Madoff, MLK, Buddha And Elusive Nature of Self-Interest
By Francine • Jan 16th, 2012Your first obligation as a professional is to your client, not your firm, your partners, or even your family.
Archive for the ‘Fraud’ Category
MF Global Updates: Forbes, American Banker
By Francine • Jan 14th, 2012Amazing but true, the MF Global story is still red hot, reason being $1.2 billion in customer funds is still missing. Here’s a recap of recent columns at Forbes and American Banker that have tracked new developments.
Update: Mortgage Servicer Foreclosure Review Process
By Francine • Dec 27th, 2011I was the first to report on December 6 the irony of Deloitte having been selected by, of all banks, JP Morgan Chase. The high likelihood of a conflict between the bank and the audit firm, and possibly the individual Deloitte partners assigned to the JP Morgan Chase review, should have been obvious to anyone at the OCC. It turns out I was right.
MF Global: Where Is The Missing Money?
By Francine • Nov 10th, 2011Almost everyone wondering where the missing MF Global customer assets have gone thinks they will show up eventually. I believe the assets are long gone.
New @Forbes: Bank of America Plays Hide And Seek Using Fannie Mae
By Francine • Aug 11th, 2011Making the non-obvious connections between the audit firms and their clients, between the clients and each other, and between the firms and each other is getting to be like shooting fish in a barrel.
Making Mortgage Fraudsters Pay…But Via Private Lawsuits (And Some Attorneys General) Not Law Enforcement
By Francine • Jul 5th, 2011Thank goodness for the plaintiffs’ bar and class action lawsuits. And state attorneys general. Without them, there’d be very little justice yet – or compensation – for any of the mortgage-related fraud perpetrated during the real estate bubble.
Not Over Until It’s Over: Price Waterhouse India Settles Satyam
By Francine • Apr 11th, 2011It’s the potential for sudden conflagrations in developing countries that keeps the global audit firms – PwC in this case – up at night. The legal quagmires in developed countries are messy, too. PwC may want to put the Satyam scandal behind them but, unfortunately, I fear there’s still much more pain for the firm to come.
@Forbes “Auditors Abandon Investors On Liability Limits”
By Francine • Mar 13th, 2011Tammy Whitehouse over at Compliance Week does a thorough job on the largest audit firms and their fear of catastophic litigation. Yes, they’re admitting it – Tammy says they’re pleading with legislators – and fighting any legislative urges to open more avenues for lawyers and their clients to sue them.
The Dodd-Frank Act gave the Securities and [...]
Whistleblowers Are Not Pretty
By Francine • Feb 3rd, 2011This article was originally published at GoingConcern.com on March 3, 2010.
Most don’t wear stilettos, although Cynthia Cooper is fairly attractive for a blond. Harry Markopolos, the Madoff “hero” whose new book is out is being called a whistleblower. I do not see him really warming up to that label or really warming up at all. [...]
McKenna Featured in Three New Videos on The Street.com
By Francine • Sep 22nd, 2010Last week while I was in New York, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Maria Woehr, a Financial Services reporter for The Street.com. We talked for about a half an hour and she’s produced three videos from that material so far.
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, 