SEC begins inquiry into Wachovia and KPMG

Wachovia and KPMG are facing an informal probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into their business relations where wealthy clients were referred to the accounting firm for tax advice.

Corporate scandals forced the SEC to scrutinise company books

The SEC inquiry is focusing on whether Wachovia, formerly known as First Union Corp., violated the commission’s auditors independence rules.
 
According to the Wall Street Journal, Wachovia earned referral fees for directing wealthy clients to KPMG during the late 1990s A KPMG spokesman declined to comment.

Wachovia said the inquiry “relates to a small number of personal financial consulting transactions which took place within the time frame of 1997 to no later than early 2002.” The WSJ said an SEC spokesman decline to comment.

Source: News Agencies