Audit & Accounting

Compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has become a far more expensive proposition than originally thought, as the average cost of complying with the internal controls mandate has hit $4.36 million, a 39 percent jump from 2004 estimates, according to a recent survey from Financial Executives International. The organization of financial professionals, which surveyed 217 public companies with average revenues of $5 billion and asked them to gauge their Section 404 compliance costs, said that the out-of-pocket increase stems from a 66 percent leap in external costs for consulting, software and other vendors, and a 58 percent increase in the fees charged by external auditors. In a breakdown, FEI said that 404 compliance averaged $1.34 million for internal costs, $1.72 million for external costs and $1.30 million for auditor fees. The auditor fees are in addition to companies' financial statement audit fees. Some 55 percent of the participants in the FEI poll indicated that Section 404 gives investors and other external audiences more confidence in a company's financial reports. However, 94 percent of all companies surveyed said that the costs of 404 compliance exceed the benefits. In order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Section 404 compliance process, the companies participating in the poll issued the following recommendations: o Allow for a more risk-based audit approach (71 percent); o Reduce the degree of documentation (66 percent); o Provide flexibility for remediating control problems in the fourth quarter (60 percent); o Increase the judgment allowed in aggregating deficiencies (55 percent); and, o Permit roll-forward procedures (54 percent).

Financial services conglomerate Fidelity Investments has extended its partnership with the American Institute of CPAs to assist CPAs in establishing an investment advisory practice. As part of the extension to the five-year-old program, institute members will receive several new benefits, including low minimum asset requirements and discounts on marketing materials through PracticeMark, Fidelity's online marketing program. Originally sealed in 2000, the pact designates Fidelity as the exclusive, preferred provider of custody and clearing services to AICPA members. Information about the Fidelity program is available at http://pfp.aicpa.org/Resources/Investment+Planning.

Despite outcries from companies and auditors on stringent corporate reform measures, Stephen Cutler, the director of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission, said that the regulator does not plan to ease up anytime soon. According to Dow Jones, Cutler told an audience of corporate directors at Duke University that it would be a mistake to slow down on the reforms adopted in 2002 as a result of Sarbanes-Oxley. "I don't think anyone wants to return to the environment that allowed the scandals of Enron, WorldCom, Tyco and Adelphia to take seed and flourish," Cutler said. He also revealed that over the past two years, the SEC has collected more than $2 billion in fines. But he added that, despite increased vigilance and tougher measures, there remains a high frequency of financial restatements.

Congress is considering new legislation that could streamline accounting procedures for tens of thousands of U.S. companies by liberalizing the rules for the use of the cash accounting method by small business taxpayers. The bill, introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, dovetails neatly with President Bush's drive to streamline the federal tax code -- a move that she said is needed to improve the efficiency of the U.S. tax system "and strengthen our overall economy." The main thrust of her legislation, however, is to provide relief for small businesses from "the burdensome record-keeping requirements that they must deal with currently in paying their income taxes." Some companies already enjoy such relief under rules set by Congress, allowing many small businesses with annual income under $5 million to use cash accounting. Cash accounting recognizes revenue and expenses when cash is received or disbursed, as opposed to when it is earned or incurred. Larger companies, however, are required to follow the accrual method of accounting, which Snowe said "tends to impose additional financial and administrative costs that should be eliminated." Under her proposal, the "obsolete $5 million threshold" for use of cash accounting would double to $10 million -- a change that would allow many more small business owners "to satisfy their tax obligation in a cheaper, more efficient manner," she told lawmakers. As a result, these entrepreneurs "will be able to invest more time and resources into their business," Snowe said. In urging other lawmakers to support her proposed accounting change, the senator argued that small businesses are overwhelmed by the complexity of today's tax system and by the burden of complying with unneeded accounting requirements.

The Securities and Exchange Commission appointed New York attorney Lee S. Richards III as the independent examiner for Islandia, N.Y.-based software manufacturer Computer Associates. Richards will serve as examiner for a minimum of 18 months. His appointment was part of an agreement that CA signed in September to end an investigation onto accounting fraud. In his new role, Richards, a partner in the New York law firm of Richards Spears Kibbe & Orbe LLP, will oversee compliance with the settlement, make best practices recommendations to the board, and revamp the company's finance and accounting departments. The SEC settlement stems from a $2.2 billion accounting fraud that ultimately led to the ouster of several top managers, including chief executive Sanjay Kumar. The company had been backdating purchase orders and keeping the books open past the period close.

Internal audit and risk-consulting firm Protiviti Inc. has partnered with Tibco Software -- a provider of business integration software -- for a Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 solution. Terms were not disclosed. Under the agreement, the companies have co-developed a SOX 404 product that integrates Protiviti's SOX portal application with Tibco Staffware Process Suite. The resulting product is a framework to assist users with documenting, testing, assessing and monitoring their internal controls. The companies said that the co-branded SOX solution would help user companies reduce compliance costs and improve transparency.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu chief executive William G. Parrett has been named chair of the United States Council for International Business, a pro-trade group with 300 company members. Parrett will begin his two-year-term April 15. He becomes the 20th chairman to lead the organization, which lobbies for a pro-America stance on an array of global business and policy issues. "I am excited about the prospect of leading the USCIB on the international stage," said Parrett in a statement. "Like the Deloitte organization, with member firms around the world, the council is truly multinational, with a worldwide network that reaches into all corners of the world."

The Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board released a report requesting an additional $11.6 billion in funding for fiscal year 2006, a 9 percent increase over the Bush administration's recommendation. President Bush is required to submit the board's request, without revision, to Congress along with his own request. "One of the board's roles is to provide a private sector perspective," observed board chairman Raymond T. Wagner Jr. "And from this vantage point, it makes perfect sense to make the additional investments in enforcement that will pay for themselves many times over. The IRS and administration estimates show that every dollar invested in enforcement generates four dollars in increased revenues." The board estimated that an additional $435 million for enforcement would result in $1.74 billion in additional tax revenue. The board also called for additional funding toward maintaining and improving customer service and supporting the Business Systems Modernization program, which is replacing the agency's antiquated computer system. In its report, the board stated that its recommendations are backed by taxpayers. Those surveyed in its annual tax compliance survey called for additional funding for the IRS -- 62 percent favored more funding for enforcement and 64 percent favored more taxpayer assistance.

Dallas - High-profile Texas investor and entrepreneur Sam Wyly has filed an $80 million suit against Big Four firm Ernst & Young, charging that the firm's audits of troubled Computer Associates influenced his decision to sell his company, Sterling Software, to CA in a stock transaction.Wyly's suit, which was filed in Texas District Court here, said that he relied on E&Y audits for CA's fiscal 1999 to sell his company to the concern for stock. Roughly one month later CA's shares plunged some 12 percent when its earnings reports were delayed, and then fell further when the company failed to make its earnings forecast. Computer Associates replaced E&Y in 1999 with Big Four rival KPMG.

While college costs continue to rise faster than the level of inflation, parents and grandparents now have more tools than ever before to better afford this cost years before a child graduates from high school.To most parents, saving for their children's higher education costs can seem like a daunting task, which makes planning all the more critical.