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This is the fourth big insider trading case in the least few years against a senior tenured partner that betrayed the public’s trust. In none of the cases did the firm’s “extensive” and “comprehensive” independence compliance programs spot the behavior or the illegal actions. Stay tuned. There will be much more to this story, I guarantee.
This post about Ernst & Young’s aggressive tax advice to audit client Wal-Mart was originally posted October 29, 2007. It’s worth everyone – I’m talking to you SEC and PCAOB – taking another look at this given Wal-Mart’s new Mexican bribery problems and the SEC investigation of Ernst & Young for tax lobbying to audit clients. (Ernst & Young has been silent and left out of most media discussion about Wal-Mart’s FCPA problems in Mexico and elsewhere.)
Looking for some interesting beach reading? Download one of my e-books to your Kindle or other e-reader. They’re an easy and affordable way to sample some of my writing, organized by theme across all the places they’ve been published, on topics we’re still talking about. Like a book of short stories except some of these truths are stranger than fiction.
I was asked to talk about HP and Autonomy tonight on NPR’s “All Things Considered” program.
The SEC is busy chasing Ponzi schemers and foreign bribers. But bogus accounting remains a bigger danger to the markets. (More links.)
Something is still missing today, the one year anniversary of the bankruptcy of MF Global.
What’s still missing from this sordid affair is an accounting of the whereabouts of the financial auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
When you think about the big Las Vegas casinos, you should be thinking about Macau instead. The casino industry is a good example of the U.S. based multinationals that would suffer from any bold moves by regulators against the Chinese member firms of the Big Four audit networks.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is rattling a dull sabre again towards Shanghai-based Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA Ltd. for its refusal to provide the agency with audit work papers related to another China-based company under investigation for potential accounting fraud against U.S. investors. It looks to me like it’s personal rather than productive.
I expect the auditors to earn their fees by looking out for investors. But maybe that’s just pie in the sky.
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.
 Francine McKenna (@retheauditors) has 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. Look for my column, "Accounting Watchdog" at Forbes.com and "Accountable" at American Banker. For more information, click "About" at the bottom of this page. For more information contact Francine McKenna, fmckenna@mckennapartners.com |
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Smaller cities and smaller firms with industry niches value prior...