My take on the latest at the PCAOB and KPMG
In Episode 449 of the FCPA Compliance Report, I spoke with Tom Fox to discuss the current status of the KPMG defendants and what their conduct means for the audit profession going forward.
Posts
Update: Botta v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Case 3:18-cv-02615-RS
/in Audit Firm Management, Audit Quality, Featured, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Pure Content, The Case Against The AuditorsA judge denied PwC’s motion for summary judgement. The case goes to trial in October. Mauro Botta brought an action in district court in California against PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP alleging that PwC wrongfully terminated him in retaliation for a whistleblower complaint he made to the Securities and Exchange Commission about PwC’s auditing practices. There’s been a lot written about the case, which is ongoing.
An SEC Fine for KPMG in the PCAOB Data Theft Scandal and Another Horrible Revelation
/2 Comments/in Audit Quality, Featured, KPMG, Latest, Pure Content“Innovation demands risk-taking… which, in turn, entails redefining failure, stripping away its power to inhibit.” Chairman and CEO of KPMG Lynne Doughtie
The Question of the KPMG Whistleblower
/in Audit Quality, KPMG, PCAOB, SEC, The Case Against The AuditorsThe timeline of who told whom what and when, this time around for KPMG, is a bit more complicated than David Middendorf described in his testimony in the criminal case against him for allegedly conspiring to steal PCAOB inspection data.
McKenna On Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, and Kraft Heinz
/2 Comments/in Deloitte, Food for Thought, Pure ContentHas Warren Buffett run out of long-run? The stars aligned and Warren Buffett issued an annual shareholder letter that was forced to include an embarrassing charge for significant losses on Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in Kraft Heinz. Buffett’s letter was a rant against GAAP, and a 180 degree turn from his typical long-term focus. I was in New York […]
Do Investors Care At All About Audits Anymore?
/in Food for Thought, Pure ContentWould investors still pay for an audit if it weren’t legally mandated? Are regulators and exchanges perpetuating a government-mandated oligopolistic exclusive franchise for the Big 4 and a few additional firms that produces information investors now ignore?
MarketWatch 2018 Stories That Packed A Punch
/in Food for ThoughtA wrap-up of my writing in 2018 on three topics I’d been following that reached a climax last year — Theranos, FDIC v. PwC and KPMG/PCAOB inspection data theft— and three more where my reporting resulted in a legal or regulatory impact on the companies—ADT, Symantec, and IGC.
A Requiem for Independent Audits: The Last Days of Theranos
/in Audit Quality, The Case Against The AuditorsLooks like the Theranos investors decided that audits are worthless, even if the cost is some “immaterial to them” fraud losses.
New research: Accounting students are not generally psychopaths but some slip through
/1 Comment/in Audit Firm Management, Your CareerNew academic research says accounting students are less likely to be psychopaths who will commit fraud but surprising admissions by some suggest a reason to be wary.
Another Update on the Case of FDIC v PricewaterhouseCoopers re: Colonial Bank
/in Fraud, Independence, Internal Audit, Latest, MF Global, PCAOB, Pure Content, Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC, The Case Against The AuditorsOn February 28 the US Justice Department fined Deloitte & Touche LLP $149.5 million for alleged fraud against the government related to its role as the independent outside auditor of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. Also: The damages phase of the FDIC v. PwC case regarding Colonial Bank is set to begin in Washington DC on March 20.
Revenue Recognition is Coming: Part 2
/in Food for Thought, Pure ContentI’ve been coaching my colleagues on how to spot updates and interesting anecdotes about revenue recognition during the second quarter earnings season. Now we are catching up on the Qs filed and comparing disclosures after concentrating on what was said in earnings releases and calls.