For your commenting pleasure, a variety pack of ponder-ables… Which multi billion dollar global government contractor was one of the few, if only, public companies of its size to be cited for a material weakness due to an ineffective internal audit function? This is not the typical “completely missing” internal audit function but one that existed […]
In Japan, it’s not unprecedented for the auditors to make everyone feel comfortable and sometimes be in on the deal… Lehman hit by fraud involving Marubeni employeesU.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers was defrauded of some $353.1 million after it was caught in a scam in Japan, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on […]
Photo Source Former tax partner set for historic payout after PwC settles harassment case I hadn’t written about this case much, although it’s a very interesting one. Many say that race and sex discrimination in business are things of the past. After all, if we can have a black man and a woman as potential […]
Interesting new comment left late Sunday night on the PwC layoffs. And I heard recently, from a journalist and a recruiter, that over a hundred more folks were let go from PwC in the San Francisco Bay area from the audit and SPA practice. How can the profession be dealing with a shortage of qualified […]
Two interesting cases shed light on the potential for complicity by the Big 4 when developing countries pull the wool over the eyes of organizations like the IMF and World Bank. And they beg the question… Did the respective international firm know what their far flung “affiliates” in the “global network” were doing? PwC ‘missed’ […]
Unfortunately, I’ve had to cancel my live visit to Washington DC for the US Chamber’s Capital Markets Summit. Under the circumstances, I am sure it will be a blast, but Chicago client requirements will keep me here. I will be blogging about it and hope to get some nuggets for you and beat Edith to […]
Picture Source Back in November, I wrote about the imperial bankers and the impending doom and gloom that permeated the market. I warned that the CEOs and their Big 4 buddies should be nervous, too. The Big 4 are now inextricably tied to their clients’ fortunes. Lawsuits are flying fast and furious as soon […]
Picture Source You know what they say… Never make the guy who makes your food mad! (Or the mercenaries with US Army guns!) What else do PwC and Goldman Sachs have in common other than the vendor who provides their cafeteria services? PwC is Goldman Sachs external auditor. For now… Food workers fed up with […]
Picture SourceThere were some very thoughtful comments to my post on Friday regarding the firms and their “global networks.” A couple of questions for my commenters: @Final Four Guy – I actually agree with your comments on this complex topic. But am curious where you think my comments are off base. As far as the […]
I guess the music’s stopped for Bear Stearns. Good to see these highly paid guys, including Jimmy Cayne, working on the weekends, earning their millions. The purchase of Bear Stearns by JP Morgan is a good thing for Deloitte and a pretty big deal for PwC. That’s because Deloitte loses a client, a problem client, […]
As we’ve seen from the comments on my PwC layoff post and other mail I’ve received, PwC is not the only one to be reducing staff via “counseling out” , “forced ranking” , “the Italian greyhounds ate the workpapers…”, or whatever other excuse they give. Both Deloitte and KPMG have also seen cuts, per my […]
MF Global Inc., the largest broker of exchange-traded futures and options, set aside $141.5 million to cover losses by an employee who “substantially exceeded” his own account’s trading limits betting on the wheat market. The company’s shares fell 28 percent, the biggest drop since their July debut, after the firm said broker Evan Dooley made […]
