so to speak, users might have hoped that only the odd technical hitch or two remained to be solved, and that the arrival of IFRS accountancy standardization to the economic zone's 7,000 listed companies would be smooth sailing.Subsequently, European investors, who previously faced a tangle of variegated regulations - which led to confusion over how companies were performing - would then be able to balance performance with performance.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has released its new five-year strategic plan, an effort that kicks off with a series of sweeping surveys of the board's standing with its constituency, as well as a barometer of its progress.

The constant headlines of regulators' actions against broker/dealers recall the image of falling dominoes.