A jury in Cobb County, Ga., has levied a $10 million judgment against PricewaterhouseCoopers, finding that the firm was guilty of negligent misrepresentation during the 1996 merger of nursing-home companies Convalescent Services and Mariner Health Group.

A provision in the president's budget proposals could shelter 529 college-savings plans from being counted in determining federal student financial aid.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced that it its Standing Advisory Group will meet on Feb. 22 in Washington.

Grant Thornton LLP announced it will take a new approach in serving private equity firms and their portfolio companies.

KPMG said that it would miss the upcoming Feb. 16 target to complete a long-overdue audit of San Diego's 2003 financial statements.

A class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of two institutional investors claims that computer manufacturer Dell Inc. inflated its profits with secret payments of about $1 billion a year from chip maker Intel Corp.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed James L. Kroeker as deputy chief accountant in the agency’s Office of the Chief Accountant.Kroeker, 37, started work at the commission this week, where he will be responsible for resolving accounting issues and rulemaking projects, as well as oversight of private sector accounting standards-setting efforts.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Whistleblower Office opened for business this month. The congressionally mandated program is designed to receive information that helps uncover tax cheating and provide appropriate rewards to whistleblowers.

A federal judge threw out the conviction of Kevin A. Howard, the former chief financial officer for Enron’s Broadband unit, citing a ruling in a similar case in which the jury’s verdict was vacated.

In 2006, the U.S. personal savings rate hit its lowest level since the Great Depression, according to the Commerce Department.The agency said that the country’s savings rate for all of 2006 was a negative 1 percent -- meaning that not only did people spend all the money they earned throughout the year, but that they also dipped into savings, or increased borrowing to finance purchases.

I was at a children’s store the other day to buy a birthday present for one of my grandchildren (I only give clothes, no toys) and the manager presented me with the offer of a sizeable discount if I opened a credit card. It was one I couldn’t refuse but should have. So I did. I later learned that the card was issued after a credit report was pulled. I didn’t give it any thought until I just happened to check my credit report (as I do annually) to see what, if anything, it was saying. Now, I wasn’t refused that credit card but I did find a slew of mistakes on the report I reviewed, so much so that I decided to check into this rather carefully.First of all, I found that according to a study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, 25 percent of the population has at least one mistake on their credit report. I’m obviously now in that group. I began to wonder how such mistakes could cost people in the way of rejected credit, and even jobs.

A new industry group is looking to make inroads in building support for its policy positions in Washington.Launched on Tuesday, the Center for Audit Quality will focus on topics such as auditor protection from lawsuits, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and how companies report financial information.

Canadian public accounting firms of all sizes need to do more to improve audit quality and adhere consistently to internal and professional standards, the Canadian Public Accountability Board said.

In an effort to explain by example, or at least by handpicked scenario, the Treasury Department has released more details outlining the possible application of President Bush’s plan for a standard health insurance deduction.

The odds are looking better for Senate approval of legislation to increase the minimum wage. But reconciling that bill with a House version -- containing no tax breaks for businesses -- figures to take some negotiating.Senate debate on the bill ended Tuesday with an 87-10 vote, and final Senate passage of the bill is expected this week.

Fannie Mae’s chief executive received a compensation bump of about 25 percent in 2006 -- including salary, stock and bonuses.

The American Institute of CPAs and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants are gearing an expanded version of their 2003 Privacy Framework towards a broader business audience.

Teams of accounting students from 22 colleges have accepted an invitation to participate in the inaugural KPMG National Audit Case Competition.

A board within the International Federation of Accountants has issued revised standards to increase the clarity and usability of International Public Sector Accounting Standards.

Successful filing of electronic tax returns, as well as meeting the accounting requirements of FIN 48, are the biggest challenges facing corporate tax professionals in 2007, according to an informal survey by Thomson Tax & Accounting.