Regulatory actions and programs

The Internal Revenue Service released its enforcement results for fiscal year 2005.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is closing in on a proposed new audit standard governing engagement quality reviews by accounting firms.That standard, which appears on track to be advanced during 2006, is part of an ambitious agenda of audit standard-setting activities for the coming year that was outlined by PCAOB staffers during a recent meeting of the board's Standing Advisory Group.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued another exposure draft on accounting for earnings per share, adding what may be the final tweaks to an amendment of Statement 128.The revised edition has few changes from the original ED that was issued in December 2003, but the board considered at least one change - it involves amending the computational guidance for calculating the number of incremental shares included in diluted shares when applying the treasury stock method - to be substantive enough to require another exposure draft for public comment.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the Securities and Exchange Commission to protect the country's investors. The SEC went on to create the Financial Accounting Standards Board to give investors standardized financial reports.And now FASB has taken the next step toward investor protection by establishing an Investor Task Force.

The Financial Accounting Foundation, overseer of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, recently named Robert J. DeSantis to the newly created post of president and chief operating officer.DeSantis, a seasoned corporate executive, financial officer, public accountant and attorney, was, most recently, chief financial officer of DSL.net, a broadband communications provider. He also served as executive vice president at Tellium Inc., a manufacturer of optical switching solutions, and held senior posts at both GTE Corp. and Big Four audit firm KPMG Peat Marwick.

Three executives at Mercury Interactive Corp. resigned after an internal investigation revealed that the company had allegedly manipulated stock options over the past decade.

Oversight Systems Inc. announced the findings of its 2005 Report on Corporate Fraud, a survey of certified fraud examiners. The report explains that most fraud examiners view the provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley to be an effective tool in fraud identification, though few think it will change the culture of business leaders.

According to a recent report, NASA has failed to fix the majority of the 45 accounting and financial management problems cited by the Government Accountability Office in previous audits.

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. announced chairman and chief executive James N. Stanard resigned in light of investigations into the company's earnings restatement.

As part of its program to improve the clarity of international standards, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board of the International Federation of Accountants has issued exposure drafts of four proposed standards in a new drafting style.

Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, and chair of the House Financial Services Committee, whose surname represents half of the most famous hyphenate in the history of accounting reform, will retire from the House after 25 years in Congress.

In a joint statement, the American Institute of CPAs, the Securities Industry Association and the Bond Market Association said they would start anew discussions on auditor due diligence.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will begin random annual visits to investment advisors, instead of its usual five-year visits, a ccording to published reports.

In mid-October, accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP was contacted by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board about its role as auditor of Refco Inc.

General Motors Corp. announced in a filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the company's handling of retirement benefits and its relationship with bankrupt auto-parts manufacturer Delphi Corp.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations, the private sector group working to improve the financial reporting process, has issued a draft to help small filers comply with internal controls requirements on a cost-effective basis.

Since the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley more than three years ago, more than half of public and private companies participating in a survey revealed that they have changed their respective revenue recognition policies as a result of the sweeping reform act.

Computer equipment and telephone lines don't fall within a reasonable definition of brokerage and research services that investment managers may charge to their clients, according to proposed guidance issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission on the use of "soft dollars."

In a unanimous voice vote, the governing Council of the American Institute of CPAs agreed to refocus the mission of its Center for Public Company Audit Firms.

President Bush has nominated economic advisor Ben Bernanke to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who will retire January 31, after 18 years at the helm of the Fed.