Audit & Accounting

The chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Donald T. Nicolaisen, will leave the commission in October to return to the private sector.Nicolaisen, 61, joined the SEC under former Chairman William Donaldson in September 2003 and led numerous initiatives to improve financial disclosure, strengthen the audit process and rebuild investor confidence.

In a continuing struggle to keep up with the increasing complexity of financial assets and special purpose entities, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued three proposals to amend existing statements that have, in just a few years, become - to some extent - obsolete.The proposals are a response to constituents in various sectors who requested clarifications and simplifications of the technically complex Statement 140, Accounting for Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets, which was seen as becoming harder to interpret and implement as new kinds of financial assets come into existence, especially in the areas of securitizations and special purpose entities.

Both the Government Accountability Office and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration have some advice for the Internal Revenue Service.On the heels of an IRS decision to focus on S corporations in order to zero in on the compliance problems of small businesses, the TIGTA issued a report calling on the IRS to improve its efforts against employment tax noncompliance. The GAO also weighed in in the same week with its report, "Tax Compliance: Better Compliance Data and Long-term Goals Would Support a More Strategic IRS Approach to Reducing the Tax Gap."

RIA, a part of the Thomson Corp. providing information and software to tax professionals, has computed the changes to next year's tax brackets, standard deductions, personal exemptions and other important tax breaks.

Insurance company Equitable Life dropped a $3.7 billion lawsuit against accounting firm Ernst & Young, ending what had been the country's largest claim ever brought against an auditor.

William J. McDonough, chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, announced that he will resign on Nov. 30 or when his successor is put in place, whichever occurs sooner.

It was a smooth first meeting for Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox, with the panel voting unanimously to extend the deadline for when small companies will have to have their internal controls documented under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley law.

The former chairman of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. will plead guilty to obstructing a Securities and Exchange Commision investigation into accounting irregularities at the company.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will host a forum in Boston to bring information to the small business community.

It's been several days now since Louisiana's treasurer called for the state to hire a Big Four firm to oversee the distribution of billions of dollars in Hurricane Katrina aid.