Audit & Accounting

The Securities and Exchange Commission sanctioned eight audit firms for violating auditor independence rules and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced settled disciplinary orders Monday against seven other audit firms for violating independence rules in audits of broker-dealers.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is finding that the push toward mandatory audit firm retendering and rotation is leading to lower audit fees in Europe, sparking audit quality concerns.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants has introduced a Web-based version of its Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants for the first time.

CPE opportunities, Andersen Tax new office and more…

The Financial Accounting Foundation and the two standard-setting boards it oversees, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, have created a draft strategic plan of their vision, mission and top priorities, and are asking for comments.

The Information Systems Audit and Control Association has released the third edition of its IT Control Objectives for Sarbanes-Oxley to help information technology professionals focus on performing an IT assessment for financial reporting controls in line with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

The Center for Audit Quality has published a member alert to help auditing firms address risks on audits on upcoming audits, highlighting some that officials with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board also pointed to during a conference Thursday.

On Thursday, Thomson Reuters released a special report, Retrospective on Key Tax Developments in 2014, providing a thorough briefing of key developments in 2014, including the tax extender provisions as well as many of the rates, dollar caps, and other key figures that changed over the course of the year.

The American Institute of CPAs’ Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center has released an advisory document on the importance of hiring a quality auditor to perform employee benefit plan financial statement audits, along information to help select a quality auditor.

Online audit confirmation provider Confirmation.com said Tuesday it has acquired LegalConfirm, a Maryland-based provider of electronic legal confirmations.