DS&F Financial Services LLC, an affiliate of Darnall, Sikes, Gardes and Frederick, a CPA firm with headquarters in Lafayette, Louisiana, will merge with Wealth Care Group Asset Management LLC, the Daily Advertiser reports. The new company will be called DSF Wealth Management LLC.Larry Sikes, president and managing director of Darnall, Sikes, Gardes & Frederick, will be CEO of the merged financial services company.

A former employee of the Indianapolis Parks Department is facing charges that she directed $350,000 in public money to her personal bank accounts.The accounting staffer, who was fired after allegedly admitting her crime to investigators, steered fake credit and debt card refunds to her own accounts, according to charging papers. Questionable transactions went back to 2000. The employee, Kenya Miles, faces charges of official misconduct, theft and fraud against a financial institution.

The Hawaii Department of Taxation will launch their 2006 Summer Workshop series on the island of Kauai on July 25.

BDO Seidman, LLP, a national professional services firm providing assurance, tax, financial advisory and consulting services, is reporting a 27 percent increase in revenues during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006.

A federal judge in Pittsburgh has approved the last part of a settlement involving more than 73,000 shareholders who lost money in a PNC Financial Services Group Inc. accounting scandal.The shareholders are ready to receive about $2,600 each, for a total of $36.6 million, based on the $193 million settlement and interest. That amounts to 68 cents per share, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported. It's not clear when settlement money will be distributed, and the final amount will be reduced by attorneys' fees.The last remaining portion of the class-action lawsuit was approved by U.S.

New York State regulators’ new crackdown on the accounting profession addresses an issue that has been roiling in the Empire State ever since the Enron accounting scandal surfaced several years ago.The New York State Board of Regents has revised the definition of "unprofessional conduct" for CPA's licensed by the state to include disciplinary actions taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), meaning that accountants or accounting firms disciplined by either of those bodies now can be subject to censure, reprimand and t

Jerry Love, a certified public accountant (CPA) from Abilene, Texas, was recently elected chairman of the 27,000 member Texas Society of CPAs (TSCPA). Officially elected July 1 at the TSCPA’s annual meeting, Love will serve a one-year term as the society’s top volunteer.Love will chair the TSCPA’s board of directors, which sets policy, manages programs and oversees activities designed to serve CPAs throughout the state. During his tenure, Love is expected to focus on expanding the TSCPA’s financial literacy efforts, including the society’s Money Management U.

Because of the temporary closure of the main Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters building there is a temporary change of address for the delivery of taxpayer requests for rulings, requests for determination letters, Applications for Change in Accounting Method (Form 3115), and similar requests that are permitted to be hand-delivered to the main IRS Headquarters Building.Until further notice, these requests and applications should be delivered to the IRS offices at 950 L’Enfant Plaza, 5th Floor, Washington D.C., 20024.Complaints, subpoenas or any other service of process, as wel

Kenneth Lay, 64, the convicted founder and former chairman of Enron, died unexpectedly early this morning from an apparent heart attack.The Pitkin, Colo., Sheriff's Department said they were called to Lay's vacation home in Old Snowmass, Colo., shortly after 1 a.m.