The Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005, passed as part of the 2005 Energy Act and signed by President Bush on Aug. 8, 2005, includes a series of new credits aimed at encouraging the purchase of various types of new alternative fuel vehicles.

Accounting for financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equities has never been easy, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board has had a hard time hammering out the difference.

Broker/dealers who are not registered as investment advisors must now give brokerage customers a disclosure stating that their interests may not always be the same as their customers.

Cardinal Health Inc., a maker of medical supplies, said it has set aside $25 million to cover the costs of a potential settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. announced a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission concerning concealed loan losses at a bank subsidiary.

The American Institute of CPAs has won a 2005 Clarion Award from the Association for Women in Communications for its national "360 Degrees of Financial Literacy" program.

Morgan Stanley may face a fine of more than $10 million for failing to archive a number of e-mails needed in connection with Securities and Exchange Commission investigations. Published reports said that a final decision on any penalty is likely still months away.

The International Federation of Accountants has issued new guidance on environmental management accounting.

Looking to avoid the publicity of a trial, the country's largest trash hauler will pay $26.8 million to cover most of the costs of a settlement between former executives and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A survey by Fidelity Investments recently found that one-third of working adults are delaying their retirement plans due to financial reasons.

Saks Inc. said that its internal investigation confirmed the results of an earlier audit that one of its Saks Fifth Avenue stores overcharged vendors by millions.

Specifics of a deal are being hammered out between federal prosecutors and KPMG LLP, and the name of former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Richard Breeden is being floated to serve as in independent monitor of the firm's future activities.

Symbol Technologies Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Telxon Corp., has settled a lawsuit against former auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers for $18 million.

A few years ago, it seemed that owners of both CPA and technology consulting firms were going to find riches by selling their businesses to aggregators. Two recent events underline the fact that that did not happen for many of them.

The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced proposed regulations that provide further guidance to Section 482, which determines taxable income in connection with cost-sharing arrangements affecting intellectual property.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has officially called for a suspension of the International Accounting Standards Board's financial reporting standards convergence program, saying the board's proposal would create high costs and significant uncertainties for unlisted companies.

Earnings for financial planners have risen 27 percent from their 2004 levels according to a survey conducted by the College for Financial Planning in conjunction with the Financial Planning Association.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against two former officers of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. for allegedly orchestrating a fraudulent earnings management scheme through channel stuffing.

Reports say KPMG LLP is close to putting behind it a federal investigation into its sale of possibly illegal tax shelters.

Two former top Kmart executives face Securities and Exchange Commission charges for misleading investors about Kmart's financial condition in the months preceding the retailer claiming bankruptcy in January 2002.