More on KPMG and the Precedents for Possible Punishment
By Francine • Apr 23rd, 2017Why did they do it? The WSJ walks around the question but KPMG may face big fines and, I think, its partners and the PCAOB professional could face criminal charges.
Archive for the ‘The Case Against The Auditors’ Category
KPMG Takes Its Turn With a Big 4 -Sized Scandal
By Francine • Apr 17th, 2017The KPMG/PCAOB scandal is neither the first or last time a Big 4 firm reminded us that there’s nothing special anymore about being a Big 4 firm professional The firms, and their partners, are not capitalist eunuchs, immune from perverse incentives that advocates for free markets say, if big enough, can corrupt anyone.
Interesting Disclosures During TBW v. PwC Pre-Trial Period
By Francine • Sep 26th, 2016The TBW v. PwC trial gave the public quite a few interesting disclosures about the audit industry and PwC, including some some pointing to how the firms’ finances, in this case PwC, work.
TBW Plan Trustee v. PwC: A Look at What Led To It and What’s Next
By Francine • Sep 25th, 2016Here’s a brief look at the TBW Plan Trustee v. PwC trial, what led to it and what’s next.
Best Case Yet For Publishing Audit Partner Names: Grant Thornton’s Koeppel
By Francine • Dec 14th, 2015The PCAOB will vote on final rule based on its proposal on Tuesday Dec 15. If audit partner names were published in the audit report, or anywhere, the public, audit committees, investors and journalists could stop lousy auditors in their tracks. Melissa Koeppel of Grant Thornton is the best case yet for making audit partner names and their engagement history, disciplinary history, and litigation history public.
PCAOB’s Franzel Speaks to AAA; Are Auditors’ ICFR Opinions Just “Busy-Work”?
By Francine • Aug 9th, 2015Auditor opinions on ICFR are not only not being done well, they are not producing warnings for investors and regulators that a material error and restatement is likely. Worse than that, when auditors get them wrong they whitewash their mistakes.
When Auditors Get Mixed Up In M&A, Smaller Clients Get Hurt
By Francine • Feb 3rd, 2015A new study says smaller public companies are paying a premium for the prestige of a Big Four auditor but the auditors are dangling small clients as chum for their large acquisitive shark audit clients.
Piling Up For PwC
By Francine • Nov 18th, 2014Update: The PCAOB is investigating PwC for its tax avoidance advice to Caterpillar, the Wall Street Journal is reporting. One down, more than 100+ PwC audit clients advised via Luxembourg to go…
18-Year Old Anthony Canalungo Questions Herbalife, And PwC, On Exchange Rates
By 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.
Auditor Independence: Another Case of Misplaced Loyalty
By 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?
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, 