Audit & Accounting

Media titan Barry Diller said lawmakers should revisit Sarbanes-Oxley, citing that the high cost of compliance is negatively impacting American businesses.

A bill creating a new regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and setting capital levels for the two home mortgage giants could be ready for a House vote by the end of the month.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board had a harsh critique for several Deloitte & Touche audits performed by the firm last year. The PCAOB's report echoed many of concerns the regulators expressed last week about audits performed during the same period by KPMG.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said the former KPMG accountant who oversaw audits of Xerox Corp. will pay a $100,000 fine to settle charges that he failed to disclose accounting violations that came to his attention.

Eugene D. O'Kelly, 53, former chairman and chief executive of KPMG, died Sept. 10 at his New York City home at the age of 53.O'Kelly remained a senior partner at KPMG after disclosing a diagnosis of advanced-stage cancer in June and stepping out of his leadership role at KPMG, which he had helmed since 2002.

ABAXIS DISMISSES D&T: Blood-analysis systems manufacturer Abaxis Inc. dismissed Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche as its outside auditor, and retained Burr, Pilger & Mayer LLP as its successor.A federal filing did not state a reason for the auditor change, and there were no disagreements with Deloitte on accounting matters.

It's another busy season for us with the beginning of the academic year. As a result, we're buying some time by bringing back an all-time favorite tongue-in-cheek column that sheds light on how ludicrous many important features of GAAP are.If financial statements really are scorecards for business, reporting real outcomes, as well as sources of information for predicting the future, it's essential that they usefully describe what actually happens, instead of what someone hoped would happen.

SEC HELPING INVESTORS, COMPANIES AFFECTED BY KATRINA: The Securities and Exchange Commission has joined the growing list of companies and agencies mobilizing to provide relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.The SEC divisions and offices that oversee publicly traded companies, accountants, mutual funds, brokerage firms and transfer agents, among others, are preparing relief measures, including extensions of filing deadlines and suspension of requirements to deliver documents to hurricane-affected areas.

The CFA Institute, the global concern that administers the Chartered Financial Analyst examination and credential, has elected its new board of governors.John Stannard, of Russell Investment Group, was elected chairman, while Vincent Duhamel, managing director of Goldman Sachs Asia LLC, will serve as vice chair. Both Stannard and Duhamel will serve one-year terms, effective immediately.

An individual taxpayer whose modified adjusted gross income for a year is not more than $100,000 may convert an amount held in a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. The amount converted is subject to tax to the same extent that it would be if the amount were distributed to the taxpayer from the traditional IRA and not rolled over to another traditional IRA or to a qualified retirement plan.If a conversion involves property, the conversion amount generally is the fair market value of the property on the date of distribution, or deemed distribution, from the traditional IRA. However, because there was no specific rule dealing with converted annuity contracts, some taxpayers claimed that the amount includible in gross income upon the conversion of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA is the cash surrender value of the annuity contract.