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President Bush signed into law on July 30 the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (www.aicpa.org/info/sarbanes_oxley_summary.htm), establishing the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which assumes the profession’s regulatory powers, increases public participation in the regulation of registered accounting firms and prohibits audit firms from providing a wide array of nonaudit consulting services to their corporate clients.

Most of the 947 companies whose CEOs and CFOs are required by the SEC to certify the accuracy and completeness of corporate financial statements met the commission’s initial August 14 deadline. To assist investors and others in tracking which of these large corporations have complied, the commission listed on its Web site ( www.sec.gov/rules/extra/ceocfo.htm ) each company’s status.

The Treasury Department issues the 2002 National Money Laundering Strategy ( \ www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ml.html ), a report that describes a governmentwide effort to fight financial crime and to shut down terrorist organizations’ funding sources.

The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board issues Technical Bulletin 2002-1, Assigning to Component Entities Costs and Liabilities that Result From Legal Claims Against the Federal Government ( www.fasab.gov/pdf/presreltb.pdf ). According to the guidance, all such costs and liabilities must be attributed either to the component entities responsible for the programs or activities that contributed to the claims or to their successor component entities.

The International Accounting Standards Board publishes an exposure draft of a group of proposals, First-time Application of International Financial Reporting Standards ( www.iasb.org.uk/docs/ed1/ed1.pdf ), intended to ensure that entities adopting these standards provide in their financial statements information comparable to that reported under previous standards. The board wants to make certain investors have adequate information to analyze a reporting entity’s first financial statements using the international standards and to minimize the cost of transition for statement preparers. Comments are due October 31.

The International Federation of Accountants releases exposure drafts ( www.ifac.org ) of seven education standards: Entry Requirements, Content of Professional Education Programs, Professional Skills and General Education, Professional Values and Ethics, Experience Requirements, Assessment of Professional Competence and Continuing Professional Education and Development. The last-named of these is also the subject of a new IFAC guideline. Comments are due December 31.

A survey ( www.socialsecurity.org/dailys/07-29-02.html ) conducted during a week in July when the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted nearly 700 points found 68% of likely voters nevertheless favor letting workers invest part of their Social Security taxes in personal retirement accounts, say researchers at the Cato Institute.

The Senate brings the SEC to full strength by confirming the nominations of four commissioners: Paul S. Atkins and Cynthia A. Glassman of Virginia, Harvey Jerome Goldschmid of New York and Roel C. Campos of Texas ( www.senate.gov/legislative/legis_act_nominations_confirmed_civilian.html ). Atkins, Goldschmid and Campos will serve out the remainder of terms expiring June 5 of 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively, while Glassman will serve a full term expiring June 5, 2006.

The AICPA pitches in to support the SEC Historical Society ( www.sechistorical.org ), which the commission founded in 1999 to preserve a record of its activities and to sponsor related research and education programs. In addition to authorizing a $15,000 cash grant to the society on behalf of the Institute, President and CEO Barry C. Melancon will serve on the group’s advisory panel.