Harley-Davidson announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating shareholder complaints that the motorcycle manufacturer engaged in channel stuffing.

California Rep. Christopher Cox, President Bush's nominee for chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosed his stock, mutual fund and other assets on Tuesday, the value of which could range from $2.7 million to $5.9 million.

After nearly two years of deliberation, the Securities and Exchange Commission dismissed an administrative proceeding against two former partners of Arthur Andersen & Co. last week.

The executive stock option settlement initiative launched in February has received a strong turnout, according to the Internal Revenue Service. The initiative provided corporate executives and their companies a means to resolve an abusive tax transaction involving the transfer of stock options to family controlled partnerships.

Accounting firm Marcum & Kliegman LLP has launched a Risk Management & Corporate Advisory Services Group.

Buoyed by strong growth in its five business sectors, consulting giant Accenture Ltd. posted third quarter profits of $484 million, compared with $368 million in net income from the year-ago third quarter.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., the studio behind "Shrek" and "Shark Tale," announced on Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a probe into trading of its stock and the release of its first quarter results in May.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. named Douglas R. Muir, a consultant to the company since December 2004, as the company's new chief accounting officer on Friday.

Courts look unkindly at CPAs who advise clients beyond their qualifications - for instance, by dispensing legal advice (if they're not attorneys as well). Knowing where to stop and refer clients to other professionals, as well as how to manage the other specialists in a client's financial life, are critical skills for effective investment advisors.

* FIRM UNVEILS FINANCIAL CONCIERGE PROGRAM FOR PRO ATHLETES: Piascik & Associates, a Richmond, Va.-based CPA and financial planning firm, has rolled out a financial concierge program for its professional athlete clients. The program is designed to keep professional athletes on a managed budget with automatic, on-time bill payment and advice on making high-dollar purchasing decisions on tangibles such as cars, jewelry and houses.

Do you know the best ways you as an investor can get cheated?

Assets in Section 529 college savings plans rose to an estimated $55.4 billion at the end of the first quarter, according to data released by the nonprofit College Savings Foundation. The quarterly asset total was up 6 percent from an estimated $52.3 billion at the end of 2004, and up 38.6 percent from the first quarter 2004 total of $40.0 billion.

Chief financial officers' optimism about the economy and their own companies' prospects is the lowest it has been during the past 12 months, according to a survey of Financial Executives International members.

Better than one in every eight U.S. corporations that have undergone the more rigorous audits mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act during the past year have been flagged for ineffective internal controls over their financial reporting, officials at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board disclosed during a recent meeting with the organization's Standing Advisory Group.

Since Sarbanes-Oxley regulations went into effect for large enterprises, holding executives accountable for their company's financial records, the spotlight has been slowly turning towards nonprofits.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has taken a long look at an international standard on accounting changes, found it better than the American standard, and promptly adopted the gist of the international position.

Some taxpayers apparently believe that the ability to claim a charitable deduction for donation of an automobile ended on Dec. 31, 2004. The advertisements on the radio would make one believe that nothing has changed, and that you can still claim a deduction for donated automobiles just as before Jan. 1.

One of contemporary accounting's most persistent issues has taken a turn toward resolution as the American Institute of CPAs and the Financial Accounting Standards Board agreed to consider creating some kind of generally accepted accounting principles for privately held, for-profit companies.

Every so often, people and organizations mistakenly become so self-satisfied that they stumble into assuming their own infallibility, often accompanied by smug statements. Inevitably, events turn these boasts to dust.

An online filing error has revealed that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board authorized a probe into a 2003 audit performed by Big Four accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP.