>> Eugene O'Kelly contradicted SEC chairman Harvey Pitt yet again. The KPMG chairman told Congress on Tuesday he did in fact mention a possible SEC enforcement action against KPMG to Pitt—but not by name—in a meeting with the SEC chairman. Both Pitt and O'Kelly have come in for criticism for the alleged discussion over KPMG's audit of Xerox Corp. "I briefly referenced, though not by name, a pending matter," O'Kelly reportedly wrote in a letter. Earlier this week, Pitt denied discussing the Xerox audit with O'Kelly.
>> Ernst & Young picked up an additional pair of clients on Tuesday: Education Management Corp. and retailer Fred's Inc. While Education Management is dumping Andersen, Fred's is switching from PricewaterhouseCoopers.
>> Comfort Systems USA Inc. reported it will take a $202.5 million noncash charge to reduce goodwill to comply with FAS 142. During the '90s, Comfort Systems aggressively rolled up smaller competitors in the commercial/industrial heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning services industry.
>> Aetna plans to introduce health plans as well as dental, life, and short-term disability products for small businesses in California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas by July 1. The insurer noted that a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey of small businesses found that only 56 percent of companies with three to nine employees offered health insurance. By contrast, 72 percent of businesses with 10 to 24 employees offered the insurance. About a third of small-business owners who do not offer a health plan said the administrative hassle of providing such coverage is too great.
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