The Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday it has begun administrative proceedings against the China affiliates of each of the Big Four accounting firms and another large U.S. accounting firm, BDO, for refusing to produce audit work papers and other documents related to China-based companies under investigation by the SEC for potential accounting fraud against U.S. investors.

James Peko has been promoted to national managing principal of Grant Thornton LLP’s Corporate Advisory & Restructuring Services practice.

Hurricane Sandy was an unfortunately frequent topic of conversation during Accounting Today's 3rd annual Growth & Profitability Summit=. Most of the attendees from the Northeast had flown out just ahead of the devastation, but regardless of geographic location, we all followed the news as the situation escalated -- though all in different ways.

Four trends to put the 'service' back in professional services

Don't retreat -- summit!

The fiscal cliff, once a seeming imaginary event far off on the horizon, is looming large as we approach the beginning of 2013 with a divided government. The cliff, a combination of tax increases and government spending cuts, threatens to send the country deeper into another recession, according to economists from the Congressional Budget Office.

Trying to sum up a complicated 2012 in accounting

Would you prefer to be running a business in 2012 or 1906?

Highlights of firm mergers & acquisitions from the previous month

Accounting firms shouldn't think that there isn't a cost to a merger that doesn't happen

The unemployment rate for senior accountants and auditors is a relatively low 4.1 percent.

A roundup of major developments in accounting in the previous month.

Many tax practitioners focus on improving their efficiency during tax season, but there are plenty of things they can do in advance to ensure success from January to April, according to 2020 Group chairman and CEO Chris Frederiksen.

FASB chair Leslie Seidman lays out a schedule for handling the remaining projects on the convergence agenda

Financial Accounting Standards Board chair Leslie Seidman is planning for a multilateral way of working with the International Accounting Standards Board in the future, even as her term approaches an end next year.

A recent report from the federal accounting industry watchdog agency, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, found that the incidence of deficient audits performed by the Big Four accounting firms doubled in 2010, reaching a horrifying 33 percent.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board chairman James Doty told an audience of auditors that the public is expecting more from the audit profession and warned firms against skimping on audit quality.

Recent network memberships, awards, new Web sites and more

Brad Benton has been chosen to lead the health care practice of Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP.

GMI Ratings has compiled a second “Black Swan Risk List” identifying 40 North American companies with the highest risk of major drops in share prices within the next six months.