Career moves

Mark Everson, the former Internal Revenue Service commissioner, has been ousted by the American Red Cross board as its president and CEO after the organization learned of a relationship with one of his employees.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed two executives to prominent positions in its Division of Corporate Finance.

President Bush is nominating Nathan J. Hochman, of California, to be Assistant Attorney General (Tax Division) at the Department of Justice.

H&R Block Chairman and CEO Mark Ernst has stepped down two weeks after the company CFO resigned, as the company faces losses from its subprime mortgage operations.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board is looking for a new chairperson.

CCH has named Dee Hairgrove as vice president of ProSystem fx Tax development.

Intuit appointed R. Neil Williams as its new chief financial officer, succeeding Kiran Patel, who in June became general manager and senior vice president of the company's consumer tax business.

H&R Block CFO William L. Trubeck has stepped down, the company announced.

Sage Software kicked off its annual customer conference with a welcome from top executives and a dynamic keynote given by Christopher Gardner, a formerly homeless man whose story inspired the film "The Pursuit of Happyness."

Barry Melancon, president and chief executive of the American Institute of CPAs, and a number of other accounting profession luminaries such as Tim Flynn, chief executive at Big Four firm KPMG, have been named to the Treasury Department's new Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession.The 21-member group will spend roughly a year examining issues facing the auditing profession, including such front-burner topics as audit firm concentration, auditor liability caps, recruiting young people to the profession, the effect of Sarbanes-Oxley and the move toward international standards.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service has ousted chair and chief executive Michael Lister after more than 125 of the company's franchises faced charges of fraudulent tax return preparation.Michael Yerington succeeded Lister as CEO, while Margaret Richardson was elected non-executive chair of the board. Yerington joined the company in 2006. Richardson, who joined the company's board in 2004, was a former commissioner at the Internal Revenue Service.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has named a slate of new appointments and reappointments to its Standing Advisory Group for 2008.

With performance lagging in the company's North American business, the Sage Group purged that region's C-level suite, ousting Sage Software chief executive Ron Verni, chief financial officer Jim Eckstaedt and chief technology officer Jim Foster, amid recent changes in the company’s culture and its divisional operations.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Paul A. Beswick to serve as senior advisor in the SEC Office of the Chief Accountant.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service has ousted chairman and chief executive Michael Lister after more than 125 of the company's franchises faced charges of fraudulent tax return preparation.

Ernst & Young Chairman and CEO James S. Turley has been appointed chair of the governing board of the Center for Audit Quality to help improve investor confidence in the audit process.

Regional CPA firm Margolis & Co. P.C. has named a management committee to take over the duties of Joseph R. Coluzzi, who is stepping down after 24 years as managing principal at the firm.

Accounting firm Reznick Group has named a new chief operating officer, appointing A. Mitchell Poole Jr. to the post.

Accounting firm Blackman Kallick has named a new managing partner, Steven Schneider.

RSM McGladrey said it would consolidate four of its consulting services lines into a single organization.