Posts

Top Ten Reasons You Still Want To Work For The Auditors

College students are being wined, dined, and picked over by the large firms. The recruiting season is in full bloom. One of the most frequent searches leading to my blog is some variation on what to wear to the post-interview fancy restaurant dinner. As you go through the experience, remember: They’ve already established what you […]

An Honest Services Crisis: Professional Poison and a Chicago Connection

The Big Four, off and on, have had some of the largest global consulting practices across most categories.The larger an organization gets, the more its staff takes on the average characteristics of individuals within the markets it serves. Mark O’Connor of Monadnock Research presents a guest post on the special risks posed by Big 4 audit firms who provide consulting services.

Dear PCAOB Board: Your Job Is To Serve And Protect Investors

It’s time for the PCAOB Board to think about how they might respond when the audit firms are not going to be so pleased as punch. There’s much for them to address. I’ll be talking about some of those changes and improvements in future posts. But, the most important role of the PCAOB is the inspections process. Let’s take a look at how well that’s going.

The Perils Of Pre-Inspection File Polishing

Ever wondered what it would be like to see your name in print? Most auditors do not aspire to seeing their name in the papers. It’s a career-limiting move to be cited in a bankruptcy examiner’s report or a disciplinary order issued by the PCAOB.

BDO International: “Manage and Control” Means Slam Dunk For BES

After a week’s delay, the Banco Espirito Santo (aka ES Bankest ) vs. BDO International trial finally started in Miami on June 2. I was approached by Courtroom View Network and given access to the full trial tapes and select clips in exchange for this mention.

I’ve been following Stephen Thomas of Thomas Alexander & Forrester in the BDO International case and in his new initiative regarding KPMG International and New Century. He’s on a roll. And I personally believe he’s got a slam dunk case against BDO International.

Hedge Funds And Their Auditors – It’s Good To Be Aggressive

Every once and a while someone asks me, “fm, how do you keep up with all the news, the stories?  How do you know all this stuff?” Well…Although I have been accused of conceit, presumption, being “too smart,” being too quick to draw conclusions, painting a whole firm black on very little basis, precociousness, general […]