The Big 4 And The Nazis

You might be saying, “She’s really gone to far now. Can she really make the connection?”

Well, yes… Don’t forget Frank Piantidosi’s claim to fame…

“Between 1924 and 1926 three major British accountancy firms established offices in Germany which remained open during the mid-1930s. These were Whinney, Smith, Baguley & Co.(Jones, 1981, p. 175), Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co.(Markus, 1997, p. 16)and Price Waterhouse. By far the largest foreign firm in Germany was Price Waterhouse. Markus has shown that during the 1930s this firm was ‘‘one of the largest practices of all the accounting firms, both national and international, practicing in Germany’’(1997, p. 17). Price Waterhouse in Germany had a resident staff of 70, was responsible for 72 statutory audits of German concerns and earned fees of RM 1.2 m(ibid., p. 267). The Berlin office was the most successful of Price Waterhouse, Europe (Jones, 1995, pp.220 S. P. Walker 174]179). Although the continental firm contributed a small proportion of the total profits of Price Waterhouse their level almost trebled from the 1920s to the early 1930s(ibid., pp. 400]401).

The Daily Caveat has some links to interesting story about the Department of Justice’s Office of Special Investigations, which has a near-thirty year history of hunting Nazis world-wide. The group has nailed 107 of these bastards since 1979, with prosecutions coming as recently as this past year. Given that the pool of Nazis and their collaborators is beginning to expire, the OSI has received dispensation to pursue criminals from more recent conflicts, including Rwanda and Bosnia.

Also, From Nazi collaborator to Fortune 500 – companies that got rich on the Reich – Boing Boing. Who were their auditors?

(Hint – Siemens is one of the companies named.)