The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued two releases granting further relief from compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) to smaller public companies and many foreign private issuers.Advertisement

Auditors sometimes find evidence of criminal or questionable acts in the course of their work.

Stuart Maue, the nation’s oldest and premier legal auditing firm, has completed work as the legal auditor and testifying expert in the largest attorneys’ fee dispute litigation in the history of the United States. The litigation involved Purdue Pharma L.P.’s $400 million claim for attorney fees and expenses resulting from defense of its prescription pain killer, OxyContin. Purdue Pharma had asked its insurer, Steadfast Insurance Co., a unit of Zurich Insurance Co. of Switzerland, to reimburse it for all costs associated with its defense of the litigation.

A survey recently conducted by the Audit Committee Institute (ACI) of KPMG International and the National Association of Corporate Directors found that although a majority of audit committee members rate their committees as "very effective", many feel some improvement can be made-including oversight of accounting judgments and estimates, risk management and agenda setting. While about 70 percent of the 317 audit committee members rated their committee as "very effective" and nearly 85 percent rated themselves "very effective" on ensuring the independence of external auditors from manag

“A primary way that the accountancy profession protects the public interest is by requiring that all audit professionals have the necessary skills and training to perform their roles effectively,” Henry Saville, International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) chair, said in a prepared statement announcing the new standard.

Auditors are in the spotlight as the number of stock-option scandals expands. It seems the manipulation of option prices was more common than previously believed.

Proviti Inc., last week announced the company is working with Oracle to provide companies with an integrated compliance solution that leverages its consulting experience with Oracle applications and technologies.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday announced a series of actions intended to improve the implementation of the Section 404 internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002.

A multiple-component membership center, the Healthcare audit Resource Center, designed to help auditing and compliance professionals build and maintain an effective auditing process, was launched this week by HCPro, Inc.