Audit

Dixon Hughes PLLC has acquired West Virginia’s Simpson & Osborne AC, while Maryland’s Katz, Abosch, Windesheim, Gershman & Freedman PA recently announced its own acquisition of Annapolis, Md.-based Siebert Kullman PA.

In a brief filed Monday in federal appeals court, 30 states said that a number of investment banks are liable for their alleged role in Enron Corp.’s accounting fraud.

Neal D. Spencer, partner-in-charge of BKD LLP's Kentucky and southern Indiana offices, will take over the reins of the entire firm this summer.

One of New England’s largest independent CPA firms, Carlin, Charron & Rosen LLP, has announced a pending merger with UHY Advisors.Terms of the merger, which should close May 1, were not disclosed. In May 2006, UHY acquired the Boston-based accounting firm Brown & Brown LLP, absorbing the firm’s 80 employees.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission has commissioned Grant Thornton LLP to develop guidance to help organizations monitor the quality of their internal control systems.

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE FINANCIAL DISMISSES KPMGPeapack-Gladstone Financial Corp. has dismissed Big Four firm KPMG as its auditor and named Crowe Chizek as its new independent accountant. In a filing, the Gladstone, N.J., bank holding company said that it had no disagreements with KPMG on any matter of accounting principles or practices.

Two of our prior columns critiqued the Financial Accounting Standards Board's recent preliminary views document on its new Conceptual Framework project, which, like many other FASB efforts, is a joint undertaking with the International Accounting Standards Board.Those columns examined the boards' take on financial reporting objectives and relevance, both of which are basically enhanced versions of FASB's first framework from the 1980s. While we see some improvement, we wish that the boards had pushed the envelope further and set the stage for more reformation in practice.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will continue its forums on auditing in the small business environment throughout 2007.

KPMG LLP has announced the establishment of the Tax Governance Institute, an open forum for board members, management, stakeholders and government representatives to debate various aspects of tax oversight and management.Through video and audio Web casts, roundtables, other events, and its Web site, the institute’s goal is to regularly bring together interested parties to discuss tax matters of common concern relating to day-to-day and long-term management of corporate tax risk.

In pursuit of auditing standards that would be clear to auditors around the world, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has issued exposure drafts of existing international standards that have been recast in a clearer form.While the changes do not affect auditors in the U.S., who audit under the standards of the Auditing Standards Board, that board may soon begin a similar clarification process, perhaps following the IAASB model, or perhaps devising its own.

As many of you have already discerned by now, I spend a goodly piece of time in England, specifically because I work with the development office and president of my graduate college there on a new capital campaign that will affect women’s health issues worldwide.

Beard Miller Co. LLP had acquired two firms -- Jackson, N.J.-based Dennis M. Spinelli CPA LLC and Fagliarone Group CPAs PC’s trio of New York locations.Terms of the deals, which were effective Jan. 1, were not disclosed.

Good news came to KPMG on two fronts this week, as a federal judge in New York dismissed a criminal conspiracy charge against the U.S. arm of the Big Four firm. Meanwhile, a court in Oslo ruled that the Norwegian group could not be held responsible for the negligence of an auditor in its employ.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has created a new committee comprised of a dozen individuals from the investment community who regularly focus on accounting and financial reporting matters.

As president and chief executive of the Institute of Management Accountants for the past three years, Paul Sharman has worked to establish a new direction for the association.Sharman’s ultimate goal is to reposition management accountants at the forefront of the accountancy profession, and in recent years the IMA has focused on advancing the management accounting and finance profession through certification, superior professional ethical standards and competence-based continuing education.

Baby Boomers are just becoming aware that when they retire and because of greater life expectancies, they will probably need a steady income steam for at least 25 years, maybe for as long as 35 or more.

The International Federation of Accountants is proposing the first major revisions to its code of ethics for accountants since late 2001.

The President's Identity Theft Task Force announced that it is seeking public comment on various recommendations to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the federal government's efforts to reduce identity theft.

To finish off the year, I thought it might be very worthwhile, as we get ready for New Year’s Resolutions, to consider certain ideals, courtesy of my friends at Buckingham Asset Management. They have adopted the following principles to help them serve as a trusted advisor. It bears repeating over and over because Buckingham is right on target:

As federal regulators continue tweaking new public accounting rules, opponents of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will find more fuel for their argument in the news that Hong Kong passed over New York in 2006 to become the world's second most popular place for companies to issue new stock listings.London remained at the top of the list.