PwC is scheduled to go to trial for malpractice related to the bankruptcy of SemGroup in August, almost six years later. The SemGroup Litigation Trust, pursuing claims on behalf of the company and its creditors, alleges PwC did a terrible audit. But it’s worse than just lousy auditing, especially if a trial exposes the truth of PwC’s disingenuous defenses.
On February 19, 2013, I spoke to the Chicago Chapter of the Market Technicians Association. The topic was, “Risk 2013: Protecting Your Trading Accounts From Fraud”.
Did 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.
Available now on the Kindle: re: The Auditors on Careers: A Compilation On Recruiting, Salaries, and the Competitive Employment Landscape
One of the wonders of Twitter is the people you meet. You can write the tool off as talk, talk but it’s been a wonderful window to new worlds for me. People I would have never imagined knowing are in my life because we can gauge common interests passively. Which interests you reveal are entirely […]
Almost everyone wondering where the missing MF Global customer assets have gone thinks they will show up eventually. I believe the assets are long gone.
This post was originally published three years ago on September 17, 2008. Given everything that is going on – ongoing investigation of EY’s role in Lehman collapse, more lawsuits against the Big 4 audit firms for crisis failures, disclosure of Deloitte’s failings as an auditor as far back as 2006 – I thought it may […]
The next time something goes terribly wrong at a Berkshire Hathaway company, there’s a strong possibility no one will hear about it. Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger won’t be held directly responsible either. That’s the beauty of Buffett’s version of a conglomerate corporate structure, decentralized to such an obscene level such that its minimalism is brandished as a feature not a bug.
Thank 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.
CNBC’s JIm Cramer went off this week on the JP Morgan Securities settlement with the SEC. In his mind, someone, everyone got off too easy. It’s a familiar lament.
What’s the difference between Lehman/Hudson Castle – the structured investment vehicle (SIV) mentioned in the New York Times last week – and the SEC fraud charges against Goldman? Aren’t both about disclosure?
I’ve recently written two pieces for Forbes.com and my column, Accounting Watchdog about Wall Street and criminality. Here are two stories about Wall Street criminals and those that defend them.
