Audit

The Institute of Internal Auditors has hired Luc Lavoie to serve as executive director of its newly established Canadian office.

There is no question that most people appear quite serious about preparing an estate plan that can get passed along to future generations. The intention is all there but too many people still seem to find ways to mess it up entirely.

After two years of compliance with the internal control provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, proxy researcher Glass Lewis & Co. says that public companies are reporting fewer material weaknesses in their internal controls.

The Private Company Financial Reporting Committee announced its inaugural members on Tuesday.

The heads of the major accounting regulators in the United States and the European Union agree that they are on the same page in heading towards convergence of standards.

J.H. Cohn LLP has announced firm revenues of $175.2 million for its 2007 fiscal year, up 22 percent from the same period a year ago.

In a new report, proxy researcher Glass Lewis & Co. said that U.S.-listed companies filed 1,538 financial restatements in 2006, up 13 percent from what had been a record number in 2005.

I believe there are two keys to success, whether a sole practitioner or a regional firm. They are simple when you say them, but that simplicity can be deceiving. The two are providing quality service, and establishing a reputation for doing so and continuing to do so.

A $170-million malpractice suit against BDO Seidman has been sent back to square one, after a Miami judge declared a mistrial.

The Internal Revenue Service completed a round of staff cuts in recent weeks, letting go nearly 100 employees from the division that oversees gift- and estate-tax returns, according to published reports.

Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International, reported that its revenues for the 2006 calendar year were up 18.2, to $940 million.

Several years ago, my once-reliable station car suddenly became harder to start than a fire with damp kindling.

For the past year, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating how Google accounted for its income taxes, according to the online search giant’s 2006 annual report.

A board within the International Federation of Accountants is seeking comment on its exposure draft that addresses what auditors should consider when dealing with related parties and related-party transactions.

You hear over and over again that your money has to outlive you, even for an hour. When I talk to friends and family about various financial planning aspects, the most feared one is exactly that...outliving money.There is this woman, age 91, that I know. She is a widow, in relatively good health, has a house that is fully paid (no mortgage), has a Social Security check that comes in each month for some $1,800 and a small pension amount from a prior job of about $110 a month. She buys very little food because she goes to a senior center almost every day and they load her up on free food.

The Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Board has approved the nomination of James H. Quigley -- currently the head of Deloitte’s U.S. arm -- as the next global chief executive officer of the Big Four firm, though worldwide member firm partners must still vote on the appointment.Quigley, who has served as Deloitte's U.S. chief for the past four years, will succeed William G. Parrett, another former U.S. chief whose eight-year term ends on May 31.

Sage Software has unveiled the latest version of Sage Fundraising 100, its donor relationship management system for midsized and large nonprofit organizations.

The Government Accountability Office recently released a report on detailing some of the conclusions gleaned from a recent forum on engaging and retaining older workers.

In a return to the office’s roots, the Securities and Exchange Commission has named a director for its Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service has appointed a new head of its Office of Professional Responsibility, which was created in the wake of the Enron implosion.

Despite escalating responsibilities, audit committees are spending less time on the priority issue of risk oversight, and also failing to develop diversity of talent and expertise within their own ranks.That’s the conclusions of Ernst & Young’s “2006 Audit Committee Survey,” which found that during the past year, audit committees have spent 20 percent or less of their time on risk oversight, and that 91 percent of audit committee members are over the age of 50, while only 8 percent of committees have more than one female member.