Author Archive
If I Had More Time, It Would Have Been Shorter…
By Francine • Jul 4th, 2010My new essay is up at Sundayed.com, the side project I’m contributing to with a few friends including Jason Moriber from Wise Elephant who helps me run this site.
This weekend I’m talking about the “Summer Fiction: 20 Under 40″ issue of The New Yorker. The fiction I read is varied, but I’m not much [...]
Best Book Read (So Far) in 2010 According to Paul Kedrosky
By Francine • Jul 3rd, 2010Just for fun, fellow blogger and Twitter-aficionado Paul Kedrosky asked on the Twitter what people thought was the best book they had read so far of 2010. Here are some responses – perhaps a few ideas for your summer reading.
What A Tangled Web We Weave: AIG’s Cassano Says He Told PwC Everything
By Francine • Jun 30th, 2010Joseph Cassano, the former head of AIG’s Financial Products Group, testified for the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. PricewaterhouseCoopers has been playing consigliere to AIG for many, many years and continues to be allowed to act as their “independent” auditor in spite of the fact that they have been sued by AIG’s shareholders and are now turning their own partners against their client in court.
If PwC was informed about Cassano’s activities, then perhaps the SEC, the PCAOB and Department of Justice should finally turn their attention towards the audit firm. PwC has $312 million reasons to go along with the charade of independence.
Bigger, Stronger, Faster: The PCAOB After The Supreme Court Ruling
By Francine • Jun 26th, 2010The Supreme Court will hand down their decision on Free Enterprise Fund v. PCAOB before on June 28th. Congressional action may be necessary to reestablish the PCAOB or a comparable regulatory authority within the SEC, if we want to continue independent regulation of the audit firms. I have some recommendations for a new PCOAB law.
Florida Appeals Court Turns Down Heat, For Now, On BDO Seidman
By Francine • Jun 24th, 2010I was surprised by the news that the record verdict against BDO Seidman in the Bankest fraud had been reversed. I was stunned not because the verdict had been reversed on appeal but by the reasons why. Everyone involved now has to get ready for a new trial because a judge erred in the setup of the proceedings.
That’s not supposed to happen.
KPMG Settles With New Century
By Francine • Jun 24th, 2010June 24, 2010: An exclusive from Steven Thomas, attorney for the New Century Liquidating Trustee:
“The New Century Liquidating Trustee and KPMG LLP have entered into a confidential settlement agreement, pursuant to which the lawsuits and arbitration against KPMG LLP and KPMG International have been resolved.”
Update: July 30, 2010
The court appointed Liquidating Trustee and Plan Administrator [...]
@Going Concern “Investing On A New Graduate’s Salary: What To Do With What’s Left”
By Francine • Jun 23rd, 2010First paycheck. After taxes it’s not a big as you’d hoped. $72k is pretty good money but not the mother lode, for sure. If you weren’t living in one of the most expensive cities in the US it would go a lot farther. But at least you’ve got a roommate to share the burden. Working so many hours leaves little time for shopping, boozing or investing…
@Going Concern “Will More Women Mean Better Audit Firms?”
By Francine • Jun 16th, 2010My new column is up @Going Concern.
Do sheer numbers mean women will now gain equality or even the upper hand in the workforce? Will this influence permeate all areas of professional life or only the ones that men allow?
Hanna Rosin was a guest last night on The Colbert Report. She’s a Contributing Editor for The Atlantic and [...]
Will Auditors Ever Answer To Investors For Aiding And Abetting?
By Francine • Jun 16th, 2010The House – Senate Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Conference reconvened on Tuesday, June 15 and Compliance Week says a version of the Specter Bill – to repeal the Supreme Court’s Stoneridge decision – will not be included in whatever comes out of the process. However, a coalition of state regulators, public pension funds, professors, consumers and investors and the attorneys who advise them, are still working to put something back in the bill as an amendment to restore the right of investors to defend themselves and hold white collar criminals accountable.
Francine McKenna (@retheauditors) has more than twenty years of experience in consulting and professional services including tenure at two Big 4 firms, both in the US and abroad. For more info, click the "About" page link at the bottom of this page.