Forbes Magazine: Lying With Numbers
The SEC is busy chasing Ponzi schemers and foreign bribers. But bogus accounting remains a bigger danger to the markets. (More links.)
On Anniversary of MF Global Bankruptcy, Something Still Missing
/11 Comments/in Fraud, MF Global, You Can Quote Me On ThatSomething 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.
Casino Industry Suffering From China Denial Syndrome
/3 Comments/in Fraud, Latest, Pure Content, The Big 4 And GlobalizationWhen 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.
Why Is The SEC Pursuing Deloitte Shanghai? Looks Like It’s Personal
/5 Comments/in Audit Firm Management, Audit Quality, Fraud, Latest, The Big 4 And GlobalizationThe 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.
Groupon: You Must Have Fallen From The Sky
/23 Comments/in Audit Quality, Fraud, Latest, Pure Content, The Case Against The AuditorsI expect the auditors to earn their fees by looking out for investors. But maybe that’s just pie in the sky.
The Risky Business of Being A Bank Chief Risk Officer
/6 Comments/in Fraud, Latest, Pure Content, You Can Quote Me On ThatIt’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.
MF Global Updates: Forbes, American Banker
/8 Comments/in Food for Thought, Fraud, Pure ContentAmazing 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
/4 Comments/in Attorney-Client Privilege, Bear Stearns, Deloitte, EY, Fraud, Independence, Latest, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Pure Content, Regulators, Laws, Standards, Regulations, Subprime, The Big 4 And ConsultingI 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?
/10 Comments/in Fraud, Latest, MF Global, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Regulators, Laws, Standards, Regulations, The Case Against The AuditorsAlmost 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
/in Audit Quality, Fair Value, Fraud, Regulators, Laws, Standards, Regulations, SEC, Subprime, You Can Quote Me On ThatMaking 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
/9 Comments/in Audit Quality, Deloitte, EY, Fraud, KPMG, Latest, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Pure Content, Regulators, Laws, Standards, Regulations, SEC, Subprime, The Case Against The AuditorsThank 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
/11 Comments/in Audit Firm Management, Audit Quality, Fraud, Latest, Pure Content, The Big 4 And GlobalizationIt’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.