Audit & Accounting

A federal appeals court has dealt a serious blow to the Securities and Exchange Commission's plans to more closely regulate hedge funds.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board will hold two public roundtable meetings today to discuss the board's proposal to improve accounting for postretirement benefit plans, including pensions.

Just hours after losing his heavyweight crown to crafty Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey came home to find his wife waiting for him at the door.

Looking for some certainty in an often-uncertain field, public companies are increasingly disclosing auditor agreements that place a monetary cap on any liabilities that may arise from accounting problems.

Chief audit executives face a number of challenges in attempting to comply with regulatory statutes, according to a survey conducted by data analysis firm ACL Services Ltd. in cooperation with the Institute of Internal Auditors.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu announced that it will establish a new group -- Deloitte Asean -- to spearhead organization expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.

PricewaterhouseCoopers announced that its new Japanese accounting firm, PwC Aarata, has completed the necessary regulatory steps to open for business July 1. PwC announced in May that it would be opening a new firm in the country after its audit partner in Japan received major penalties for poor supervision of its staff.

At the Deloitte Annual World Meeting in Singapore, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu chief executive William G. Parrett said that better audits and further regulatory changes aimed at improving transparency are needed to tackle corporate fraud, build stronger capital markets and sustain Deloitte businesses over the long term.

A California state Senate committee canceled a hearing on a bill to allow out-of-state accountants to provide tax services in the state without first notifying the state's Board of Accountancy.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Mark W. Olson has been appointed the new chairman of the five-member Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for a term running until 2010.