Audit & Accounting

Troubled mortgage giant Fannie Mae said this week that a report on its accounting policies and practices uncovered serious issues that raised doubts about the validity of its previous financial results.

The California Board of Accountancy has sanctioned Ernst & Young over the firm's independence in its audit of former client PeopleSoft.

The number 1-800-TAXHELP may look good on a business card, but the concept of vanity telephone numbers has serious drawbacks for professional services firms, according to one consultant.Writing in The Urbach Letter e-newsletter, consultant Victor Urbach said that vanity numbers "have their place, particularly in radio advertising. But I believe their value is overrated." He adds that some studies have shown that full-alpha[betical] 800 vanity numbers actually reduce response rates. "They claim it's because people think they'll remember the number, and thus put off calling until later," he says. "In marketing, later often means never."

The tax burden on middle- and higher-income families would rise if the package of tax breaks is allowed to expire at year-end, according to an analytical breakdown by Deloitte Tax.

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. has named Sarah Ball Teslik, executive director of the Council of Institutional Investors, as its new chief executive.

Securities and Exchange Commission chief accountant Donald T. Nicolaisen has asked KPMG LLP to correct a statement that he says the firm attributed to him in a letter it sent to clients.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking for qualified accounting professors to fill four available academic fellowships at its headquarters in Washington.

Chicago (Sept. 21, 2004) -- KPMG LLP has sold its U.S. Corporate Recovery practice to privately held Mesirow Financial, a financial services firm based here.

New York (Sept. 21, 2004) -- A trend among the nation's four largest accounting firms of dropping small audit clients reportedly has the Securities and Exchange Commission's chief accountant concerned.

The Spirit of Accounting: 150 columns and still going