News

H&R Block has hired Gregory J. Macfarlane, a former Ceridian executive, as its chief financial officer. He replaces Jeff Brown who remains with the company as chief accounting and risk officer.

Xero, which markets low-cost online business software, said it intends to continue investing in the company to fuel growth. That came as the New Zealand-based company reported that its loss for the year ended March 31 widened by 5 percent on a 107-percent increase in revenue.

A Buffalo, N.Y., accounting firm, whose former partner got it into the business of auditing Chinese companies and then faked documentation, was censured and its registration with the Public Accounting Company Oversight Board revoked. Brock, Schechter & Polakoff was pulled into the business, along with former director of auditing and accounting, James R. Waggoner, even though the firm had no auditing experience and no one on the staff understood Chinese. The firm must pay a $20,000 civil money penalty while Waggoner was censured and barred from associating with any PCAOB registered firm.

New Zealand-based Xero is entering the United States market for practice management software. The company, which launched its online accounting package in this country last fall, entered that application segment through its acquisition earlier this year of WorkflowMax.