Fannie Mae replaces audit panel head

Fannie Mae has replaced the chairman of its board's audit committee, a central part of the mortgage giant's struggle to deal with the $11 billion accounting scandal that continues to haunt the company. Accounting professor Dennis Beresford will replace audit committee chairman Thomas Gerrity, the company said Friday, just days before federal regulators are scheduled to release a major report on their extensive examination of the government-sponsored company. Gerrity will step down as a director and will leave the board by the end of 2006, Fannie Mae said. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which has a federal mandate to oversee Fannie Mae, is scheduled to release its report on Fannie Mae Tuesday. The report is widely expected to be sharply critical of Washington-based Fannie Mae, and the role of its board of directors in the accounting debacle is expected to be examined. OFEO in September 2004 accused Fannie Mae of serious accounting problems. The Securities and Exch...