Dysfunctional Couple Update: Facebook and Zynga
Zynga and Facebook play out their drama in public, much to the detriment of investors who can’t leave the party early before glasses start breaking.
McKenna Panelist At NYU On Auditor Independence And Consulting
/7 Comments/in Events, Regulators, Laws, Standards, Regulations, The Big 4 And Consulting, You Can Quote Me On ThatI was at New York University’s Vincent C. Ross Institute of Accounting Research to speak on a panel that included Paul Volcker, Bob Herz and a lawyer representing PwC and EY. The Ross Roundtable on the “Impact of Reemergence of Consulting Practices at Major Audit Firms” was well attended.
Forbes Magazine: Lying With Numbers
/6 Comments/in Fraud, Latest, Madoff, MF Global, Pure Content, Regulators, Laws, Standards, Regulations, You Can Quote Me On ThatThe 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.
re: The Auditors Is Six Years Old
/16 Comments/in Pure Content, You Can Quote Me On ThatThe blog is meant to highlight, for you the reader, the broad-based influence the Big 4 have in business, politics and social policy. Their reach is only exceeded by their constant grasp.
The Bailout of AIG: Mission Accomplished?
/1 Comment/in Latest, Pure Content, You Can Quote Me On ThatDid the government make a profit on its sale of AIG shares last week? Is that even the right question to ask? The former Special Inspector General of TARP Neil Barofsky and I think it’s not.
Friday Musings
/4 Comments/in Pure Content, You Can Quote Me On ThatThe writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write for the purpose of making money. Karl Marx
Book Review: Neil Barofsky’s “Bailout”
/4 Comments/in You Can Quote Me On ThatMy Friday, August 10 column at American Banker is a review of Neil Barofsky’s book, “Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Man Street While Rescuing Wall Street.”
Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer and The Big Announcement
/11 Comments/in You Can Quote Me On ThatThe new CEO of Yahoo was already a sensation before she announced, three hours after Yahoo announced her new job, that she is six months pregnant. I waded into the conversation reluctantly.
Happy Anniversary Sarbanes-Oxley! An OpEd in the Financial Times
/9 Comments/in You Can Quote Me On ThatI have an opinion piece in the Financial Times today in honor of the tenth anniversary of Sarbanes-Oxley on July 30.
When Is A Hedge Not A Hedge? The Accounting For JP Morgan’s Bet
/6 Comments/in PricewaterhouseCoopers, Pure Content, Regulators, Laws, Standards, Regulations, You Can Quote Me On ThatYesterday’s column at American Banker digs into the accounting for JP Morgan’s reported “hedge”. I was shocked – OK, not really – that no main stream media outlet had explained the stunning announcement made by Jamie Dimon last Thursday.
Pay Cut For JPM’s Jamie Dimon? There’s Still Time To Vote
/3 Comments/in You Can Quote Me On ThatMy column on the subject this morning at American Banker is getting quite a bit of play. Dimon’s mea culpa on the loss was timed to avoid lying, again, to a room full of people – JP Morgan’s Annual Meeting is tomorrow May 15 – about how bad 2nd quarter results will end up.