Accounting & Auditing

Speaking recently at the International Corporate Governance Network Annual Conference in London, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CEO William Parrett called on national regulators to convene a special summit before the end of the year with the goal of developing a more uniform global regulatory environment. “In an ideal world, a global regulator would be the answer […]

Despite seemingly similar language, the U.S. system of accounting and capital market regulation is far different from the British model and is sullying systems elsewhere as the global marketplace seeks convergence. At least that’s the view of Tim Bush, a British chartered accountant with Hermes Pensions Management in London, as described in a recent report, […]

THE INSPECTIONS Section 104 of Sarbanes-Oxley requires the PCAOB to conduct a continuing program of inspections of registered public accounting firms. The Board prepares a written report concerning each inspection, a portion of which is available to the public: Ahearn, Jasco + Company, P.A. Anton Collins Mitchell LLP Armando C. Ibarra Battelle & Battelle LLP […]

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission is targeting Aug. 15 as the release date for its guidance for smaller companies on how to apply the COSO control framework to current regulatory requirements. COSO took up its guidance project—Implementing the COSO Control Framework for Smaller Businesses—early this year at the request of the […]

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board issued the fruits of their most significant convergence effort yet—parallel proposals on new accounting for business combinations that seek to treat all combinations as acquisitions. FASB and IASB jointly issued exposure drafts last week on business combinations that advocate a single accounting method in […]

Are the major accounting firms legally conjoined to their international affiliates, or are they separate and not responsible for the actions of those foreign units? This is one of the critical issues that will be decided in lawsuits stemming from Parmalat’s massive accounting scandal, and it’s one that could have a big impact on how […]

A study released last week by the British government identified problems with certain audits conducted by the Big Four accounting firms of companies in the United Kingdom. One of the areas criticized was “insufficient documentation” of auditing practices, making it difficult to access the effectiveness of judgments. The report by the Professional Oversight Board for […]

Areal estate investment trust (REIT) recently fired outside auditor KPMG over a dispute that experts say is very unusual for a number of reasons. Nashville-based Healthcare Realty Trust, which specializes in health care-related properties, said it fired KPMG because the auditor has not completed its audit of the 2004 financials or its audit of the […]

A number of companies in recent months have dismissed their independent auditors shortly after a material weakness in their internal control over financial reporting was identified. Although such an action might raise eyebrows, David Snyder, vice chairman of the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in San Diego, says “in the vast majority of cases […]