Author ArchiveNew Orleans January 2008: "He leadeth me beside still waters…"By Francine • Aug 29th, 2015I went to New Orleans in January 2008 for a few weeks to work with Habitat for Humanity building new houses. Here’s a slide show of what I saw three years after Katrina in the 9th Ward New Orleans LA. Just went down on my own and joined a random group. There was still a […] 18-Year Old Anthony Canalungo Questions Herbalife, And PwC, On Exchange RatesBy Francine • Sep 23rd, 2014Anthony Canalungo wrote a really interesting article about Herbalife’s financials in Venezuela. Three different MLM companies from the peer group in addition to Herbalife operating in Venezuela and all except for Herbalife are using SICAD 2. What else do these four firms have in common? Auditor PwC. More On My Reuters Breakingviews Column: The Andersen Tax Name GrabBy Francine • Sep 8th, 2014The news that a tax consulting firm made up of ex-Andersen partners would take the Andersen name garnered much media attention, as you might expect. It says something—but maybe not what the firm’s partners think— that so many years after the destruction of Arthur Andersen by criminal indictment—thirteen years—so many people care. Auditor Independence: Another Case of Misplaced LoyaltyBy Francine • Sep 2nd, 2014Ryan Adams testified on behalf of PwC in an important court case. How can PwC be independent of Adam’s employer Marin Software, and Adams, the Financial Reporting Director at this newly public PwC-audited client company, if he’s testifying on PwC’s behalf in litigation that could impact PwC’s business model in California and, perhaps, nationally? You’ll Never Eat Lunch… A Review of “This Town” By Mark LeibovichBy Francine • Aug 24th, 2014Mark Leibovich’s “This Town” is billed in the flap copy of the dust jacket as “a blistering, stunning —and often hysterically funny— examination of our ruling class’s incestuous ‘media industrial complex.’” Does anyone still eat lunch with him? In the new 24-7 news cycle, the half-life of any criticism of DC culture is about three days. PwC Put Guy Who Whitewashed For Bank In Partner SpotBy Francine • Aug 19th, 2014The NYDFS PwC investigation discovered several emails that Benjamin Lawsky, the Superintendent of Financial Services for New York, characterized Monday as examples of a consultant going along with a “whitewash”. Big Four Takeovers Raise Concerns: McKenna Featured In The Bottom LineBy Francine • Aug 17th, 2014The August issue of The Bottom Line in Canada includes quite a few quotes and a nice color photo of me in a story about the wave of new consulting firm acquisitions by Big Four audit firms all over the world. Auditors and the Financial Crisis: Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem?By Francine • Jul 13th, 2014This is the text of my speech for the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics Conference last Friday. The theme of this year conference was “The Institutional Foundation of Capitalism”. Our special session was entitled ‘The New Financial Architecture after Financial Crisis’. SEC’s Final Pay Rules Coming Any Day: Will They Be Enough To Level Playing Field?By Francine • Jul 6th, 2014Senator Robert Menéndez [D-NJ], author of the Dodd-Frank pay ratio disclosure rule, didn’t take “not yet” for an answer when SEC Chair Mary Jo White testified before the Senate Banking Committee in late July a year ago. Menendez told White: “I’ve been waiting for several years now.” (Me, too!) University of Chicago Booth Capital Ideas Magazine: Two New ArticlesBy Francine • Jun 22nd, 2014I have two articles in the University of Chicago Booth Capital Ideas Magazine Summer 2014 issue. One is about bank monitoring of private company financials and the other is about bank stress test disclosure. Their cover story, “Think you’re not a racist?” is also worth a close read.
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Francine McKenna (@retheauditors) is the Transparency Reporter at MarketWatch.com, a Dow Jones publication, where her work is also featured frequently in the Wall Street Journal. McKenna had more than twenty-five years of experience in consulting and professional services including tenure at two Big 4 firms, both in the US and abroad before becoming a journalist. Look for her prior columns, 