The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will host a forum in Boston to bring information to the small business community.

Three months after restating its 2004 earnings, stun gun manufacturer Taser International Inc. said it had fired its accounting firm.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans, including 401(k) programs, will be allowed to make loans and hardship distributions to victims of Hurricane Katrina and members of their families, the Internal Revenue Service said.

Interpublic Group of Companies Inc., which includes several of the world's largest advertising agencies, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it will correct four years of earnings spanning 2000 to 2004.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, Britain's biggest audit firm, will face formal complaints from the country's Accountancy Investigation & Discipline Board in connection with the failure of bus manufacturer TransBus.

Ameriprise Financial, formerly American Express Financial Advisors, launched its first advertising campaign since announcing plans to spin off from its parent company, American Express Co.

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. announced a new options expensing policy for all U.S. equity research analysts that will be implemented as of the first reporting date after Sept. 30.

The International Federation of Accountants is seeking input for the development of a how-to guide on implementing International Standards on Auditing for small and midsized businesses.

Two technical committees from Financial Executives International have sent a letter making suggestions to the Financial Accounting Standards Board's proposed interpretation, "Accounting for Uncertain Tax Positions."

The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to give small public companies another extension to comply with the internal control rule outlined in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, according to published reports.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. will delay the earnings report for its most recent fiscal quarter while continuing to evaluate its accounting practices, the company announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

New guidance from Securities and Exchange Commission regulators sets limits on ways to determine the cost of stock options, though the new SEC chairman said that the report was "tentative."

Although Congress has authorized tens of billions of dollars in tax breaks to help American families cope with rising college costs, millions of taxpayers are failing to cash in on this government assistance.

The Internal Revenue Service said victims of Hurricane Katrina will have until Jan. 3, 2006 to file any returns, pay any taxes, or make any deposits due -- extending an earlier announced reprieve.

A federal judge dismissed a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint accusing the former chief financial officer at Halliburton Co.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will soon give companies more guidance on how to value stock options, according to published reports.

New accounting rules from the Financial Accounting Standards Board will require companies to treat stock options and grants as expenses after Jan. 1, although some companies ending their fiscal year in June will start expensing options against income in this quarter.

The American Institute of CPAs and the Internal Revenue Service launched a partnership aimed at providing assistance to taxpayers at local disaster recovery centers established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The effects of Hurricane Katrina will be considered "ordinary events" for financial-reporting purposes, according to published reports of a statement by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

BearingPoint Inc., a spinoff from KPMG's former consulting business, said that the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a formal investigation of the company.