Madoff, MLK, Buddha And Elusive Nature of Self-Interest
By Francine • Jan 20th, 2014Your first obligation as a professional is to your client, not your firm, your partners, or even your family.
Archive for the ‘Pure Content’ Category
Winning! PwC Argues Both Sides Of The Partner Naming Debate
By Francine • Dec 19th, 2013How do the audit firms keep winning the war while losing battles left and right? They use the law and the courts to delay, deter and distract from transparency by settling, and sealing what they can, before the public can find out what silly arguments they often make in their defense.
New In Chicago Booth’s Capital Ideas Magazine: Big Four To Big Three
By Francine • Dec 13th, 2013Could the audit industry, which thrives on a government mandate that subsidizes an oligopolistic business model, survive if we went, catastrophically, from four to three global firms?
Call of Duty: Who Has The Last Word On “Network” Audits of US-Listed Companies?
By Francine • Dec 10th, 2013Who has the last word on audit quality and compliance with GAAP and SEC filing requirements for US-listed foreign companies? If you were hoping it was the US audit firm, you’ll have to prove your case in court.
Naming Them: Why Markets Deserve To Know Audit Partner Names And More
By Francine • Nov 24th, 2013We now know more about what the firms have been hiding. The global capital markets, not just current shareholders, need full disclosure of the engagement teams on all public issuers over time, and in a way that is easily accessible.
Global Audit Firms Take “Pay To Play” From Sponsored Content to Conferences
By Francine • Nov 18th, 2013If we can’t trust journalists to sort out who’s telling the truth and who’s just selling us, who can we trust?
The “Chilling Effect”: No One Important Wants The Auditor’s Opinion
By Francine • Nov 13th, 2013Are auditors too cozy with management and the Audit Committee? Unfortunately, that the way they all seem to like it. Investors and the capital markets suffer.
PwC To Acquire Booz But Broader Not Better For Integrity Of Global Capital Markets
By Francine • Nov 10th, 2013PwC says it will acquire Booz. Don’t count on the SEC or the PCAOB to stop PwC and its audit firm competitors from “slipping back” into the old conflicts between audit and consulting. Is anyone guarding the guardians?
Only Money—Deloitte Pays Another Fine And Then Moves On
By Francine • Oct 23rd, 2013Deloitte has been caught thumbing its nose at regulators again. Deloitte is the best example in the Big Four of how a large consulting business corrupts an audit firm.
Francine McKenna (@retheauditors on Twitter) is a CPA, writer, speaker and subject matter expert with 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. She is a two-time Gerald Loeb Award finalist and a frequently quoted freelance journalist. For more info, click the "About" link at the bottom of this page.