Audit

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will host a forum in Boston to bring information to the small business community.

It's been several days now since Louisiana's treasurer called for the state to hire a Big Four firm to oversee the distribution of billions of dollars in Hurricane Katrina aid.

Louisiana's treasurer said the state should hire one of the Big Four firms to handle the accounting and auditing of the federal funds flowing into the state for the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort.

Three months after restating its 2004 earnings, stun gun manufacturer Taser International Inc. said it had fired its accounting firm.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans, including 401(k) programs, will be allowed to make loans and hardship distributions to victims of Hurricane Katrina and members of their families, the Internal Revenue Service said.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, Britain's biggest audit firm, will face formal complaints from the country's Accountancy Investigation & Discipline Board in connection with the failure of bus manufacturer TransBus.

Ameriprise Financial, formerly American Express Financial Advisors, launched its first advertising campaign since announcing plans to spin off from its parent company, American Express Co.

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. announced a new options expensing policy for all U.S. equity research analysts that will be implemented as of the first reporting date after Sept. 30.

The International Federation of Accountants is seeking input for the development of a how-to guide on implementing International Standards on Auditing for small and midsized businesses.

Two technical committees from Financial Executives International have sent a letter making suggestions to the Financial Accounting Standards Board's proposed interpretation, "Accounting for Uncertain Tax Positions."

Eugene D. O'Kelly, 53, former chairman and chief executive of KPMG, died Sept. 10 at his New York City home at the age of 53.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to give small public companies another extension to comply with the internal control rule outlined in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, according to published reports.

Moving on from its recent legal troubles, KPMG named vice chairs for its tax services and tax services operations.

New guidance from Securities and Exchange Commission regulators sets limits on ways to determine the cost of stock options, though the new SEC chairman said that the report was "tentative."

Although Congress has authorized tens of billions of dollars in tax breaks to help American families cope with rising college costs, millions of taxpayers are failing to cash in on this government assistance.

The Internal Revenue Service said victims of Hurricane Katrina will have until Jan. 3, 2006 to file any returns, pay any taxes, or make any deposits due -- extending an earlier announced reprieve.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will soon give companies more guidance on how to value stock options, according to published reports.

The effects of Hurricane Katrina will be considered "ordinary events" for financial-reporting purposes, according to published reports of a statement by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service said that they would waive the tax-credit regulations that prohibit owners of low-income housing providing housing to victims of Hurricane Katrina who don't qualify as "low income."

The Securities and Exchange Commission has joined the growing list of companies and agencies mobilizing to provide relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.