Regulatory actions and programs

The Securities and Exchange Commission is increasingly relying on administrative hearings for its enforcement actions, according to a new report.

The U.K. Financial Reporting Council is investigating former employees of RSA Insurance Group Plc’s Irish unit regarding accounting irregularities in 2012.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted Wednesday to publish a concept release asking for public comments about the current audit committee disclosure requirements, focusing particularly on toughening the committee’s oversight of independent auditors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Deloitte & Touche LLP with violating auditor independence rules when its consulting affiliate maintained a business relationship with a trustee serving on the boards and audit committees of three funds it audited.

XBRL US has joined up with five companies to improve the quality of financial filings in Extensible Business Reporting Language with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Deutsche Bank AG with filing misstated financial reports during the height of the financial crisis that failed to take into account a material risk for potential losses estimated to be in the billions of dollars, and Deutsche Bank agreed to pay a $55 million penalty to settle the charges.

The Financial Accounting Foundation has released its 2014 annual report, which focuses on its recently released strategic plan.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a CPA and his son in New York on Thursday, accusing them of conducting an insider trading scheme involving tips on nonpublic information that they sent in coded email messages disguised as discussions about golf.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Wesley R. Bricker as deputy chief accountant overseeing the accounting group in the agency’s Office of the Chief Accountant, replacing Dan Murdock, who is leaving the SEC for a job in the private sector.

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted Wednesday to propose rules to require companies to disclose the relationship between executive compensation and the financial performance of a company.

Senators Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., have re-introduced legislation to make disciplinary proceedings of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board public in order to expose auditing deficiencies at firms or the companies they audit in a timely way and help curb violations.

Last year saw a rise in accounting-driven federal class action lawsuits, according to a new report from Big Four firm PwC.

The primary U.S. standard-setters and their parent organization have released a strategic plan to articulate the long-range vision and mission of each of the groups and the organization collectively.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has sanctioned five current and former partners and employees of the auditing firms L.L. Bradford & Company, LLC in Las Vegas and Samyn & Martin in Kansas City, Mo., for violating PCAOB requirements for auditor independence, audit partner rotation, and audit planning and performance.

The housing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could need another bailout in the next few years because they are being left undercapitalized by the Treasury Department, according to the former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Each New Year brings with it issues and regulations—both new and revisited—that cause accountants and their small business clients to scramble in order to remain compliant with the law.

The International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators released a new report Tuesday showing continuing high levels of significant deficiencies in the audits of public companies by auditing firms around the world.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has released finalized guidance on accounting and financial reporting issues related to fair value measurements, primarily applying to investments made by state and local governments.

The American Institute of CPAs’ Auditing Standards Board has issued a new attestation standard for agreed-upon procedures engagements related to asset-backed securitizations.

President Barack Obama threw the weight of the White House behind an effort that would make it harder for brokers to push higher-fee mutual funds or other expensive products on people saving for retirement.