Archive for the ‘SEC’ Category

Are Auditors Reporting Fraud And Illegal Acts? The SEC Knows But Isn’t Telling

By Francine • Feb 22nd, 2012

There are still many unanswered questions about how and why the financial crisis frauds occurred. New frauds, such as the Chinese reverse merger frauds, took advantage of a public listing loophole that the SEC and auditors missed. All these investor losses occurred under the supposedly watchful eyes of auditors, who are paid dearly to protect shareholders but in many cases are either complicit, incompetent, or both.

Share

A Closer Look At Clawbacks

By Francine • Oct 23rd, 2011

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Dodd-Frank’s clawback provision both require a restatement. The restatement of financial results to correct material errors – whether those errors occurred by default or by design – is a necessary condition for enforcing both the Sarbanes-Oxley Section 304 provision and the new Dodd-Frank law.

Share

KPMG May Answer For GE Tax Work

By Francine • Sep 21st, 2011

Going Concern reported yesterday that KPMG professionals have been ordered to preserve all correspondence and documentation related to the tax “loaned staff” assignment it has with long-time client GE. That means someone – the SEC or PCAOB – is investigating.

Share

New @Forbes: Bank of America Plays Hide And Seek Using Fannie Mae

By Francine • Aug 11th, 2011

Making 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.

Share

Making Mortgage Fraudsters Pay…But Via Private Lawsuits (And Some Attorneys General) Not Law Enforcement

By Francine • Jul 5th, 2011

Thank 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.

Share

McKenna Quoted in American Banker re: Second-Lien Mortgages

By Francine • May 8th, 2011

I was quoted on May 2 in an article in American Banker by Alex Ulam entitled, “Why Second-Lien Loans Remain A Worry”. My quote focused on disclosures and transparency – for the loans and the reserves for losses. It’s a subject I’ve written about extensively.

Share

McKenna at American Accounting Association Public Interest Conference

By Francine • Apr 18th, 2011

Here’s the speech and slides I used for the AAA Public Interest Conference on April 1-2 and Top X list of possible research topics for accounting and audit academics interested in public policy.

I’ll be at the American Accounting Association Midwest Conference in Columbus, Ohio May 12-14. I’m on a panel to discuss the audit firm model and will take questions at a separate session. Hope to see you there.

If you would like me to speak for your group, please email me at fmckenna@mckennapartners.com

Share

Inside The Mind of An Inside Trader

By Francine • Mar 5th, 2011

The SEC has accused one of the most prominent businessmen ever implicated in such crimes, Rajat Gupta, a former McKinsey & Company Global Managing Director, of insider trading. It’s understandable that, in the heat of this moment, some might naïvely compare the consequences of the criminal indictment of an audit firm with civil charges against an individual, albeit one who trades on – pun intended – his association with a prestigious professional services firm. It’s not the same thing.

Share

Whistleblowers Are Not Pretty

By Francine • Feb 3rd, 2011

This 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. [...]

Share

Sarbanes-Oxley For Everyone: To Be Or Not To Be? (With Postscript)

By Francine • Nov 24th, 2009

Sarbanes-Oxley (SOx) made law what is best practice for all public companies or companies that issue public debt. That includes “smaller” companies.

Share

« Older Entries