McKenna at The Frunchroom
She’s a native South Sider, and she definitely traveled the longest distance to be at the show at Beverly Arts Center. Guess who?
Posts
Peter Thiel’s Pursuit Of Technological Progress; It’s Not About Democracy and It’s Definitely Not About Capitalism – Part 1
/in Food for Thought, Pure ContentPeter Thiel is no philosopher or a new era public intellectual. Thiel is, instead, the embodiment of a technocratic elitist and libertarian individualist with one goal: growth in wealth. This is part 1 of a paper about Thiel I wrote recently for a class in the Masters of Liberal Arts degree program at the University of Chicago.
Peter Thiel’s Pursuit Of Technological Progress; It’s Not About Democracy and It’s Definitely Not About Capitalism – Part 2
/in Food for Thought, Pure ContentOne of Peter Thiel’s most interesting ideas is the Thiel Fellowship. It is also his most insidious. In Part 2 of my paper, I talk about borrowing from Timothy Leary, Thiel’s Fellowship initiative, Karl Marx, and the “iron cage” Thiel promotes for anyone not quite as bright as he.
Update: Writing About Equity Market Structure at MarketWatch
/in Food for Thought, Pure ContentOne area I am covering now at MarketWatch is market structure, specifically the equity markets. Reforming equity markets is a big ongoing issue, especially after the May 2010 flash crash. Here’s a summary of the articles, updated for a new one on February 3, I’ve written since May on the subject and some background on some of the many controversies.
Looking Into SEC’s Equity Markets Structure Committee at MarketWatch
/in Food for ThoughtMy piece on the SEC’s new Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee, spanning several online pages, is now out at MarketWatch.
A Need for Transparency In Financial Staffing: A Guest Post From Dan Gaffney
/in Food for ThoughtAccording to Freelancers Union, almost one-third of the American workforce is independent. That’s nearly 42 million people and growing. The staffing industry, which should support the wave of new freelancers, hasn’t adapted since William Russell Kelly founded the Russell Kelly Office Service in Detroit in 1946.
Exclusive From Monadnock Research: Big Four Fiscal 2013 Advisory Practice Rankings and Conflict Risk Metrics
/2 Comments/in Latest, Pure Content, The Big 4 And ConsultingThis Monadnock Research Note offers an in-depth analysis of organic growth and strategic M&A in non-audit services for the Big Four audit firms, highlighting the growing risks associated with an increasing proportion of advisory relative to audit services at Big Four firms – and the conflict risk that this unique mix of services presents.
VC Horowitz Implicates Auditor PwC In Story About Dodging Backdating Bullet
/3 Comments/in Latest, Pure Content, The Case Against The AuditorsImagine my surprise when Ben Horowitz, one half of the venture capital team of Andreessen Horowitz, wrote a blog post about dodging a stock option backdating jail term that also implicates PwC.
Global Audit Firms Take “Pay To Play” From Sponsored Content to Conferences
/5 Comments/in Pure Content, The Big 4 And ConsultingIf we can’t trust journalists to sort out who’s telling the truth and who’s just selling us, who can we trust?
PwC To Acquire Booz But Broader Not Better For Integrity Of Global Capital Markets
/8 Comments/in Latest, Pure Content, The Big 4 And ConsultingPwC says it will acquire Booz. Don’t count on the SEC or the PCAOB to stop PwC and its audit firm competitors from “slipping back” into the old conflicts between audit and consulting. Is anyone guarding the guardians?
Crain’s Chicago Business Focuses On Big Four Auditors And Consulting
/1 Comment/in The Big 4 And ConsultingCrain’s Chicago Business and journalist Steve Strahler have produced a series on the reemergence of the consulting arms of the Big Four audit firms with a particular focus on the Midwest and Chicago firm leadership. I’m quoted and there’s a nice photo.
An Interview For The Society of Professional Journalists Region 1 Conference
/in Pure Content, Your CareerDavid Levitt of the Society of Professional Journalists Region 1 in New Jersey
asked me back in April to answer a few questions for a conference panel I, unfortunately, could not attend live.