Audit

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board swore in its new chairman William D. Duhnke III on Tuesday, along with a new board member, Kathleen M. Hamm, at the headquarters of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A federal judge ruled PricewaterhouseCoopers was negligent in its audits of Colonial Bank, which failed in 2009 in the midst of the financial crisis, potentially exposing PwC to heavy damages.

The board’s staff are offering additional information on determining auditor tenure.

The Internal Revenue Service has proposed guidance on the new partnership audit regime that promises to make it easier for firms, if not all their partners, but with some extra complications added by the new tax reform law.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said Wednesday it has imposed a $1.5 million civil penalty against Grant Thornton LLP and censure the firm for violations of quality control standards and for audit failures.

The International Federation of Accountants is expressing alarm about recent proposals from a group of global financial regulators to separate its standard-setting boards for auditing and ethics.

KPMG International reported Thursday its worldwide revenue grew 5 percent in local currency terms to a record level of $26.4 billion the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2017.

The American Institute of CPAs has released a new guide to data analytics to familiarize CPAs with the technology.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed William Duhnke to succeed James Doty at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

KPMG has resigned as Liberty Tax’s independent accounting firm amid the continuing fallout over Liberty founder John Hewitt.

The cloud-based OnPoint software will help firms with preparation, compilation and review engagements.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the auditing firm Anton & Chia and several of its officials with fraud, accusing the Newport Beach, Calif.-based firm of conducting flawed audits and reviews of financial statements while violating securities laws.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has released staff guidance on the new audit reporting standard and is hosting webinars to help auditors with preparing the new reports.

The American Institute of CPAs’ Auditing Standards Board has released three exposure drafts proposing ways to improve the usefulness of the auditor’s report, in response to recent standards from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board.

In Q3 2017, the Big Four firm is in the lead for the second quarter in a row.

The money is earmarked for expanding accounting, audit and tax software for businesses in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.

Auditors face a special dilemma when it comes to determining if a client can continue, says Stephen Franciosa.

Big Four firms in the United Kingdom should be subject to fines of 10 million pounds ($13.2 million) or more for seriously poor audit work, according to an independent review by the U.K.’s Financial Reporting Council.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has approved a reduced budget for fiscal year 2018 of approximately $259.9 million along with a strategic plan for 2017-2021, plus a smaller accounting support fee and staff.

The Anti-Fraud Collaboration, a joint effort of the Center for Audit Quality, Financial Executives International, the Institute of Internal Auditors and the National Association of Corporate Directors, has released a new report urging accountants, auditors and other business people to blow the whistle on any financial reporting shenanigans they see.