Audit

Big Four accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP and Reliant Energy Inc. will pay $75 million to settle shareholder class-action lawsuits that alleged that the electric company engaged in illegal trading to boost its stock value during the energy crisis of 2000 and 2001.

In a close vote along party lines, the Senate Banking Committee approved a bill to increase oversight of mortgage financing companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as reduce their combined $1.5 trillion investment portfolios by about $600 billion.

Italian dairy giant Parmalat Finanziaria SpA, which has operations around the world, said Tuesday that its earnings before taxes rose by more than a third in the first half of 2005 as the organization raised profitability at all its units.

As expected, the Senate Banking Committee voted Thursday to recommend confirmation of President Bush's three nominees to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

New York officials have reached a settlement with the final trio of former WorldCom executives named in a shareholder lawsuit.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board adopted new ethics and independence rules for auditors on Tuesday that place clear limits on the ability of accounting firms to offer tax services to their audit clients.

Risk consulting and internal audit services provider Protiviti Inc. acquired Philadelphia-based Lender Advisory Services, a unit of national CPA firm RSM McGladrey.

Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has named Rob Ward to head its global assurance practice - the company's largest line of service. Ward had previously served as deputy global assurance leader and will succeed Gerald Ward (no relation), who is retiring after more than 30 years of service.

Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche and international firm Grant Thornton lost their bid to dismiss a class-action suit brought against them by investors of now-bankrupt Italian dairy conglomerate Parmalat.A federal judge in New York recently ruled that the accounting umbrella organizations couldn't insulate themselves from the actions of local affiliates in Italy that audited the company before its collapse from financial mismanagement and fraud in 2003.

President Bush nominated Roel Campos and Annette Nazareth as members of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the White House said in a statement Friday.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday and will vote on finalizing two rules proposed in December and March. One rule deals with auditor independence and tax shelters, while the second concerns weak internal controls.

Already with a lengthy to-do list before adjourning for its August recess, reports have Congress moving to address the future of the estate tax soon.

CPA2Biz has developed an Audit & Control Technology Store to provide valuable product guidance, reviews and discounted technology tools to CPAs and financial managers.

Senate lawmakers indicated they could hold confirmation hearings as early as next week for nominees to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A California judge sanctioned accounting firm KPMG last week for hiding documents in a $50 million accounting malpractice suit brought by computer case and accessory supplier Targus Group International Inc.

The American Institute of CPAs has produced a toolkit for government audit committees, the third in a series.

The Norwegian branch of KPMG International was ordered to pay $100 million in damages Friday, after Oslo's district court found that the accounting group was negligent in auditing the books of Finance Credit. KPMG International has said that it will appeal.

Republican leaders have said that movement on President Bush's plans to overhaul Social Security is unlikely to happen until after Congress' August recess.

According to the Association of Government Accountants, federal accountability and reporting is trending upwards.

Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. said Wednesday that its new auditor, KPMG, will need more time to review the company's financial statements for 2002-2004.