Update: The Shoemaker’s Children… The Big Four And Their Own Broker-Dealers
Did you know that each of the Big Four audit firms and some of the next tier also run SEC-registered broker-dealers? You’ll never guess who audits them.
Posts
McKenna At Medium: Two New Columns For the Bull Market Collection
/in Writing for OthersI’m part of a group effort at Medium.com called “Bull Market”. The first two columns are about taxes—the inversionist avoidance kind and one corporation’s horrible allergy to them.
More On My Reuters Breakingviews Column: The Andersen Tax Name Grab
/2 Comments/in Pure ContentThe news that a tax consulting firm made up of ex-Andersen partners would take the Andersen name garnered much media attention, as you might expect. It says something—but maybe not what the firm’s partners think— that so many years after the destruction of Arthur Andersen by criminal indictment—thirteen years—so many people care.
Auditor Independence: Another Case of Misplaced Loyalty
/2 Comments/in Independence, PCAOB, Pure Content, Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC, The Case Against The AuditorsRyan Adams testified on behalf of PwC in an important court case. How can PwC be independent of Adam’s employer Marin Software, and Adams, the Financial Reporting Director at this newly public PwC-audited client company, if he’s testifying on PwC’s behalf in litigation that could impact PwC’s business model in California and, perhaps, nationally?
Big Four Takeovers Raise Concerns: McKenna Featured In The Bottom Line
/in The Big 4 And ConsultingThe August issue of The Bottom Line in Canada includes quite a few quotes and a nice color photo of me in a story about the wave of new consulting firm acquisitions by Big Four audit firms all over the world.
SEC’s Final Pay Rules Coming Any Day: Will They Be Enough To Level Playing Field?
/3 Comments/in You Can Quote Me On ThatSenator Robert Menéndez [D-NJ], author of the Dodd-Frank pay ratio disclosure rule, didn’t take “not yet” for an answer when SEC Chair Mary Jo White testified before the Senate Banking Committee in late July a year ago. Menendez told White: “I’ve been waiting for several years now.” (Me, too!)
Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Are Back: More “Adjustments”, More Calls For Reform
/10 Comments/in Pure Content, You Can Quote Me On That“If accounting errors were felonies in California, Fannie Mae would already be serving life under Three Strikes.” That’s what GoingConcern.com said. See what I told TheStreet.com about Fannie Mae’s latest multi-billion dollar “adjustments”.
US Department of Justice v KPMG: Document Shows “Too Few To Fail” Was Opening Premise
/2 Comments/in Attorney-Client Privilege, PCAOB, Pure Content, Regulators, Laws, Standards, Regulations, Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC, The Case Against The AuditorsA new KPMG tax shelter era document surfaced, in original format, that had not yet been cited or quoted from in any media reports. The document tells us that late in the negotiations, June 27, 2005 the DOJ still would not agree to all of KPMG’s terms, including promising not to criminally charge the firm. But the decision to make sure the firm did not “go under” had already been made. KPMG and its Skadden attorneys only had to make sure the DOJ didn’t, in a misguided show of sheer aggressiveness, cause another Arthur Andersen.
PwC, And HP, Sued By Mobile Monitor Technologies LLC For Theft of Trade Secrets
/2 Comments/in Latest, Pure Content, The Big 4 And ConsultingAn ugly lawsuit filed by Mobile Monitor Technologies LLC against PwC and HP could be an excellent example of what Monadnock’s Mark O’Connor referred to in a recent post here: Advisory work that auditors perform can present an untenable conflict in performing their primary role, and public duty to the capital markets, as auditors.
Benjamin Wey Sent Me A Threatening Email About AgFeed
/10 Comments/in Fraud, Pure ContentI received a threatening email yesterday from Chinese stock promoter Tianbing “Benjamin” Wey, whose New York Global Group (“NYGG”) was closely affiliated with the failed, fraudulent Chinese hog producer AgFeed during the period under litigation by the SEC and shareholders. He did not like my mention of his relationship to AgFeed, its auditor and its executives in a recent post about AgFeed’s audit firms. His claims are not only strange but wrong.
e-Books On MF Global, AIG, Goldman Sachs, PwC and Careers
/5 Comments/in Fraud, MF Global, Pure ContentThe MF Global Holdings Bankruptcy Plan Administrator filed a lawsuit on March 29 for professional malpractice and breach of contract against PwC as auditor of MF Global Holdings. I will be writing about the complaint and the status of the case early next week. In the meantime, you can review all I’ve written prior. I’ve updated this post with additional links as well as a link to my e-book compilation of MF Global columns from all sources that has material going back to its roots in the Refco fraud.
All The Auditors Are Above Average: Jay Hanson Allergic To “Audit Failure”
/8 Comments/in Pure Content, The Case Against The AuditorsShould audit and auditor failure be solely defined by identified material misstatements that result in restatements, and internal control failures? I don’t think so but Jay Hanson, PCAOB Board member, said so recently.