Audit & Accounting

A trio of state accounting boards have objected to the 'jointness' of a joint project from the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the American Institute of CPAs to form a committee to look at the financial accounting and reporting standard-setting process for private companies.

The executive vice chair of operations for KPMG LLP will take on the additional position of regional chief operating officer for the Americas region of KPMG International.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will host a Boston forum on auditing in the small business environment.

One of the aspects of the Internet that many I and many others love is its interactive nature. Using a news search engine's push technology, news summaries on accounting firms are sent to me daily.

The International Federation of Accountants' education standards board has proposed new guidance outlining the skills accountants need to perform competently in a variety of information technology roles.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has released some enforcement statistics through July -- 10 month's into the agency's 2006 fiscal year.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued proposed regulations clarifying the treatment of expenditures incurred in selling, acquiring, producing or improving tangible assets.

OPENTV RETAINS GRANT THORNTON: OpenTV Corp., a San Francisco-based developer of software used by cable and satellite TV operators to offer their subscribers interactive content and services, named Grant Thornton as its new independent accountant. Grant replaces Big Four firm KPMG.In a federal filing, OpenTV said that there were no disagreements with KPMG during the fiscal years ended Dec. 31, 2004 and 2005, and through June 29, 2006, on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedures.

NAPFA LAUNCHES PSA CAMPAIGN: The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, a 1,300-member association of fee-only financial advisors, has launched a consumer-oriented public service campaign aimed at educating Americans about the need for financial professionals to hold themselves to a fiduciary standard. The campaign is titled "Focus on Fiduciary."NAPFA said that the strategy behind the campaign is to highlight the issues surrounding fiduciary standards in the financial industry while helping consumers ask the right questions of their financial advisors. To support the campaign, NAPFA has developed a number of resources available to the industry and consumers alike, including:

Some 50 percent of Baby Boomers ages 50 to 59, with anywhere from six to 15 years before retirement, indicated in a recent survey that they don't know how much money they'll need when they finally stop working.Furthering their financial dilemma, 60 percent of those polled said that they intend to save more than they do, but don't always get around to it.