Audit & Accounting

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.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced that Martin F. Baumann will succeed Phil D. Wedemeyer as director of its Office of Research and Analysis.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox announced that five former chairmen of the commission will join him for a roundtable discussion today.

While such issues as mobility, Sarbanes-Oxley 404, peer review and private company financial reporting continue to impact the accounting profession, keeping the CPA pipeline filled remains the profession’s No. 1 priority, American Institute of CPAs president and chief executive Barry Melancon told attendees at the institute’s spring meeting of its Governing Council.