Posts

Update: Botta v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Case 3:18-cv-02615-RS

A 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.

The Question of the KPMG Whistleblower

The 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.

MarketWatch 2018 Stories That Packed A Punch

A 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.

Update: KPMG: Whittle and Holder Plead Guilty

KPMG partner Thomas Whittle broke ranks on October 29 and pleaded guilty to all five criminal charges. He is now cooperating with prosecutors. Do you have more information about this case? Leave a comment here, one I can leave unposted, if you wish to communicate confidentially or DM me on Twitter @retheauditors for Signal encrypted confidential messaging instructions.

New Stories about the KPMG-PCAOB Scandal

“Innovation demands risk-taking… which, in turn, entails redefining failure, stripping away its power to inhibit.” Chairman and CEO of KPMG Lynne Doughtie

More on KPMG and the Precedents for Possible Punishment

Why did they do it? The WSJ walks around the question but KPMG may face big fines and, I think, its partners and the PCAOB professional could face criminal charges.

NYSSCPAs Breakfast Briefing: Whistleblowing Under Dodd-Frank – Update

I’ve written at Forbes about the event, including some quotes from Sherron Watkins that made news. Links to a replay of the webcast and a live-blog of the event are included here.

Three Accounting-Related Stories At MarketWatch

At MarketWatch I am fortunate that I am not expected to write a story every day, although that’s fine if something comes up like an SEC enforcement order or a spectacular corporate scandal.  I am encouraged, instead, to come up with original analysis of important stories in financial regulation and legislation. We want to add […]

Auditors Can Be Whistleblowers: A Guest Post On Recent Developments In Whistleblower Case Law

Several recent developments regarding auditor whistleblowers should be of interest to internal and external auditors and compliance professionals, whether they work for a public company or a professional services provider.

“Tax Avoidance On An Industrial Scale” Says British MP About PwC’s Luxembourg Work For AIG And Others

British MP Margaret Hodge grilled Kevin Nicholson, of PwC’s UK tax practice, in a Parliament Public Accounts Committee hearing on Monday. You know you’re on your “back foot” when the first thing out of your mouth has to be a denial that you lied under oath. More details about PwC’s tax avoidance scheme for audit client and US government owned AIG.

All The Auditors Are Above Average: Jay Hanson Allergic To “Audit Failure”

Should 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.

The SEC’s AgFeed Complaint: No Restatement Means No Sarbanes-Oxley Clawback

The AgFeed case is the mother lode for an SEC that says it’s ready to rack up some accounting fraud enforcement points and, perhaps, pursue a more aggressive enforcement approach to sparsely utilized Sarbanes-Oxley provisions like Section 304, clawbacks.