Audit

The leadership change at Big Four firm KPMG became official Wednesday, as the firm's 1,600 U.S. partners ratified the election of Timothy P. Flynn, 48, as chairman and chief executive, and John B. Veihmeyer, 49, as deputy chairman and chief operating officer.

Big Four firm KPMG LLP, which is in talks with the Justice Department related to the agency's ongoing tax shelter probe, said that it takes "full responsibility" for the past unlawful conduct by some its former partners.

Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said that it expects to post a loss because of anticipated claims likely to stem from various lawsuits and enforcement actions related to its multi-billion-dollar earnings restatement.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a formal investigation into OfficeMax Inc.'s accounting for vendor income, the company disclosed.

HealthSouth Corp. will pay $100 million to settle charges brought against it by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that it cooked its books by more than $2 billion over several years.

Tax and accounting software provider CCH has added Securities and Exchange Commission comment letters to its Accounting Research Manager 10-K Lookup tool.

Assets in Section 529 college savings plans rose to an estimated $55.4 billion at the end of the first quarter, according to data released by the nonprofit College Savings Foundation.

KPMG LLP's board elected Timothy P. Flynn, 48, as chairman and chief executive, replacing Eugene O'Kelly, who will step down from that role to deal with a recent diagnosis of advanced-stage cancer.

Hiring ceilings at the Securities and Exchange Commission have reportedly been cut by 10 percent across the board amid facility cost overruns and an anticipated lower budget for fiscal 2006.

The American Institute of CPAs has named Gary M. Scopes as director of international relations.

Overseas accounting rule makers are kicking off the summer with a series of road shows across Europe to talk with members of the business community there about International Financial Reporting Standards, which are now mandatory for listed companies in all 25 member states of the European Union.

While many accounting graduates have traditionally gone the Big Four or big corporation route for their first job, finance executives say that they'd advise new grads to start small, according to a recent survey.

With its role in standard-setting now clearly defined, the Auditing Standards Board has been making up for lost time as it moves toward a series of new proposed standards.

The next few months should pump a little excitement into the profession as the Financial Accounting Standards Board moves to issue as many as 20 new documents - most of them exposure drafts - with some proposing significant changes to financial reporting.

In addition to its ongoing work on the implementation of Auditing Standard No. 2, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will focus on rules related to auditor independence and tax services and strengthening its enforcement staff during the second half of the year, according to its chairman.

The Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies will hold its second meeting next week in New York to finalize its agenda, to consider suggestions on defining the term "smaller public company" and to hear testimony on methods to scale securities regulations for smaller public companies.

As part of its broader effort toward convergence with international reporting standards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued Statement No. 154, "Accounting Changes and Error Corrections."

Volunteering in the community may be good for your career, a poll released by Deloitte & Touche suggests.

Warning that the corporate system can't work if boards of directors are hamstrung by fear of civil or criminal liability, Treasury Secretary John Snow this week called for balance in the enforcement of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The U.S. Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission have published tips to assist fiduciaries of employee benefit plans in reviewing conflicts of interest of pension consultants.