Audit & Accounting

General Motors Corp. announced in a filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the company's handling of retirement benefits and its relationship with bankrupt auto-parts manufacturer Delphi Corp.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations, the private sector group working to improve the financial reporting process, has issued a draft to help small filers comply with internal controls requirements on a cost-effective basis.

Big Four audit firm KPMG and its global network reported combined member firm revenues of $15.65 billion for the year ended Sept. 30, 2005, a 16.4 percent rise in U.S. dollars versus the prior year.

Since the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley more than three years ago, more than half of public and private companies participating in a survey revealed that they have changed their respective revenue recognition policies as a result of the sweeping reform act.

Computer equipment and telephone lines don't fall within a reasonable definition of brokerage and research services that investment managers may charge to their clients, according to proposed guidance issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission on the use of "soft dollars."

In a unanimous voice vote, the governing Council of the American Institute of CPAs agreed to refocus the mission of its Center for Public Company Audit Firms.

President Bush has nominated economic advisor Ben Bernanke to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who will retire January 31, after 18 years at the helm of the Fed.

STUN GUN MAKER SWAPS AUDITORS: Three months after restating its 2004 earnings, stun gun manufacturer Taser International Inc. said that it had fired Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche as its auditor.In May, Taser said that miscalculated tax amounts related to employee stock options had led to the restatement of its 2004 earnings - amounting to a penny per share.

In several sports, especially golf, tennis and baseball, a player occasionally makes contact with the ball in the exact right place on the club, racket or bat.Hitting it on the "sweet spot" brings about the maximum transfer of energy under full control. Last June's report out of the Securities and Exchange Commission on off-balance-sheet financing really hit a sweet spot by pointing out several areas for improvement in financial reporting practice.

KATRINA VICTIMS CAN TAKE LOANS FROM RETIREMENT PLANS: Employer-sponsored retirement plans, including 401(k) programs, will be allowed to make loans and hardship distributions to victims of Hurricane Katrina and members of their families, the Internal Revenue Service said.For the first time ever, the IRS and the Treasury and Labor Departments are providing broad-based relief to retirement plan participants affected by a major disaster.