Accounting & Auditing Update

Computer Science Corp. has agreed to pay $190 million to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that the company and former executives concealed from investors problems with a high-profile client and manipulated financial results, in addition to fudging with accounting at overseas units.

A study from KPMG that looks at fraudster’s typical profile says perpetrators are gaining an edge over corporate anti-fraud controls by making better use of technology than the companies they route. The report says weak controls were a factor in 61 percent of frauds through 2016. More study details from Tammy Whitehouse.

COSO, author of the most widely accepted internal control framework in the United States has released a new guide meant to help companies beef up their fraud risk management. More from Tammy Whitehouse.

EY has agreed to pay $11.8 million to settle more charges from the SEC. This time the firm and two auditors are accused of ignoring red flags, enabling fraud. Tammy Whitehouse reports.

In the battle against fraud and restatements, a company’s best allies are strong accounting policies and well-documented internal controls, a new report says.

U.S. Senators are asking how KPMG could know Wells Fargo had fake accounts on the books, but not flag it as relevant to the financial statement audit.

The SEC has extracted a $6.2 million settlement from KPMG over charges that the firm and an engagement partner failed to properly audit valuations in 2011.

The SEC is telling companies its historic staff guidance on revenue recognition will not trump the new revenue standard when it takes effect in 2018.

Academics say they have identified a link between internal control weaknesses and later revelations of fraud, lending fresh support to key provisions of SOX.

The PCAOB is putting auditors on notice to take a careful look at the work companies have done to implement the new revenue recognition standard.

Companies can expect no new guidance from the SEC anytime soon on digital currencies, but they can expect its enforcement arm to act if it sees indications of fraud.

Auditors have some new guidance from the PCAOB about how to begin revising their audit reports to reflect new requirements that take effect this year-end.

The Department of Justice and the SEC are bringing charges including fraud and conspiracy against former KPMG and PCAOB staff over a leak that compromised inspections.

Former KPMG leaders gamed up to two years of inspection results, federal authorities say, but no one will discuss whether those results can or should be corrected.

Deloitte will pay $149.5 million to settle claims with the Justice Department over its audit work at Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, a mortgage lender that collapsed in 2009.

The PCAOB has censured the partner who oversaw audits at Koss, where a top finance executive went prison on charges of embezzling more than $30 million.

After some serious blows to its reputation, KPMG has decided to add outside directors to its board.

PwC has been ordered to pay the FDIC $625.3 million as a result of a long-running accounting fraud that caused the 2009 failure of Colonial Bank.

Audit regulators remain mum on when, if ever, they will publish a report on their 2016 inspection of Big 4 audit firm KPMG.