Audit & Accounting

According to the third annual study of current issues for the internal audit profession conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a number of divergent and conflicting trends related to risk assessment are a concern among internal audit executives.

The Association of Government Accountants recently hosted a dinner and awards ceremony to honor 11 federal agencies that have been awarded the 2007 Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting -- the highest number awarded since the program began.

Although the recent Council Meeting was run procedurally exactly as many Council meetings I have attended, I did notice some very importanct differences.

A U.S. appeals court told the judge overseeing the KPMG tax shelter cause that if he believes federal prosecutors violated the rights of former KPMG employees he should toss the entire case.

I get many e-mails from readers asking whether I have a financial planner and if so, who? I get some e-mails even from financial planners simply looking for business.So, the answer is yes, I do have a financial planner because I don’t believe in doing it myself--sort of akin to the lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client or the neurosurgeon who decides to operate on herself. Nope, I may know a lot but I still don’t know what a tried and tested financial planner knows.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board voted to adopt Auditing Standard No. 5, which will replace its previous internal control auditing standard, the much-maligned Auditing Standard No. 2.

Financial services provider the Bisys Group will pay $25 million in restitution to settle federal charges that it violated financial reporting rules to artificially inflate earnings by $180 million over three years.

Glass, Lewis & Co., a major player in the world of investment research and global proxy advisory and voting services, announced that Lynn Turner will leave his post as managing director of research on June 8.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson announced that the Internal Revenue Service has awarded almost $8 million in matching grants to Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics for the 2007 grant cycle.

The Securities and Exchange Commission unanimously approved guidance yesterday aimed at helping public companies balance their internal control over financial reporting, while at the same time reducing unnecessary costs, particularly for smaller companies.