Search Results for: accountancy

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FORMER European Commission Chief Accountant Marta Andreasen is finally set to learn the outcome of her long-running disciplinary proceedings, sparked by her suspension in 2002 for whistle-blowing. Brussels is expected to take action based on the recommendations of a disciplinary board headed by the ex-president of the European Court of Justice’s Court of First Instance, José Luis da Cruz Vilaça.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
CELEBRATED European Union (EU) whistleblower Paul van Buitenen has been elected to the European Parliament, daring the European Commission to sack him for the criticisms he made of the EU in his election manifesto. More a book than a policy platform, van Buitenen laid into his former boss Neil Kinnock, who he has accused of erecting “hoax” accounting reforms to the much-criticised EU.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Brussels
MICHAEL Mann, European Commission vice president Neil Kinnock’s spokesman has takes issue with the suggestion raised by former chief auditor Jules Muis in an exclusive interview with Accountancy Age that difficulties foreseen in Brussels internal controls White Paper have been underestimated by the Prodi regime.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Brussels
THE EUROPEAN Commission’s much-heralded financial reforms will not be fully realised for at least another five years, possibly later, according to Jules Muis, the Commission’s former chief internal auditor.

“Although progress has been made, the Commission has a long way to go before it can present an image of being a world class administrative machine,” he told Accountancy Age during a brief return to the Belgian capital.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
HIGH-PROFILE European Commission whistleblower Paul van Buitenen will reveal a litany of European Union (EU) scandals and corruption cases when he releases his programme this month for the oncoming European elections. Exploiting rules that allow European Commission officials to stand for the parliament and make detailed election statements, van Buitenen is publishing a book ‘In the Trenches of Brussels’ on April 28, which will officially be his election manifesto.…

BY PHILIP FINE

THE RECENT announcement of an investigation of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company by US security regulators can be traced to faulty implementation of new accounting software, says the company. The Securities and Exchange Commission launched a formal investigation February 5 into the company’s accounting problems.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EURATOM has released its 2002 report on inquiries carried out by its European Commission officials tasked with checking the safety and security of nuclear installations across the European Union (EU); although the paper’s conclusions was generally satisfactory, it notes a number of problems detected that required resolution.…

BY MATTHEW BRACE, in Brisbane
AUSTRALIAN accountants spend far more time in front of the mirror these days. They are not vainly checking on their tans but seeing if they are a shade of ‘cool blue’ or ‘hot-blooded red’. Colour testing is all the rage at leading accountancy firms Down Under, with PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG and Ernst and Young among those promoting the practice.…

Keith Nuthall
EUROPEAN Union (EU) anti-fraud agency OLAF has confirmed to Accountancy Age that “there have been missions (of its officials) carried out in Palestine in January” examining allegations of fraud involving EU funds in the occupied territories. The probes follow bookkeeping checks made last Spring, following calls for action from some MEPs alleging that part of the monthly payments of Euro 10 million made by the EU to the Palestinian Authority have been used to fund terrorist activities.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
MARTA Andreasen, former chief accountant of the European Commission, is challenging a gagging order by the Commission, which is accusing her of speaking at conferences without permission. Ms Andreasen was suspended from her post over a year ago after she voiced criticism of the Commission’s accounting procedures, though she has yet to face formal charges.…