Audit

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has reportedly opened an investigation into KPMG's audits of mortgage finance company Fannie Mae.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has established an advisory committee to gauge the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other aspects of the federal securities laws on the nation's smaller public companies.

Concerns that the outsourcing of finance and accounting functions impedes the ability to control key processes related to compliance and governance appear to have abated, according to a survey commissioned by Accenture.

Following a review of Fannie Mae's accounting practices, the Securities and Exchange Commission said that the mortgage concern didn't comply with two major accounting rules and asked it to restate past earnings.

At long last, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued its final rule mandating that companies expense at fair value the stock options that they grant to their employees.

Despite acknowledging the impact of higher producer prices, chief financial officers expect higher capital and technology spending at their companies during the next 12 months, according to a recent survey.

Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche LLP has named 26-year veteran Brian Derksen to the post of deputy chief executive.

While fewer chief executives of America's fastest growing companies are optimistic about the U.S. economy's prospects over the next 12 months, they continue to predict a healthy increase in their own company's revenue growth over the next year, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Triggered by congressional concerns over the marketing of abusive tax shelters by some accounting firms, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has proposed new rules restricting the ability of accountants to provide tax services to audit clients.

While a majority of financial executives polled feel that compliance with the sweeping Sarbanes-Oxley Act was beneficial for shareholders and has bolstered internal controls at their respective companies, just as many think Congress needs to revisit the legislation in the near future.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. asked the Securities and Exchange Commission for an extra five days to file its 10-Q quarterly report, to give it time to complete an analysis of accounting related to "certain franchise matters."

The number of public companies that disclosed material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal controls during the month of November soared to 119, nearly double the 63 reported in October, according to a report by corporate governance and compliance newsletter Compliance Week.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has published an exposure draft that establishes guidance for termination benefits to state and local government employers.

The Institute of Management Accountants has named Severin Wilson to lead its international endeavors in the newly created post of assistant vice president of international development.

As the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America and the College Retirement Equities Fund deals with the backlash over the conflict of interest that led to the resignation of two of its trustees, the controversy could cost Big Four firm Ernst & Young its gig as TIAA-CREF's auditor.

Compliance and accountability software provider Paisley Consulting, has sealed a deal with The Alliance for SOX 404 Compliance to provide SOX solutions to its member accounting firms.

A District Court Judge here has reportedly barred telecommunications giant MCI, formerly known as WorldCom, from making further payments to the accounting, law and consulting firms steering it through bankruptcy that haven't already been approved through the budgeting system set up by the court.

Ernst & Young has reportedly confirmed that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the firm over its role in designing and auditing financing vehicles allegedly used by PNC Financial Services Group to inflate profits.

To help fund President Bush's reform plan to add personal retirement accounts to the Social Security program, the White House admitted that it would probably use government borrowing to cover the oft-debated "transition financing" phase of a new program.

A mid-level House aide reportedly said that he was the one who added the controversial provision in last month's spending bill that would have given staffers on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees access to Americans' tax returns.