USA:WorldCom agrees order with SEC.

WorldCom is trying to improve next year's books in advance by limiting its provisions. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that a judgment of permanent injunction has been entered in its pending civil enforcement action against WorldCom, Inc. The judgment settles part, but not all, of the Commission's action against WorldCom. The Commission's investigation into matters related to WorldCom's financial fraud is continuing. In a series of provisions, the Order includes that WorldCom shall retain a qualified consultant, acceptable to the Commission, to perform a review of the effectiveness of WorldCom's material internal accounting control structure and policies, including those related to line costs, reserves, and capital expenditures, as well as the effectiveness and propriety of WorldCom's processes, practices and policies for ensuring that the Company's financial data is accurately reported in its public financial statements.

Given the range of accounting scandals plaguing New York at present, it will be interesting to see upon whom the Commission bestow their favour as having established a sufficiently good reputation: after all, most accounting scandals have come about as a result of advice from accountants at some stage in the process of setting up the schemes.

The amount of the civil penalty (a sort of fine) to be imposed will be decided later by the Court. Some commentators say that this Order is an indication that WorldCom is on its way to coming out of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. But this view may be simplistic: the provisions in the accounts would still have to take account of the impending fines which may be levied.

The SEC decision is at World Money Laundering Report: Resources