Forensic services

Amid ongoing turbulence in the equity and debt markets, Paul F. Roye, director of the SEC’s investment management division, warns investment companies—also known as mutual funds—against laying off essential compliance personnel to cut costs. U.S. mutual funds’ combined assets climbed 3.1% to $6.6 trillion at the beginning of October, says

The SEC is investigating more Fortune 500 companies for financial fraud than ever before and the market impact of failed corporations is growing, said Charles Niemeier, chief accountant of the commission’s division of enforcement, at the annual AICPA conference on current SEC developments. Until recently, the SEC rarely investigated large

The U.S. Senate signs into law an extension through November 1, 2003, of the Internet Tax Freedom Act’s moratorium on state or local taxation of electronic commerce. The temporary ban does not affect Internet taxes in place before October 1, 1998. ( http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.01552: )

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reports that U.S. commercial banks boosted their derivatives holdings to $51.3 trillion in the third quarter of 2001—an increase of $3.5 trillion over the previous three months. This continued an upward trend that began after the third quarter of 2000. The

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) raises to $3,579.55 per month (or $42,954.60 per year) the maximum amount it guarantees for retirees in underfunded single-employer, defined-benefit plans terminating in 2002—5.5% higher than in 2001. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 requires the PBGC to adjust this amount annually

In speeches and advisory announcements, the SEC’s chairman, Harvey L. Pitt, and chief accountant, Robert K. Herdman, lay out the commission’s plans for enhancing the accuracy and completeness of corporate financial disclosures, simplifying the standard-setting process, modernizing the financial reporting model and responding more swiftly to registrants’ requests for proactive

For news from the AICPA and state societies, visit www.cpa2biz.com , which also offers online CPE, AICPA professional literature, practice management aids and links to state society Web sites. Both the Institute and the Big Five issue statements describing their latest initiatives to improve the quality of financial reporting and

International corporate and securities legal expert Alan L. Beller becomes director of the SEC’s division of corporation finance, where he will lead efforts to enhance corporate disclosure and improve the efficiency of the registration process for securities issuers. He also will serve as senior counselor to the commission, a newly

The board of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) approves changes to independence rules in the group’s code of ethics. The revised provisions lay out a conceptual framework that addresses factors threatening auditor independence as well as steps auditors can take to preserve their integrity. The new rules apply to