Accounting fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that St. Louis-based agribusiness Monsanto Company has agreed to pay an $80 million penalty and retain an independent compliance consultant to settle charges that it violated accounting rules and misstated company earnings pertaining to its flagship product Roundup.

South America’s regional soccer body Conmebol, which has lost its last three presidents under the cloud of a global corruption scandal, is inviting forensic accountants to investigate its business affairs since 2011.

A filmmaker is suggesting a new way to avoid skirmishes over notoriously dubious Hollywood accounting.

(Bloomberg) Michael Oxley, the former U.S. congressman who co-sponsored the landmark Sarbanes-Oxley Act has died, age 71.

(Bloomberg) It’s too early to tell whether Star Wars: The Force Awakens will become the biggest grossing film of all time, but the really interesting question is whether the movie will ever go into profit.

Akebono Brake Industry Co. has become the latest addition to a series of corporate scandals in Japan, cutting earnings forecasts and executive pay after confirming problematic accounting of sales to distributors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission suspended five accountants and two audit firms Thursday from practicing or appearing before the SEC after they violated rules designed to preserve the integrity of the financial reporting system.

Japan’s Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recommended fining Toshiba Corp. about 7.37 billion yen ($60 million) for falsifying earnings, the largest financial penalty ever sought by the watchdog.

Litigation against accounting firms appears to have subsided for now, according to one legal expert, but is showing signs of reviving as the Securities and Exchange Commission turns its attention back to accounting and audit enforcement cases.

A partner at a New York CPA firm has pleaded guilty to participating in a multimillion-dollar accounting fraud scheme.