Audit & Accounting

Grant Thornton commissioned two research studies to ask if a company can switch from a Big Four audit firm to another qualified global, national or regional firm -- such as say, Grant Thornton -- without affecting stock price.

KPMG LLP has realigned its most senior private-equity partners to form the U.S. Private Equity Group. The dedicated practice will collect the firm’s extensive experience to serve the largest funds in the rapidly growing private-equity market.KPMG named Donald C. Spitzer as national managing partner for the new group.

A report was recently released at an international conference in Paris. The 20-page report is entitled “Global Capital Markets and the Global Economy: A Vision from the CEOs of the International Audit Networks,” and its authors are the heads of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Grant Thornton International, Deloitte, KPMG International, BDO International, and Ernst & Young.The report is intended to promote “a robust dialogue about how global financial reporting and public company auditing procedures must adapt to better serve capital markets around the world.”

CBiz and Mayer Hoffman McCann PC announced the expansion of its not-for-profit practice through the acquisition of CPA David Brown Jr.’s Minneapolis-area practice.Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Brown and several of his associates will be located in the downtown Minneapolis office of CBIZ and MHM.

A committee within the International Federation of Accountants has drafted new guidance to assist companies and their professional accountants in developing and implementing a code of conduct.The proposed new good practice guidance, from the Professional Accountants in Business Committee, “Defining and Developing an Effective Code of Conduct,” provides practical guidance on design and development, as well as highlighting the roles accountants in business take in driving and supporting organizational ethics.

Michael Haubrich, is a certified financial planner with more than 20 years experience. He is the owner of Financial Service Group a fee-only firm in Racine, Wisconsin, with some 100 million dollars in assets under management.He tells a tale that recently he met with a new client who experienced “free financial planning.” According to Michael, the client’s free planning started with a free dinner meeting, followed by a free financial consultation, and then a free financial plan that ultimately ended with an annuity sale resulting in $9,000 in commission to that financial “consultant.”

In search of a happy medium for the smaller public companies that have loudly complained about the cost of audits of their internal controls, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said a new auditing standard is on the way.In an interview with the New York Times, Cox said that he has been in regular contact with the chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to develop and propose the auditing standard. Right now, Cox said that the timetable would be for the SEC to hopefully approve the standard by the spring.

The Big Four, plus major audit players Grant Thornton and BDO International, have joined forces to call for a new business reporting model.In a paper, the firms endorse the concept of accounting rules that are standards based, offering fewer details but giving more responsibility to auditors to interpret those rules. According to the six, the concept should lead to less fraud and more useful financial information -- and ideally protect their businesses from the liabilities audit work opens a firm up to.

With the close of 2006 approaching, we asked industry leaders to share their ideas of what the accounting profession will look like in five years: What will be its major concerns? Challenges? Hot new service areas? What will shape will the firm landscape have taken?

Merck & Co. disclosed four separate tax disputes that have combined potential liabilities for the drug maker of more than $5.5 billion.