For The Auditors Nothing’s Over Until It’s Over: Or Is It?
The leadership of the Big 4 audit firms – Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers – are scared witless.
Posts
Deloitte Wins Major Round Re: Alleged Inside Trader Flanagan
/57 Comments/in Latest, Pure Content, Your CareerDeloitte should be careful what they wish for. The Flanagan insider trading litigation has forced them to reveal their woefully inadequate policies and procedures regarding independence compliance. While trying to placate their clients who were dragged through the mud on this and exact revenge against their own leadership-level partner, a pillar of the Chicago social and philanthropic community, they’ve admitted to allowing Flanagan to breach their standards more than 300 times and to get away with it.
They Weren’t There: Auditors And The Financial Crisis
/25 Comments/in Latest, Pure Content, The Big 4 And GlobalizationWhen I ask, “Where were the auditors?” and decry the fact that “they weren’t there,” it’s not due to some unreasonable, unfair focus on the most milquetoast of potential culprits. I bang this drum because the auditors should have been there, as a last stop, where the buck should have stopped, as gatekeepers, watchdogs, advocates, and the last bastion of standards and expected values shareholders can look to.
But they weren’t.
The FEI CFRI Conference…And More
/2 Comments/in Latest, Pure Content, Regulators, Laws, Standards, Regulations, Where I've BeenI’ve just wrapped up two days of conference attendance here in New York City – The FEI Current Issues in Financial Reporting Conference and the Directorship Boardroom Leaders Forum.The Directorship BLF started with a dinner on Monday night which I was unable to attend but that featured what I heard was a great speech by “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg. The BLF conference itself didn’t kickoff until later Tuesday morning. In the meantime, on Monday I attended several sessions at the FEI CFRI conference.
Auditing Standard 5: How Now, Brown Cow?
/8 Comments/in Audit Quality, Latest, Liability Caps, Pure Content, The Case Against The AuditorsOn September 24, 2009 the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board issued a report on the first year of implementation of Auditing Standard No. 5. There’s something negative to say about each of the components reviewed.
@Going Concern “Can I Have Your Autograph?”
/11 Comments/in Audit Quality, PCAOB, Writing for OthersMy new post is up @Going Concern. “The PCAOB approved Auditing Standard No. 7, Engagement Quality Review on July 28, 2009. They also issued a Concept Release on requiring the engagement partner to sign the audit report. The comment period closed September 11th and boy oh boy were there a lot of comments. The firms […]
Going Concern Audit Opinions: Why So Few Warning Flares?
/40 Comments/in Latest, Pure Content, Regulators, Laws, Standards, Regulations, The Big 4 And GlobalizationWhen each of the notorious “financial crisis” institutions collapsed, were bailed out/nationalized by their governments or were acquired/rescued by “healthier” institutions, they were all carrying in their wallets non-qualified, clean opinions on their financial statements from their auditors.
Is A Big 4 Firm Buying BearingPoint?
/14 Comments/in Pure Content, The Big 4 And ConsultingUpdate: March 24, 2009
Looks like I was right. Twice. See new comments posted overnight for more details and a copy of the email that went out to PwC employees announcing the deal.
Today’s Washington Post:
Consulting firm BearingPointappears to be near its end.
The company, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month, said late last night that it had reached an agreement with several parties — including PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte — to sell “substantially all of its businesses.”
2009 Capital Markets Summit: The US Chamber of Commerce
/5 Comments/in Pure Content, Where I've BeenThe US Chamber of Commerce put together a very ambitious agenda and stellar group of panelists in Washington DC on March 11, 2009. The conference, subtitled, “Restoring Confidence in the U.S. Capital Markets: From Main Street to Wall Street,” had several newsworthy moments including live coverage of their keynote luncheon speaker, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase.
The Big 4 And Pending Litigation – Can They Fight The Law And Win?
/38 Comments/in Pure Content, The Case Against The AuditorsIn preparation for something else, I attempted to do a quick summary of the pending litigation against the Big 4.
It’s not easy.
Change: Brother, Do You Have The Stomach For It?
/2 Comments/in Pure ContentGetting things together this morning in preparation for a couple of days of quiet and solitude at the lake. I expect that the lake is frozen over now, but in the summer it’s full of fish and there are no powerboats. Just the place for me and Rosie Rott to hang out and think. I […]
Hope Springs Eternal
/13 Comments/in Pure Content, Your CareerIt’s snowing here in Chicago, but I’d like to think of Spring. I’d like to think of warmer, better times and I’d like to be hopeful for the future.