Audit

Yale University officials said that they have received three subpoenas as federal regulators have launched a probe into the Ivy League school's accounting practices surrounding its government research grants.According to published reports, Yale received the subpoenas from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation. The subpoenas cover some 47 grants valued at roughly $45 million.

James Lockhart, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, said that mortgage finance concerns Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should each be allowed to prop up the U.S. home mortgage market in periods of financial malaise.In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Lockhart said the companies, whose combined mortgage portfolio is roughly $1.4 trillion, creates a serious risk if they fail to control their interest-rate risks, but nevertheless both have a role for their portfolios, albeit on a smaller scale, to ensure monies available for home loans.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the relationship between the former First Union Corp. and KPMG, according to published reports.

Shareholders of a company that went bankrupt after a fraud by some officers can sue its accounting firm on charges it failed to detect the fraud, New Jersey's Supreme Court ruled this week.

Defense contractor Raytheon Co. and two of its former top executives have settled improper accounting charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A judge has ruled that it was unconstitutional pressure from the government that led KPMG to place a cap on how much of the legal tab it would pick up for 16 former employees facing federal charges over the sale of questionable tax shelters.

More companies are using "continuous auditing" techniques, which are designed to use technology to accelerate the internal audit cycle and improve risk and control assurance, according to a new study from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Siegfried Group and AccountAbilities bear watching. They are two examples of what I expect to be a growing trend--entities entering into arrangements to provide staff to CPA firms on a retainer type of basis. The idea is that if a firm doesn't have enough internal staff for an engagement, the entity will provide the necessary seasoned staff and expertise.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board will hold two public roundtable meetings today to discuss the board's proposal to improve accounting for postretirement benefit plans, including pensions.

Just hours after losing his heavyweight crown to crafty Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey came home to find his wife waiting for him at the door.

Looking for some certainty in an often-uncertain field, public companies are increasingly disclosing auditor agreements that place a monetary cap on any liabilities that may arise from accounting problems.

Chief audit executives face a number of challenges in attempting to comply with regulatory statutes, according to a survey conducted by data analysis firm ACL Services Ltd. in cooperation with the Institute of Internal Auditors.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu announced that it will establish a new group -- Deloitte Asean -- to spearhead organization expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.

PricewaterhouseCoopers announced that its new Japanese accounting firm, PwC Aarata, has completed the necessary regulatory steps to open for business July 1. PwC announced in May that it would be opening a new firm in the country after its audit partner in Japan received major penalties for poor supervision of its staff.

At the Deloitte Annual World Meeting in Singapore, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu chief executive William G. Parrett said that better audits and further regulatory changes aimed at improving transparency are needed to tackle corporate fraud, build stronger capital markets and sustain Deloitte businesses over the long term.

A California state Senate committee canceled a hearing on a bill to allow out-of-state accountants to provide tax services in the state without first notifying the state's Board of Accountancy.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Mark W. Olson has been appointed the new chairman of the five-member Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for a term running until 2010.

California officials are starting to consider making changes to accounting reforms the state adopted in the wake of Enron Corp.'s collapse.

A joint initiative by FASB AND AICPA is seeking feedback on proposed enhancements to the FASB's standard-setting procedures that would determine whether the Board should consider differences in accounting standards for private companies within Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

Former shareholders of Tyco International Ltd. have been given the go-ahead to sue the company and accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.