Pension plan trustees need to be more wary of the advice they get from pension consultants. That’s according to new studies and guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Labor, which also recommended that companies ask more questions to expose consultants’ conflicted interests. The SEC studied the business practices of […]
Tammy Whitehouse
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Companies Understating Problems? More From Boards
A recent analysis of control deficiencies disclosed in 2004—predating disclosures mandated by Sarbanes-Oxley—indicates companies probably are understating deficiencies in audit committee effectiveness and information technology controls. The study reviewed and analyzed control deficiency disclosures by a sample of 329 companies in their filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission over a 12-month period. It found […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Low Hanging Fruit? PCAOB Deregisters Tiny Firm
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board delivered its first enforcement blow to a small New York firm that apparently violated auditor independence rules, then tried to conceal the fact from Board inspectors. The Board deregistered Goldstein and Morris CPAs and barred managing partner Edward Morris from associating with a PCAOB-registered firm. The Board also censured […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
New Standard On Auditor-Management Communication?
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is working to develop a new audit standard that would focus exclusively on how auditors can communicate with their clients. That’s according to PCAOB Chairman William McDonough, who provided some details in a speech last week in Atlanta. McDonough According to McDonough, the staff of the PCAOB “is evaluating […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Audit Experts Debate Significance Of Latest 404 Guidance
Experts differ on the weight and significance of the most recent round of Sarbanes-Oxley guidance offered last week by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. On one hand, the 52 combined pages of guidance significantly loosen the noose on the exercise of professional judgment and communication between registrants and […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Deloitte’s Quigley: Small Cos. Should Consider Delisting
In the modern Sarbanes-Oxley environment, smaller companies that can’t stomach the onslaught of accounting and securities requirements should abandon their listings and turn to surging private equity sources, says James Quigley, CEO of Deloitte & Touche USA. “There’s a lot of concern for smaller public companies, but doing business in the capital markets is a […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Cisco’s Stock Option Method Raises Eyebrows; More
Experts differ on whether Cisco Systems is on the right track with its recent trial balloon at the Securities and Exchange Commission—another new method of valuing stock options that is intended to create an otherwise elusive market value. Cisco reportedly is meeting with SEC officials to determine whether it can offer a new type of […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Audit Pricing Played A Part In Increased 2004 Audits Costs
Unusual increases in hourly rates for audit services contributed at least in part to increased audit costs that public companies experienced in their first year of compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley internal controls reporting. Quigley That’s according to James Quigley, CEO of Deloitte & Touche USA, who said in an exclusive interview with Compliance Week that audit […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
CEO Tax Certification Crops Up In Highway Funding Bill
Chief executive officers will be required to certify corporate tax returns if a highway bill containing the certification provision as a rider survives the legislative process. The Senate Finance Committee has approved a highway funding bill that contains a rider requiring CEOs to certify under penalty of perjury that they have policies and procedures in […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Off-Balance-Sheet Study, SOX Guidance Coming; More
In the next three weeks, the Securities and Exchange Commission will release its long-anticipated study on off-balance-sheet accounting, and may in the next week issue promised guidance on internal control reporting, according to separate remarks by top SEC officials. Nicolaisen Speaking at a recent meeting of the American Academy of Actuaries, SEC Chief Accountant Donald […]
