Audit & Accounting

IMGCAP(1)]Inherent conflicts between regulatory restrictions on financial services companies and certain transfer pricing methods become more apparent during times of increased market volatility and can lead to regulatory problems for taxpayers.

A pair of former executives standing trial for embezzling from the Russian oil company Yukos are claiming that PricewaterhouseCoopers withdrew its certified audits under pressure from the Kremlin.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board plans to host a public roundtable on its proposed standard for auditors’ communications with audit committees on Sept. 21, and is re-opening the comment period on the proposal until Oct. 21.

The International Federation of Accountants’ Professional Accountants in Business Committee has released a paper highlighting how employer expectations of professional accountants in business are expected to change in light of global trends and evolving organization needs.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has written to Congress with a draft bill that would amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to allow it to make its disciplinary hearings of accounting firms and auditors public.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposed set of standards that aim to shed more light on the financial reports of organizations that participate in multi-employer pension plans and other post-retirement benefit plans.

The Financial Accounting Foundation and the Securities Exchange Commission have released a proposed 2011 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy that public companies will be expected to use when filing their financial reports with the SEC.

The Texas Society of CPAs pointed to what it sees as several problems in the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s proposed standards for financial instruments in a stinging letter addressed to the board.

The American Institute of CPAs has written to the Financial Accounting Standards Board requesting a delay in finalizing its proposed standards on disclosing companies’ loss contingencies in the event of litigation until it can work out a “treaty” with the American Bar Association on how accountants and attorneys can share information.

A group of investors has filed a securities fraud lawsuit against Ernst & Young for its audits of a failed Texas hedge fund connected with H. Ross Perot.