PwC – Page 11 – Francine McKenna

New York Court of Appeals Stands By Corporate Man: In Pari Delicto Prevails

October 22, 2010/11 Comments/in Latest, Pure Content, The Case Against The Auditors

The New York Court of Appeals decided on October 21, 2010, by a vote of 4-3, to “decline to alter our precedent relating to in pari delicto, and imputation and the adverse interest exception, as we would have to do to bring about the expansion of third-party liability sought by plaintiffs here.”

The decision is flawed, misguided and strongly biased towards corporate interests rather than shareholder and investor interests.

Can I Have Your Autograph: Signing The Audit Report

October 4, 2010/10 Comments/in Food for Thought

When the PCAOB issued a Concept Release in late 2009 on requiring the engagement partner to sign the audit report boy oh boy were there a lot of comments. The firms came out en masse to denounce the proposal.

Worlds Apart But Two Of A Kind: Glitnir, Satyam And Their Auditor PwC

May 17, 2010/11 Comments/in Latest, Pure Content, The Big 4 And Globalization

Taking care of family and close friends first is universal. Whether Irish, Italian, Kenyan, Mexican, or Tunisian… Legal, regulatory, ethical and moral lines are often crossed in service to family and those who are “like a brother to me…” There are obvious similarities between the Satyam and Glitnir frauds, not the least of which is they share an auditor – PwC.

In Pari Delicto: Are Auditors Equally At Fault In The Big Fraud Cases?

March 9, 2010/16 Comments/in AIG, Fraud, Latest, Pure Content, The Case Against The Auditors

The way I see it, the in pari delicto doctrine is being used like a pair of needle nosed pliers by audit firm defense lawyers to diffuse the bomb – huge liability for some of the biggest frauds in history. The in pari delicto doctrine attempts to pull the auditors’ tails from the fire by excusing any of their guilty acts due to the approval of those acts by potentially equally guilty executives.

Lost Your Job? No One Cares!

November 19, 2009/1 Comment/in Writing for Others

You may have been cut from one of the audit firms in the past several months. You may still be working but feeling a bit insecure. The cuts have been well documented here. Regardless of how much the firms and their cheerleaders try to diminish the significance of any individual action they’ve taken, they all add […]

@Going Concern “Can I Have Your Autograph?”

September 30, 2009/11 Comments/in Audit Quality, PCAOB, Writing for Others

My 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 […]

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

June 6, 2009/31 Comments/in Latest, Pure Content, The Case Against The Auditors

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.

How Satyam Supported PwC’s Schizophrenic Strategy To Reenter The Systems Integration Business

May 26, 2009/38 Comments/in Latest, Pure Content, The Big 4 And Globalization

Independence is one of the most important concepts a public accountant must grapple with. Before the technical standards, before the decisions about classification of transactions, before the methodologies, checklists, and workpapers, before any mechanical pencils are pumped with lead, one must decide whether to accept the client, and every subsequent engagement for that client, based on the codified standards for independence and objectivity, as well as one’s appetite for risk…To reenter the systems integration business, PwC had to find a way around their own weakness in technology leadership, lack of experienced resources, and the constraints of the IBM non-compete agreement.

Enter Satyam.

Hey Big 4! If I Were You, Here’s What I’d Do (Instead…)

April 8, 2009/136 Comments/in Audit Firm Management, Latest, Pure Content, Your Career

I asked myself, “fm, what would you do if one of them asked you to step up and offer solutions?” If anyone asked me to help find a way to get through this period,

-Without reductions in force,
-Without betraying the trust of otherwise very loyal employees,
-Without losing the confidence of key clients,
-Without endangering quality and integrity in the work they’ve been enfranchised to do under the exclusive licensing of various federal governments and public/private bodies such as exchanges,
-Without risking new lawsuits for negligence and complicity on fraud and malfeasance, and
-Without completely abdicating responsibility to their true client – the shareholders and investors in the public companies they audit,

I would start at the top.

Hope Springs Eternal

December 3, 2008/13 Comments/in Pure Content, Your Career

It’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.

The Fannie Mae Freddie Mac Takeover – Now We’re Holding The Bag

September 8, 2008/12 Comments/in Pure Content

…And let me make clear what today’s actions mean for Americans and their families. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are so large and so interwoven in our financial system that a failure of either of them would cause great turmoil in our financial markets here at home and around the globe. This turmoil would directly […]

Fannie and Freddie – Incorrigible

April 24, 2008/4 Comments/in KPMG

Fannie Mae’ s external auditor was KPMG but now KPMG is suing Fannie. Didn’t seem to bother Deloitte, who jumped at the chance to get close to Fannie. Freddie Mac’s external auditor is PwC, who hates to abandon a sinking ship. PwC inherited this mess from Arthur Andersen. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Warned on Accounting […]

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