Regulatory agency actions and updates for March 12, 2010:

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo recused himself from an ongoing investigation into Gov. David A. Paterson’s alleged ethics violations, appointing retired judge Judith S. Kaye to continue the inquiry in his stead.

Staff of the New York State Comptroller's Office got an opportunity to learn about the requirements of the state's new accounting reform law in a special training session held at the agency's lower Manhattan offices o

New York state needs money, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevension, we're all fat and unhealthy -- or, as they put it, "obesogenic."

Hence the proposed "soda tax," a revenue-raising device made easier to sell to the public through its targeting of the products blamed for what's considered a national epidemic of obesity. (Because that had nothing to do with us, or our appetites.)

Financial desperation aside, it was a surprise to see an e-mail from New York's executive, Gov. David A. Paterson, in my inbox last night. The e-mail address seemed valid, so I started to read. It wasn't until the third paragraph that I became a bit confused:

"I have been a physician in New York for 30 years."

Regulatory agency actions and updates for March 11, 2010:

Medicare and Medicaid are big. Really big. $342 billion big. And, like a sugary Jolly Ranger placed upon an ant hill, this bigness tends to attract certain unsavory elements (read: fraudsters) that, over time, can cost the government billions upon billions of dollars.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has published a staff question-and-answer on the documentation requirements of Auditing Standard No. 7, Engagement Quality Review. The Engagement Quality Review (EQR) standard provides a framework for the engagement quality reviewer to objectively evaluate the significant judgments made and related conclusions reached by the engagement team in forming an overall conclusion about the engagement, according to the agency.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved AS7 on Jan. 15. In its order approving the EQR standard, the SEC urged the PCAOB to provide further guidance on the documentation requirements of the standard. The staff question-and-answer is intended to provide this additional implementation guidance, the PCAOB said.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, up for reelection this year, has proposed a series of actions intended to repair New York’s recurring budget problems and out-year budget gaps by requiring the state to address out-year budget gaps and attain multi-year budget balance, align spending with available resources, limit debt and curb the use of what he referred to as "fiscal gimmicks."

Shouldn't he have seen this coming?

A nationally known self-proclaimed psychic has been charged with securities fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC alleges that Sean David Morton -- who calls himself "America's Prophet" -- fraudulently raised $6 million after telling investors he could predict stock market highs and lows.

A certain Massachusetts tax attorney may have chosen the wrong career.

Kevin Kilduff has been barred from practicing before the IRS for 48 months for failing to file his own taxes properly. He completely skipped one federal tax return and filed another five returns late, the agency announced in a statement.