Audit & Accounting

In an effort to aid smaller publicly traded businesses with internal controls compliance, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations said that it would offer online guidance for internal controls assessment by the summer. In conjunction with COSO as well as the Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers will produce the guidance materials, which will be available for a fee. PwC partner Miles Everson will spearhead the effort. Under Sarbanes-Oxley's Section 404, SEC issuers are required to conduct annual evaluations of their internal controls. This year, public companies under $200 million will be required to meet the internal controls mandates. Companies over $200 million were mandated to assess their internal controls last year. COSO chairman Larry Rittenberg pointed out that approximately 5,000 of the SEC's roughly 9,000 registrants have annual sales of less than $200 million. "These organizations need guidance that will help them understand the breadth, depth, and value of COSO's Control Framework as they go through the process of evaluating controls," he said. "This new project will provide that guidance." COSO, which was established 20 years to improve the financial reporting process, is comprised of the American Institute of CPAs, Financial Executives International, the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Institute of Management Accountants and the American Accounting Association.

Larry E. Rittenberg, Ph.D., CPA, CIA has been named the new chairman of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. In that role, Rittenberg will lead COSO's efforts investing in conceptual frameworks designed to enhance understanding and management of risk and control. Under his leadership, the organization will provide guidance for cost-effective small business application of COSO's Internal Control -- Integrated Framework. Rittenberg -- who is currently one of COSO's five board members -- succeeds John J. Flaherty, CIA, CPA. He currently teaches and conducts research at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, focusing on auditing and corporate governance. He is co-author of Auditing: Concepts for a Changing Environment, and The Outsourcing Dilemma: What Works Best for Internal Auditing. Established in 1985 to sponsor the National Commission of Fraudulent Financial Reporting, COSO is a voluntary private sector organization dedicated to improving financial reporting quality.

As part of its efforts to promote the Personal Financial Specialist designation, the American Institute of CPAs at its 2005 Personal Financial Planning Conference this week announced a new online financial planning resource targeted at CPA/financial planners and consumers seeking financial planning guidance.

Financial planning and tax prep firm Gilman + Ciocia, based here, has plans to expand in the Northeast, with the opening of three new offices slated for this month.

New York State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi blasted an East Setauket, N.Y.-based CPA firm for failing to identify a multi-million-dollar fraud, failing to meet several professional standards and violating auditor independence standards in its audits of a Long Island school district.

Practitioners who began adding tax planning services to their basic preparation several years back have found that it's a small step to branch out completely into year-round financial planning.

Saving for college has become a cottage industry. There are now over 80 varieties of the Section 529 plan alone. The result is a complex maze of investment options, cost structures, tax benefits and financial aid implications. The federal government's attention to the complexities has some thinking that there might be significant changes on the way.The National Association of Securities Dealers is currently looking into the sales practices of some 20 brokers, questioning whether these brokers are actually presenting the plans that best suit each client's needs.

AMEX AUDIT COMMITTEE APPROVES PWC: The audit committee of financial services conglomerate American Express Co. approved the appointment of Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers as its auditor for 2005.PwC succeeds Ernst & Young as the company's independent accountant. Ernst was to remain as auditor for AmEx through Dec. 31.

Hedge funds.Billionaire investor Warren Buffett thinks they're a fad, while fellow billionaire George Soros used them to strike it rich. Hedge funds are controversial, complex and often shrouded in mystery. And while they've long been a secret haven for the ultra-wealthy, mainstream investors are starting to take notice.

It's possible for transfers to a trust to be completed gifts for gift and estate tax purposes, even though that trust may still be treated as a grantor trust for income tax purposes, so that the income of the trust is taxable to the grantor even though retained in the trust or distributed to beneficiaries of the trust.