The Securities and Exchange Commission named John W. White to the post of director of the regulator's division of corporate finance.

The heads of the investor protection agencies for the United States and the European Union both said that they expect U.S. GAAP will ultimately be deemed equivalent to the E.U.'s International Financial Reporting Standards.

In one of the largest regulatory settlements ever, American International Group Inc. will pay more than $1.6 billion to settle allegations that it used deceptive accounting practices to mislead investors and regulators.

Joining an anti-tax group in questioning the constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is a one-partner Law Vegas auditing firm, Beckstead and Watts LLP.

The American Institute of CPAs has released two new standards, one on auditing professional requirements, which includes a section on attestation engagements, and a second dealing with audit documentation.

The general counsel of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will leave his post in late March.

More than three years after its passage, and months after the largest players in the auditing field have had to face the new meaning of internal controls, the centerpiece of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act -- the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board -- looks to be facing a court battle that carries some weight.

In a case that may wind up in the Supreme Court, an unnamed accounting firm is poised to lodge a legal challenge questioning the constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Alongside the release of President Bush's budget proposal for 2007, the White House asked Congress to create a new regulator for home mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The regulator would be directed to cut the $1.4 trillion investment portfolios held by the companies.

Insurer American International Group is expected to announce a settlement with federal and state regulators requiring the company to pay $1.6 billion in order to settle charges covering a range of regulatory issues, according to reports.

Stricter pension accounting rules from the Financial Accounting Standards Board could cost billions for shareholders, HR company Towers Perrin said.

Five former executives at the reinsurance unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and insurer American International Group Inc. have been charged in a fraud probe of the two companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department announced.

Consulting firm BearingPoint Inc., the spinoff of KPMG's former consulting business, reported a $546.2 million loss for 2004 and said that it still faces liability issues under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board issued an exposure draft that would require governments to account for all the obligations and costs related to pollution remediation.

The head of the European Commission's financial markets division said that public companies from the United States and Japan will be given another year to bring their accounting standards closer to new European Union standards.

In mid-January, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board issued reports on its 2004 inspections of Grant Thornton LLP and Crowe Chizek & Co. LLC -- outlining "audit deficiencies" similar to other recently released reviews from the board.

In an effort to address major gaps in international accounting requirements for governments, the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board of the International Federation of Accountants has issued a proposed standard on the financial reporting of revenue from non-exchange transactions, including taxes and transfers.

Corporate executives are still manipulating stock options, say researchers at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Japan Financial Services Agency announced terms for increased cooperation and collaboration.

PWC RESIGNS AS ALLIANCE AUDITOR: Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers resigned as accountant to Alliance Semiconductor Corp. At presstime, a replacement had not been named. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Alliance, a provider of analog and mixed-signal and chip-to-chip connectivity products, networking controllers and high-performance memories, reported no disagreements with its former auditor. However, PwC said that its accounting staff lacked skill and depth with relation to applying generally accepted accounting principles, and added that Alliance has ineffective controls over inventory and the accounting for an equity-method investment.AEHR ENGAGES BURR, PILGER & MAYER: Aehr Test Systems, a Fremont, Calif.-based manufacturer and developer of test equipment for the semiconductor industry, retained the firm of Burr, Pilger & Mayer as its new auditor, replacing PwC. PwC's reports on the company's financial statements for the years ended May 31, 2005 and 2004, did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principle.