Regulatory actions and programs

The Securities and Exchange Commission will make sure that companies are properly using fair value accounting and not deceiving investors, warned an SEC official.

Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner apologized for his tax mistakes and promised reforms of both tax policy and the controversial Troubled Assets Relief Program during a confirmation hearing.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has issued a practice alert to help auditors and management assess the impact of the credit crisis on going-concern assumptions.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Economic Analysis has extended the deadline to January 31 for public companies to participate in a Web-based survey about the costs and benefits of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Bernard Madoff's longtime auditor is gravely ill with cancer and his family has reportedly lost much of their money from investing in the $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

The Group of 30, a set of economists from around the world, has produced a report recommending a series of reforms to address the financial crisis and provide financial stability.

CCH has introduced a set of services, software and content aimed at managing risk in an organization.

Mary Schapiro, President-elect Barack Obama's choice as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, signaled that she could delay the planned transition to International Financial Reporting Standards.

Henry R. Keizer is global head of audit for KPMG International and also serves as U.S. vice chair, audit, for the U.S. member firm, KPMG LLP.

Indian outsourcing company Satyam Computer Services has chosen Deloitte and KPMG to help restate financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Indian affiliate, Price Waterhouse, after Satyam's chairman admitted to a massive accounting fraud.

In these tough economic times, as in others, there are many news items on companies declaring bankruptcies and announcing substantial staff cuts. What is different this time is that I am also reading about a number of cost-cutting strategies that are gaining in popularity and aimed at reducing expenses without disrupting business operations or laying off staff.

Fitch Ratings predicts that 2009 will be a pivotal year for accounting, particularly in terms of fair value measurement and standards convergence.

The American Institute of CPAs has released an alert warning about audit risks from the economic crisis.

The Private Company Financial Reporting Committee met with the Financial Accounting Standards Board to discuss some of the problems that led to deferring controversial rules for accounting for uncertainty in income taxes.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said the financial statements of non-public broker-dealers now need to be certified by PCAOB-registered auditing firms.

The Center for Audit Quality has named Mary Moore Hamrick as director of external relations and strategic planning.

The Kansas Small Business Development Center has launched an enhanced Web site.

Southern California lender Valley Economic Development Center said it has received a $16 million infusion after it almost ran out of money to lend to small businesses.

The U.S. Small Business Administration plans to expand its Emerging 200 initiative, which supports inner-city small businesses, to five more cities in the spring.

Payroll-processing giant ADP reported that private sector employment fell by 693,000 in December.