Regulatory actions and programs

Consumer favorite Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. said that the ongoing probe into its accounting practices by the Securities and Exchange Commission has become a formal investigation.

The Department of Justice charged eight former executives of software maker Peregrine Systems Inc., the company's former outside auditor and two of its outside business partners with conspiracy to commit a multi-billion dollar securities fraud.

A coalition of analysts at 17 socially responsible investment firms representing over $147 billion in assets has banded together to call on publicly traded companies worldwide to start reporting annually on their key social and environmental policies, practices and performance.

As part of efforts to ensure the accuracy of Social Security numbers on wage statements, the Internal Revenue Service should consider revising its rules for waiving the penalties associated with filing statements with inaccurate numbers, the Government Accountability Office said this week.

The Securities and Exchange Commission warned American International Group Inc. that it is mulling a civil action against the insurance company for possible securities laws violations related to three press releases that the commission says are misleading.

An astounding 93 percent of chief information officers and other senior information technology executives are unaware of their IT control assessment responsibilities under Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404, according to Obian Inc.

After three years in development, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission has released its finalized Enterprise Risk Management - Integrated Framework.

Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt Jr. and former CNN chair Walter Isaacson have been named to the board of the Global Center for Leadership & Business Ethics, an independent entity established to recognize individuals and organizations with extraordinary business ethics and leadership qualities.

The Justice Department has added perjury and obstruction of justice charges to the criminal case against Richard M. Scrushy, the former chief executive and chairman of scandal-plagued HealthSouth Corp.

Despite a challenging business environment, chief financial officers' optimism about the economy and their own companies' financial prospects remains high, according to a recent poll.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a proposal that would allow filers to submit financial data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language, or XBRL.

The International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation Trustees have tapped Australian Stock Exchange chief Richard G Humphry to serve as a trustee from the Asia-Pacific region.

KPMG LLP has admitted 160 new partners for 2004, up nearly 40 percent over the 115 new partners the firm admitted last year.

Class-action specialist Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP has filed suit against beleaguered mortgage financing concern Fannie Mae, charging the company with violations of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and making false and misleading statements that ultimately led to a "scandal of tremendous proportion."

The American Institute of CPAs has launched the third of its planned Audit Quality Centers.

The regulator charged with overseeing mortgage concern Fannie Mae appears to be considering a shake-up of its top management to clean up the beleaguered firm.

Fund research provider Morningstar Inc. said it is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission related to incorrect total return data that Morningstar published earlier this year for a single mutual fund.

On the heels of a pair of settlements to resolve the company's $2.2 billion accounting scandal, two former top executives of software maker Computer Associates International Inc. pleaded not guilty to criminal charges.

The New Mexico Public Accountancy Board has joined the Securities and Exchange Commission and the California Board of Accountancy in disciplining Ernst & Young over the firm's audits of former client PeopleSoft.

A study commissioned by the board of the International Federation of Accountants has issued a series of recommendations to the financial reporting "supply chain" in order to achieve convergence on global accounting and auditing standards.