The Securities and Exchange Commission told Zale it has completed its investigation of the company and does not intend to recommend any enforcement action.

"We are glad to share with our investors and employees that this matter is now behind us as we continue to focus on returning our business to profitability," said Theo Killion, Chief Executive Officer of the jewelry retailer, in a statement.

CFOs who cook the books are often bullied into it by overbearing CEOs that are looking out for their own equity stakes, according to a new piece of research by a group of global academics.

The research looked at why and when CFOs become involved in material accounting manipulations, and what factors increased the likelihood that CFOs would knowingly become involved in accounting fraud.

The former treasurer of Delphi has settled civil accounting fraud charges in the Securities and Exchange Commission's four-year case.

John Blahnik, who served as Treasurer and Vice President of Treasury, Mergers and Acquisitions of the auto parts giant from 1998 to 2005, agreed to pay $100,000 in disgorgement and civil penalties. He also agreed to a five-year bar from serving as an officer or director of a public company.

Submitted by Caleb Newquist, republished from Going Concern , Accounting News for Accountants and CFOs.

A couple of weeks ago we told you about fired Tyco accountant Jeff Weist who wasn't really into, among other things, mermaid greeters and costumed wenches. Whether or not he's not a fan of starfish bikinis wasn't the issue, it was the principle of the matter.

You see, some Tyco executives got into a bit of trouble back in the day for some accounting fraud but the kicker was the footage of a four-day "Roman orgy" rager in Sardinia. The jury didn't have much problem throwing the book at former CEO Dennis Kozlowski and former CFO Mark Swartz after concluding that awesome party = crooked execs. Weist figured the company didn't really need more trouble so he raised a fuss over the expenses for another epic bash that was being planned for execs in the Bahamas.

The former chief financial officer of what was once one of the nation's largest home mortgage lenders before it wound up filing for bankruptcy, agreed to settle accounting fraud charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission stemming from the sub-prime crisis.

Stephen Hozie, who served as an executive vice president and CFO of American Home Mortgage from March 2002 until June 2008, agreed to pay a $225,000 civil penalty and $1 of disgorgement and to a five-year suspension from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an accountant, according to an announcement Tuesday afternoon.

The Commission alleged, among other things, that Hozie fraudulently understated AHM's first quarter 2007 loan loss reserves by tens of millions of dollars, converting the company's loss into a fictional profit. The complaint also alleges that Hozie made misleading disclosures concerning the company's financial condition including misrepresenting the company's liquidity and failing to adequately disclose the riskiness of the mortgages American Home Mortgage originated and held.