PCAOB registrations near 1,000; paper preferred for annual reports; waiver for HealthSouth default; Japan-E.U. accounting standards; opposition to Wachovia-SouthTrust deal.
William McDonough, chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, said in a recent speech that 977 accounting firms have registered with the board, and more than 200 are awaiting approval to audit U.S. public companies.
Ninety percent of investors who research stock over the Internet still prefer to review a professionally printed annual report, according to WILink, a provider of investor relations and investment information services, which surveyed 668 investors. Also, 55 percent of surveyed investors said they view the annual report as the most credible source of investment information.
HealthSouth Corp. said holders of a majority of its notes have agreed to waive a default on $2.6 billion in outstanding public debt.
Japan and the European Union have begun work to establish equivalence between Japanese and international accounting standards and will finish the work as early as possible before 2007, according to Kyodo News.
A dissident shareholder is opposing Wachovia's offer to buy SouthTrust Corp. for $14.3 billion because SouthTrust has provided commercial loans to a string of pawn shops in the South. Wachovia also lends to pawn shops, said a release from Matthew Lee of Inner City Press/Fair Finance Watch in New York.
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