Comments on: Arthur Levitt Should Just Shut Up About AIG http://retheauditors.com/2009/03/25/arthur-levitt-should-just-shut-up-about-aig/ The Business of the Big 4 Audit Firms Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:24:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: re: The Auditors » Blog Archive » EY Goes To Hong Kong For A Scandal http://retheauditors.com/2009/03/25/arthur-levitt-should-just-shut-up-about-aig/comment-page-1/#comment-154791 re: The Auditors » Blog Archive » EY Goes To Hong Kong For A Scandal Sun, 19 Jun 2011 23:47:00 +0000 http://retheauditors.com/?p=1411#comment-154791 [...] On the other hand, in spite of the alleged audit failure that obscured the impending failure of Lehman Brothers, EY will pick up more than $60 million dollars helping the New York Fed make something of the mess PwC presided over at AIG. [...] [...] On the other hand, in spite of the alleged audit failure that obscured the impending failure of Lehman Brothers, EY will pick up more than $60 million dollars helping the New York Fed make something of the mess PwC presided over at AIG. [...]

]]> By: re: The Auditors » Blog Archive » With Cassano Off The Hook, Where Does PwC Hide In The AIG Case? http://retheauditors.com/2009/03/25/arthur-levitt-should-just-shut-up-about-aig/comment-page-1/#comment-122857 re: The Auditors » Blog Archive » With Cassano Off The Hook, Where Does PwC Hide In The AIG Case? Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:42:51 +0000 http://retheauditors.com/?p=1411#comment-122857 [...] repeatedly during their decades of service to AIG.  They are part of the problem not the solution. PwC has been a defendant in multiple AIG  lawsuits and continues to be named along side executives accused of fraud in new [...] [...] repeatedly during their decades of service to AIG.  They are part of the problem not the solution. PwC has been a defendant in multiple AIG  lawsuits and continues to be named along side executives accused of fraud in new [...]

]]> By: Francine McKenna: The Great American Financial Sandwich: Goldman Sachs, PricwaterhouseCoopers LLP and AIG | Deconstructing The News http://retheauditors.com/2009/03/25/arthur-levitt-should-just-shut-up-about-aig/comment-page-1/#comment-87102 Francine McKenna: The Great American Financial Sandwich: Goldman Sachs, PricwaterhouseCoopers LLP and AIG | Deconstructing The News Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:23:04 +0000 http://retheauditors.com/?p=1411#comment-87102 [...] may be that PwC has learned to play both clients like a fiddle from professional dancing bears like Arthur Levitt. As we discussed earlier, Levitt played a significant role in getting AIG past most of the New York [...] [...] may be that PwC has learned to play both clients like a fiddle from professional dancing bears like Arthur Levitt. As we discussed earlier, Levitt played a significant role in getting AIG past most of the New York [...]

]]> By: Francine McKenna: The Great American Financial Sandwich: Goldman Sachs, PricwaterhouseCoopers LLP and AIG http://retheauditors.com/2009/03/25/arthur-levitt-should-just-shut-up-about-aig/comment-page-1/#comment-87088 Francine McKenna: The Great American Financial Sandwich: Goldman Sachs, PricwaterhouseCoopers LLP and AIG Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:54:44 +0000 http://retheauditors.com/?p=1411#comment-87088 [...] may be that PwC has learned to play both clients like a fiddle from professional dancing bears like Arthur Levitt. As we discussed earlier, Levitt played a significant role in getting AIG past most of the New York [...] [...] may be that PwC has learned to play both clients like a fiddle from professional dancing bears like Arthur Levitt. As we discussed earlier, Levitt played a significant role in getting AIG past most of the New York [...]

]]> By: re: The Auditors » Blog Archive » The Great American Financial Sandwich: AIG, PwC, and Goldman Sachs http://retheauditors.com/2009/03/25/arthur-levitt-should-just-shut-up-about-aig/comment-page-1/#comment-86513 re: The Auditors » Blog Archive » The Great American Financial Sandwich: AIG, PwC, and Goldman Sachs Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:42:17 +0000 http://retheauditors.com/?p=1411#comment-86513 [...] may be that PwC has learned to play both clients like a fiddle from professional dancing bears like Arthur Levitt. As we discussed earlier, Levitt played a significant role in getting AIG past most of the New York [...] [...] may be that PwC has learned to play both clients like a fiddle from professional dancing bears like Arthur Levitt. As we discussed earlier, Levitt played a significant role in getting AIG past most of the New York [...]

]]> By: re: The Auditors » Blog Archive » How Satyam Supported PwC’s Schizophrenic Strategy To Reenter The Systems Integration Business http://retheauditors.com/2009/03/25/arthur-levitt-should-just-shut-up-about-aig/comment-page-1/#comment-5804 re: The Auditors » Blog Archive » How Satyam Supported PwC’s Schizophrenic Strategy To Reenter The Systems Integration Business Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:39:45 +0000 http://retheauditors.com/?p=1411#comment-5804 [...] work with Enron. Some of the strongest “critics” of the accounting profession, such as Arthur Levitt, have been vocal about conflicts of interest and the need to strengthen both actual and perceived [...] [...] work with Enron. Some of the strongest “critics” of the accounting profession, such as Arthur Levitt, have been vocal about conflicts of interest and the need to strengthen both actual and perceived [...]

]]> By: Anonymous http://retheauditors.com/2009/03/25/arthur-levitt-should-just-shut-up-about-aig/comment-page-1/#comment-3949 Anonymous Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:45:20 +0000 http://retheauditors.com/?p=1411#comment-3949 The SEC happens to be dysfunctional. And Independent is right that anything from the big 4 is not trustworthy. The question is, who do you trust in this world? The SEC happens to be dysfunctional. And Independent is right that anything from the big 4 is not trustworthy.

The question is, who do you trust in this world?

]]> By: Silly Questions http://retheauditors.com/2009/03/25/arthur-levitt-should-just-shut-up-about-aig/comment-page-1/#comment-3875 Silly Questions Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:29:00 +0000 http://retheauditors.com/?p=1411#comment-3875 One big fat question for everybody..when has it become the auditors responsibility (fiduciary or otherwise) to tell an audit client which products to build, which products to invest in, how to build their products, and/or which customers/consumers to do business with? The question then becomes, did the auditor perform their function "...to provide reasonable (NOT absolute) assurance that the FS were prepared in accordance with GAAP?" And, isn't the stock market just rich persons gambling anyway? One big fat question for everybody..when has it become the auditors responsibility (fiduciary or otherwise) to tell an audit client which products to build, which products to invest in, how to build their products, and/or which customers/consumers to do business with? The question then becomes, did the auditor perform their function “…to provide reasonable (NOT absolute) assurance that the FS were prepared in accordance with GAAP?” And, isn’t the stock market just rich persons gambling anyway?

]]> By: Terry Fox http://retheauditors.com/2009/03/25/arthur-levitt-should-just-shut-up-about-aig/comment-page-1/#comment-3265 Terry Fox Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:39:48 +0000 http://retheauditors.com/?p=1411#comment-3265 Independent Accountant - you are the smartest guy in town, if you do say so yourself. LOL Independent Accountant – you are the smartest guy in town, if you do say so yourself. LOL

]]> By: Independent Accountant http://retheauditors.com/2009/03/25/arthur-levitt-should-just-shut-up-about-aig/comment-page-1/#comment-3221 Independent Accountant Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:52:51 +0000 http://retheauditors.com/?p=1411#comment-3221 Anonymous: I am not full of it at all. I didn't short the financials. I NEVER OWNED ANY. Never. I have learned manias, like we saw in the financials, or tech stocks in 2000, can go on for YEARS longer than you think. I saw the S&L crisis coming in 1973-74. It was a VERY easy call. Why? Do you know what mismatched maturities are? I read a treatise on banking from Amsterdam which warned bankers against this. Publication date: 1587, 422 years ago! Are you a "bookkeeper" masquerading as a CPA? By the way, lots of people at Chicago saw the S&L crisis as inevitable by 1973-74. Inevitable!!!! On a "fair value" basis, the S&L industry was underwater by about $70-$80 billion by 1973-74. You seem to be an economic ignoramus. What do yo do for a living? The CDS crisis arose from insurers selling credit default swaps. This is and was an uninsurable risk. Why? Unlike life insurance, there is no actuarial information you can use to price the risk. Further, CDS show high "correlation", they are not "independent" in default statistics. I think you are confusing CDSs with CDOs, collateralized debt obligations. By the way, I sold my condo in Los Angeles in December 2006, near the peak of the market. Really. I can show you the closing statement. With Los Angeles residential real estate at 210 months rent, that was an easy call too. Do you know what a capitalization rate is? I saw commercial real estate in LA with 3.5% cap rates in 2005. Really. In April 2005, Donald Trump appeared at a real estate convention in LA that attracted 40,000. 40,000! Seeing this, I knew the end was coming soon. You can read about Trump in "Fortune" magazine. Do I blow some? Yes. No one calls 'em all. I did not predict oil would fall from $147 to $35. But it did. So? And I took a beating on oil field service stocks. I ask again, what do you do for a living? Are you a $700,000 a year clerk Big 87654 partner who purports to audit banks? Do you even trade stocks? I have a suggestion for you. Start reading the Unqualified Reservations blog by Mencius Moldbug (MM). MM is a fine analyst, even if frequently prolix. If you read MM for a few years, you might begin to realize how little you seem to know. Another suggestion, Steve Waldman's (SW) Interfluidity. SW is another fine thinker. Anonymous:
I am not full of it at all. I didn’t short the financials. I NEVER OWNED ANY. Never. I have learned manias, like we saw in the financials, or tech stocks in 2000, can go on for YEARS longer than you think. I saw the S&L crisis coming in 1973-74. It was a VERY easy call. Why? Do you know what mismatched maturities are? I read a treatise on banking from Amsterdam which warned bankers against this. Publication date: 1587, 422 years ago! Are you a “bookkeeper” masquerading as a CPA? By the way, lots of people at Chicago saw the S&L crisis as inevitable by 1973-74. Inevitable!!!! On a “fair value” basis, the S&L industry was underwater by about $70-$80 billion by 1973-74. You seem to be an economic ignoramus. What do yo do for a living? The CDS crisis arose from insurers selling credit default swaps. This is and was an uninsurable risk. Why? Unlike life insurance, there is no actuarial information you can use to price the risk. Further, CDS show high “correlation”, they are not “independent” in default statistics. I think you are confusing CDSs with CDOs, collateralized debt obligations. By the way, I sold my condo in Los Angeles in December 2006, near the peak of the market. Really. I can show you the closing statement. With Los Angeles residential real estate at 210 months rent, that was an easy call too. Do you know what a capitalization rate is? I saw commercial real estate in LA with 3.5% cap rates in 2005. Really. In April 2005, Donald Trump appeared at a real estate convention in LA that attracted 40,000. 40,000! Seeing this, I knew the end was coming soon. You can read about Trump in “Fortune” magazine.
Do I blow some? Yes. No one calls ‘em all. I did not predict oil would fall from $147 to $35. But it did. So? And I took a beating on oil field service stocks. I ask again, what do you do for a living? Are you a $700,000 a year clerk Big 87654 partner who purports to audit banks? Do you even trade stocks?
I have a suggestion for you. Start reading the Unqualified Reservations blog by Mencius Moldbug (MM). MM is a fine analyst, even if frequently prolix. If you read MM for a few years, you might begin to realize how little you seem to know. Another suggestion, Steve Waldman’s (SW) Interfluidity. SW is another fine thinker.

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