Author Archive

The Risky Business of Being A Bank Chief Risk Officer

By Francine • Jan 22nd, 2012

It’s difficult for me to imagine a new generation of systemically important financial services company CEOs without strong risk management experience. But the newly prominent role also gives shareholders, regulators, and the media an easy target for ridicule after a corporate stumble or failure.

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MF Global Updates: Forbes, American Banker

By Francine • Jan 14th, 2012

Amazing but true, the MF Global story is still red hot, reason being $1.2 billion in customer funds is still missing. Here’s a recap of recent columns at Forbes and American Banker that have tracked new developments.

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MF Global Mystery: The Beginning of the End or the End of The Beginning?

By Francine • Jan 10th, 2012

Lots of news and updates on MF Global, PricewaterhouseCoopers, JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon and the politics of money.

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How Do You Hide A Multibillion Dollar Loss? Accounting For The Olympus Fraud

By Francine • Jan 2nd, 2012

I asked CPA and blogger Jim Ulvog to write a guest post on the Olympus scandal because he was the only one to explain it to me from an accounting perspective. An investigative report prepared by auditor Ernst & Young Shin Nihon – yes, the one that missed the fraud – is a scathing indictment of the company and others potentially complicit in the multi-year subterfuge.

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Visit To James Madison University

By Francine • Jan 2nd, 2012

I had the pleasure of visiting James Madison University on November 15-16 to meet with faculty in the School of Accounting, some student groups and to speak at the Beta Alpha Psi Initiation Dinner.

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Update: Mortgage Servicer Foreclosure Review Process

By Francine • Dec 27th, 2011

I was the first to report on December 6 the irony of Deloitte having been selected by, of all banks, JP Morgan Chase. The high likelihood of a conflict between the bank and the audit firm, and possibly the individual Deloitte partners assigned to the JP Morgan Chase review, should have been obvious to anyone at the OCC. It turns out I was right.

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Reminiscing About The First Too Big To Fail Bank – Continental Bank

By Francine • Dec 27th, 2011

It’s the 175th anniversary of American Banker this year and my editors asked me to write something about my experiences at Continental Bank, my first job.
There were some parts we had to cut so I thought I would put them here.
“The men and women of Human Resources that I worked for during college taught me [...]

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The Plot Thickens: The House Financial Services Committee MF Global Hearing

By Francine • Dec 16th, 2011

View the story “The Plot Thickens: The House Financial Services Committee MF Global Hearing ” on Storify]

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At Deloitte, More Pain Before Any Quality Gain

By Francine • Nov 30th, 2011

re: The Auditors has seen a confidential, internal Deloitte training document, prepared this past summer, that reveals the firm expects the worst when the inspection reports for their 2009, 2010, and 2011 audits are published by the PCAOB. Is Deloitte truly committed to a sea change in tone as well as technique? I’m not convinced.

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Now Available: A New e-Book on Careers In The Big Four

By Francine • Nov 30th, 2011

Available now on the Kindle: re: The Auditors on Careers: A Compilation On Recruiting, Salaries, and the Competitive Employment Landscape

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