Audit & Accounting

New York officials have reached a settlement with the final trio of former WorldCom executives named in a shareholder lawsuit.

A former executive at telecommunications company Qwest Communications International Inc. will pay $2.1 million to settle civil charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Casey allegedly backdated contracts allowing Qwest to immediately recognize revenue it would not receive until later.

Gerber Scientific Inc. announced Tuesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has ended an investigation into accounting irregularities at the maker of industrial manufacturing equipment.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board adopted new ethics and independence rules for auditors on Tuesday that place clear limits on the ability of accounting firms to offer tax services to their audit clients.

SLM Corp., the parent company of student loan lender Sallie Mae, said Monday that it had fired the subsidiary's chief financial officer and disciplined several other executives after finishing an internal accounting investigation.

Risk consulting and internal audit services provider Protiviti Inc. acquired Philadelphia-based Lender Advisory Services, a unit of national CPA firm RSM McGladrey.

Property and casualty insurance company Ace Ltd said last week that it will restate five years of financial results after an internal investigation into its reininsurance contracts.

Lawyers for former HealthSouth Corp. chief executive Richard Scrushy have filed a motion in U.S. District Court to dismiss the civil charges recently filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has named Rob Ward to head its global assurance practice - the company's largest line of service. Ward had previously served as deputy global assurance leader and will succeed Gerald Ward (no relation), who is retiring after more than 30 years of service.

* INVESTORS WANT MORE IN DC PLANS: Investors today want more options and advice in their defined-contribution plans, according to a survey of plan sponsors.The number of investment choices in defined-contribution plans now averages 16, down from 20 in 2001. That compares with an average of 11 investment choices in 1998, according to a triennial survey of plan sponsors by institutional investment consulting firm Callan Associates. The survey polled 95 plan sponsors with more than $100 billion in total assets and 1.1 million participants.