Audit

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced it will charge two KPMG auditors for failing to act on a number of red flags that could have caught an estimated $30 billion accounting fraud sooner.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will sponsor a roundtable on May 10 in Washington to discuss second-year experiences with the internal controls provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

The Financial Accountant Standards Board issued a final standard aimed at improving the financial reporting of certain hybrid financial instruments by requiring more consistent accounting and eliminating exemptions.

Risk management and compliance software provider Movaris has joined XBRL International -- the nonprofit consortium of roughly 350 companies working toward the development and support of the Extensible Business Reporting Language.

The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business will offer a weekend executive master of science in accounting, featuring a unique internal auditing focus.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved PCAOB Auditing Standard No. 4 -- "Reporting on Whether a Previously Reported Material Weakness Continues to Exist."

TVIA INC. DISMISSES PWC: Tvia, a designer and marketer of semiconductor systems, has dismissed auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers and engaged BDO Seidman as its replacement.According to a federal filing, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Tvia had no disagreements with its former auditor on accounting issues, and no reason was given for the change in independent accountants.

Many of the 19 former tax professionals facing trial over the sale of KPMG tax shelters, whose legality has been questioned by the federal government, have asked for the dismissal of the charges in a variety of joint motions.More than 25 motions were filed in Manhattan's U.S. District Court, several requesting that the charges against the professionals be dropped entirely, as no court has ever actually ruled the shelters to be illegal. Many additional motions asked for the dismissal of charges because the defendants said that they were being unfairly singled out from other KPMG officials who sold similar shelters.

The Securities and Exchange Commission named John W. White to the post of director of the regulator's division of corporate finance.

Approval of the $195 million settlement between KPMG and investors in possibly illegal tax shelters has stalled, as the sides reportedly renegotiate the terms of the deal.

The American Institute of CPAs has released two new standards, one on auditing professional requirements, which includes a section on attestation engagements, and a second dealing with audit documentation.

The general counsel of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will leave his post in late March.

Alongside the release of President Bush's budget proposal for 2007, the White House asked Congress to create a new regulator for home mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The regulator would be directed to cut the $1.4 trillion investment portfolios held by the companies.

Stricter pension accounting rules from the Financial Accounting Standards Board could cost billions for shareholders, HR company Towers Perrin said.

Consulting firm BearingPoint Inc., the spinoff of KPMG's former consulting business, reported a $546.2 million loss for 2004 and said that it still faces liability issues under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board issued an exposure draft that would require governments to account for all the obligations and costs related to pollution remediation.

In mid-January, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board issued reports on its 2004 inspections of Grant Thornton LLP and Crowe Chizek & Co. LLC -- outlining "audit deficiencies" similar to other recently released reviews from the board.

Corporate executives are still manipulating stock options, say researchers at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Japan Financial Services Agency announced terms for increased cooperation and collaboration.

Accountants have long wondered why their professional sector has remained, so, well, white.After all, in an industry where job market demands exceed the supply of professionals, just about anybody who can count the beans is welcome to join the firm.