• Archive for the ‘Pure Content’ Category

    Interesting Disclosures During TBW v. PwC Pre-Trial Period

    By • Sep 26th, 2016

    The 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 • Sep 25th, 2016

    Here’s a brief look at the TBW Plan Trustee v. PwC trial, what led to it and what’s next.


    Peter Thiel’s Pursuit Of Technological Progress; It’s Not About Democracy and It’s Definitely Not About Capitalism – Part 1

    By • Jul 25th, 2016

    Peter Thiel is no philosopher or a new era public intellectual. Thiel is, instead, the embodiment of a technocratic elitist and libertarian individualist with one goal: growth in wealth. This is part 1 of a paper about Thiel I wrote recently for a class in the Masters of Liberal Arts degree program at the University of Chicago.


    Peter Thiel’s Pursuit Of Technological Progress; It’s Not About Democracy and It’s Definitely Not About Capitalism – Part 3

    By • Jul 25th, 2016

    As a journalist, a reporter, I sometimes have to read things I would not otherwise. My luxury as a freelance journalist has been to write what I want, for whom I wish, when I want, and charge what the market will bear. Nothing lasts forever.


    Peter Thiel’s Pursuit Of Technological Progress; It’s Not About Democracy and It’s Definitely Not About Capitalism – Part 2

    By • Jul 25th, 2016

    One of Peter Thiel’s most interesting ideas is the Thiel Fellowship. It is also his most insidious. In Part 2 of my paper, I talk about borrowing from Timothy Leary, Thiel’s Fellowship initiative, Karl Marx, and the “iron cage” Thiel promotes for anyone not quite as bright as he.


    Peter Thiel Is A Trump Supporter, Convention Speaker; But Why?

    By • Jul 25th, 2016

    Peter Thiel gave a closing night speech, and endorsement of Donald Trump, at the Republican convention last week.


    Update: Writing About Equity Market Structure at MarketWatch

    By • Feb 16th, 2016

    One area I am covering now at MarketWatch is market structure, specifically the equity markets. Reforming equity markets is a big ongoing issue, especially after the May 2010 flash crash. Here’s a summary of the articles, updated for a new one on February 3, I’ve written since May on the subject and some background on some of the many controversies.


    Best Case Yet For Publishing Audit Partner Names: Grant Thornton’s Koeppel

    By • Dec 14th, 2015

    The 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.


    The Case of Valeant; Not Over By a Long Shot

    By • Nov 2nd, 2015

    Now that Valeant has cut off the gangrenous Philidor arm, we may never know the true extent of any accounting manipulation or fraud. And then again it may all come out when the rest of the organization is scrutinized. I’d say be prepared for big inventory writeoffs, or maybe even a restatement.


    McKenna Interviewed On KPMG And FIFA By The Bottom Line Canada

    By • Oct 19th, 2015

    I was interviewed by The Bottom Line magazine in Canada back in June on KPMG’s role as auditor of FIFA.


    « Older Entries