KPMG U.K. Gives Its Cost-Cutting Plan a Stupid Codename
If Adrienne and I decide to do a second annual Going Concern Green Eyeshade Awards or Something Like That for 2019, I think we’ve found a winner of the “Dumbest Codename From a Big 4 Firm” award. From the Financial Times: KPMG has drawn up plans to save £100m in costs in a profit-boosting exercise […]
Ex-PCAOBer Jeffrey Wada Gets Prison Time For Being a Blabbermouth In KPMG Scheme
Being passed up for a promotion can cause a person to do really dumb things in a fit of anger. For now-former PCAOB inspections leader Jeffrey Wada, the really dumb thing he did was illegally tip off executives at KPMG—not once but twice—about which KPMG audits the PCAOB would be reviewing so the firm could […]
Did Bands Play When KPMG U.K. Asked Employees to Hand Over Their Work Phones?
After Tabby Kinder of the Financial Times broke the story on Sept. 30 about KPMG U.K. taking back all the mobile phones that it had issued to hundreds of employees to cut costs, she shared a text on Twitter she got from an accountant that I found humorous because the accountant found the topic of […]
Another One of the ‘KPMG 5’ Has Pleaded Guilty In PCAOB Scheme
David Britt is the latest former KPMG partner who has admitted guilt for participating in a scheme to steal confidential audit inspection information from the PCAOB. Britt, 56, who was a co-leader of KPMG’s Banking and Capital Markets Group, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Oct. 3. His trial […]
KPMG U.K. Is Getting Stingy
Today is New Year’s Eve in KPMG’s Universe, as fiscal year 2020 begins tomorrow. We won’t know KPMG’s global revenue for FY 2019 until mid-December, and the Queen’s KPMG doesn’t release its profit and revenue numbers until early December, but based on all this pound-pinching going on, we can speculate that KPMG U.K.’s 2019 results […]
Layoff Watch ’19: A Bunch of KPMG U.K. Administrative Assistants Will Soon Have a Lot of Time on Their Hands
So sayeth the Financial Times: KPMG UK plans to make redundant about a third of its 630 administrative assistants in a wave of cost-cutting. Between 200 and 250 administrative support staff are expected to leave in the savings drive at the Big Four accounting firm. Those who are lucky enough to remain at the House […]
Mazars Poaches Someone From KPMG and Issues a Press Release, Part I
When Mazars USA isn’t getting subpoenaed for Donald Trump’s tax returns, it’s snagging people away from the Big 4, in particular, KPMG. Olga Blyweiss is one of the newest members of Club M, recently joining the firm as a tax partner in its Fort Washington, PA, office. In a previous life, Blyweiss was the managing […]
Ex-KPMG Partner David Middendorf Was Spared a Lengthy Prison Sentence
A second member of the “KPMG 5” will serve jail time for his involvement in an information-stealing scheme to cheat the PCAOB inspection process. David Middendorf, former national managing partner for audit quality and professional practice at KPMG, was sentenced this morning in Manhattan federal court to one year and one day in federal prison, […]
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Request to Have His Wire Fraud Conviction Thrown Out Gets Shot Down, Crashes, Burns
Welp, so much for that. David Middendorf, former national managing partner for audit quality and professional practice at KPMG, is scheduled to be sentenced in Manhattan federal court tomorrow, according to Law360, for his role in an information-stealing scheme in which PCAOB insiders fed KPMG executives secret plans on which of the Big 4 firm’s […]
KPMG U.K.’s WhatsApp Fiasco Claims Two More Partners
Let’s take a look and see how things are going in KPMG U.K.’s financial services consulting business now that two more partners are leaving the firm after their boss was fired last month over messages he apparently sent on WhatsApp: The KPMG financial services consulting practice is now “a bit of a disaster zone,” a […]
Ex-KPMG U.K. Partners Start Consulting Firm Devoid of Any Big 4 Bullsh*t
Remember Maggie Brereton and Ina Kjaer, the two KPMG U.K. partners who quit earlier this year because the firm protected a male partner who was accused of being a bully? Well, the two women have launched their own consulting firm that they say will be everything the Big 4 is not. The name of their […]
Meanwhile, In Canada: Rich Guys Are Still Fighting the Tax Man Over Their KPMG Offshore Tax Shelter
KPMG is in the news again this week, and again it’s for something they probably wish would go away. Now, I combed our extensive archive going back 10 years (read: spent five minutes Googling) and wasn’t able to find any coverage of this case save for an ANR link here and there, which means either […]
Let’s Speculate About Why Lynne Doughtie Is Leaving KPMG
When we got a tip Friday mid-morning that Lynne Doughtie had told KPMG U.S. staff in a video message that she wouldn’t seek another term as chairman and CEO, I wasn’t all that surprised. I figured she’d be one and done. Doughtie seems like a nice, hardworking, intelligent woman. I don’t think KPMG would have […]
Exclusive: Lynne Doughtie Is Not Seeking a Second Term as KPMG Chairman and CEO
Another Big 4 firm will soon have a new person residing in the corner office. First, Cathy Engelbert was not renominated late last year for a second four-year term as Deloitte CEO. She was succeeded by Joe Ucuzoglu and took over as the new commish of the WNBA. Then Mark Weinberger announced last December that […]
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Broker Probably Won’t Be Doing Any Insider Trading For a While
The last man standing in the KPMG insider trading case (the one not involving Scott London) has finally fallen. From the SEC: Today [Aug. 14], jurors in Atlanta federal court returned a verdict finding New Jersey securities broker Raymond J. Pirrello, Jr. liable for insider trading in advance of three merger and acquisition transactions. Pirrello […]
It Looks Like KPMG Is Being Sued By Shareholders of CannTrust Holdings
A press release sent today by Toronto-based law firms Thornton Grout Finnigan and Rochon Genova caught our attention: Thornton Grout Finnigan LLP and Rochon Genova LLP have together commenced a class action in Ontario on behalf of shareholders of CannTrust Holdings Inc. who acquired their CannTrust common shares between October 1, 2018 up to and including July 8, 2019. The […]
WhatsApp, KPMG? U.K. Partner Given the Heave-Ho Over Messages He Sent
More hijinks going on at KPMG U.K., as reported yesterday by the Financial Times: KPMG has forced out the head of one of its core businesses in Britain after an investigation into his conduct involving messages sent on WhatsApp. Tim Howarth, head of financial services consulting at KPMG, is the third senior partner to be […]
Ex-KPMG Executive Director Who Was Major Player In PCAOB Cheating Scandal Sentenced to Eight Months In Jail
The first prison sentence was handed out today in Manhattan federal court to one of the five former KPMG executives indicted in a scheme to steal confidential audit inspection information from the PCAOB. Cynthia Holder, a former PCAOB inspections leader who later worked as an executive director at KPMG, was sentenced to eight months in […]
DHG Poaches Someone From KPMG and Issues a Press Release, Part I
It’s been quite the summer for Dixon Hughes Goodman. The firm promoted seven individuals who oozed out the most DHGness to the partnership in early June, joined some lame alliance with Mazars in July, and was recently named the 17th top accounting firm in the U.S. by both Accounting Today and INSIDE Public Accounting. The […]
Ex-KPMG Partner Will Be Giving the SEC a Bag Full of Money
We have an update on one of the members of Caleb’s fantasy KPMG insider trading golf team. From Law360: With a trial looming, a Georgia federal judge has granted approval of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s settlement with a former KPMG LLP partner accused of tipping off a stockbroker about the upcoming acquisitions of […]
Here’s Your Scorecard For KPMG U.K. Fines So Far In 2019
While I was vacationing in South Carolina last week, word officially came down from across the pond about the highly anticipated fine KPMG U.K. would be receiving from a Financial Reporting Council disciplinary tribunal for bungling reports on Bank of New York Mellon Corp. The tribunal let KPMG off the hook, deciding on a fine […]
KPMG: Where Former College Athletes Go to Die
And a two-time Winter Olympic gold medalist too. From the Wall Street Journal: Accounting firm KPMG hires 3,500 college students each year in the U.S., and although the firm doesn’t target or track specific sports in its hiring, James Powell, national partner in charge of campus recruiting, says that he’s noticed that baseball, softball, swimming and diving […]
What Price Wrong-Doing? Sanctions Against KPMG Are Complicated
“Sell in May and go away” was an investors’ adage invoked as vacation strategy in a more genteel era. Returns in the summer were said to lag the rest of the year—and in any event, that’s how brokers justified their holiday cottages on the eastern seaboard. This year the maxim has twice failed my attempt […]
Ex-KPMG Australia Senior Partner Avoids Prison For Being Too Stabby with a Campaign Volunteer
Even though he was convicted of two counts of common assault in court on July 4, former KPMG Australia partner Stavros “Steven” Economides was given a get-out-of-jail-free card. Economides, 62, who spent more than 30 years as a partner at KPMG, was sentenced to a 12-month good behavior bond after admitting to thrusting a corkscrew […]
Survey Finds That Nearly a Third of KPMG Employees Aren’t Surprised by Latest Cheating Scandal
In the competitive world of Big 4 recruiting, sometimes reputation is everything. Oh who are we kidding, the firms are all mostly the same — from work-life balance, pay, and even prestige — regardless of what PwC recruiters may tell you. At the end of the day, Big 4 firms are in a constant race […]
Auditor Swap: KPMG No Longer a Smash Hit with Movie Theater Chain Cineworld
Sometimes relationships outlive their usefulness, especially when one partner takes the beer goggles off and realizes that the other partner has been acting kinda shady lately, become too expensive to be with, and the old adage, “You can’t put lipstick on a pig,” seems more fitting each day. That expensive pig with lipstick on is […]
Which KPMG Scandal Is Worse: PCAOB ‘Steal the Exam’ or CPE Training Exam Cheating?
Since Monday when the SEC announced it had fined KPMG $50 million for not one but two scandals involving auditor misconduct at the firm, I’ve been thinking about which scandal is worse. Is it KPMG audit partners stealing confidential information from rogue PCAOB employees in order to better the firm’s audit inspection scores OR is […]
KPMG U.K. Doesn’t Really Care If You Don’t Like How It Handled Complaints Against Partner Accused of Bullying
We were so busy trying to wrap our heads around the $50 million fine the SEC gave KPMG last week for its auditors’ involvement in two separate scandals and which of the two might be more damaging to the firm’s reputation that we missed a new article about the bullying allegations made against KPMG U.K. […]
Auditor Swap: Papa John’s Dumps KPMG For Its Ex, Ernst & Young
Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Pizza chain Papa John’s must have realized this as it’s dropping KPMG as its independent auditor in favor of EY, which audited the company’s financial statements from 1990 to 2017. EY will take over Papa John’s external auditing duties for the fiscal year ending Dec. […]
SEC Says $50 Million Fine For KPMG Is ‘Significant’ and ‘Appropriate’ For All That Cheating Going On
The SEC made official today the news that Dave Michaels of the Wall Street Journal broke late last week, announcing that KPMG will pay $50 million to settle allegations that former partners “stole the test” by using confidential information that was being fed to them by a PCAOB insider to improve the firm’s performance on […]
$50 Million Fine SEC Is Reportedly Giving KPMG Over PCAOB Scandal Isn’t Big Enough
Dave Michaels of the Wall Street Journal broke some huge news late last night about a huge fine the SEC could levy against KPMG later this month because of several former partners’ involvement in one of the biggest U.S. accounting scandals in recent years—stealing secret audit inspection information from the PCAOB. KPMG LLP is preparing […]
KPMG Australia Partner Pleaded Guilty to Stabbing a Dude with a Corkscrew Outside of a School
What’s with accountants stabbing people lately? First, we had the BDO Los Angeles guy who stabbed a hiker with a knife in California late last month. Now we have a KPMG Australia senior partner who used a corkscrew to stab a man putting up election campaign banners near a school. A man who stabbed a Tony […]
Mother Nature Vandalized a Bunch of Windows at KPMG Building In Dallas
A powerful storm with high winds hit the Dallas area during the afternoon on June 9, blowing out the windows of some downtown skyscrapers, including the building where KPMG is located. The NBC affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth reported: At the KPMG building downtown, nearly a dozen windows were broken when construction debris from another building […]
Here’s More Proof That KPMG U.K. Totally F*cked Up the Way It Handled Bullying Allegations Against Partner
The Financial Times reported today that three—THREE—senior executives at KPMG U.K. were aware of and ignored concerns from staff as early as 2017 alleging senior partner Sanjay Thakkar was acting like a bully before they finally got around to launching an investigation about the complaints last October. KPMG employees approached the firm’s UK managing partner Philip […]
KPMG U.K. Partner Accused of Being a Bully Decides He Probably Shouldn’t Be a Partner Anymore
Remember that KPMG U.K. male senior partner we told you about last week, the one who was accused of being a bully and was found by the firm to have acted like a jerk but not a bully when he was probably acting like a bully, and then two well-respected female partners quit in protest? […]
Two KPMG U.K. Female Partners Had Enough Of Working At a Firm That Protected An Alleged Bully
Last December we learned that the Big 4 firms across the pond sacked nearly 40 partners (probably all men, although we don’t know for sure) within the past four years for inappropriate conduct, such as sexual harassment and bullying, seven of whom had worked at KPMG. But KPMG evidently sided with a male partner who […]
KPMG Can Now Say It Has a Canada’s Sports Hall of Famer Among Its Ranks
Two-time Olympic gold medal-winning freestyle skier-turned-KPMGer Alex Bilodeau is one of eight people who will be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame this year. He’s with some pretty impressive company, as the 2019 class also includes three-time Stanley Cup champion goalie Martin “Uncle Daddy” Brodeur and four-time Olympic gold medal-winning Canadian women’s hockey player […]
Ex-KPMG Partner David Middendorf Believes He’s Been Done Wrong, Wants a Crack At a New Trial
Don’t get out those orange prison jumpsuits just yet for former KPMG partner David Middendorf and former PCAOB inspections leader Jeffrey Wada. The two men are asking a Manhattan federal court to throw out their wire fraud convictions or grant them a new trial, saying the government didn’t provide enough evidence to support the guilty […]
KPMG Doesn’t Think It Should Have to Pay a $16 Million Fine For Screwing Up BNY Mellon Compliance Reports
Our favorite four-letter Big 4 firm is in danger of having to pay an eight-digit fine in the U.K. for dropping the ball on making sure Bank of New York Mellon complied with rules on keeping client assets safe. From Bloomberg: Accounting giant KPMG should be fined 12.5 million pounds ($15.9 million) or more for […]
KPMG Gets Another Award For Being the Big 4 Firm That Is the Least Old, Male, and Pale
Did you guys see DiversityInc’s 2019 ranking of the top 50 companies for diversity? In past years, there’s been most, if not all, of the Big 4 represented. But not recently. Only one Big 4 firm made the list in 2018 and 2019, and that firm is KPMG. Maybe KPMG nearly sweeping Vault’s 2020 accounting […]
Grant Thornton Poaches Someone From KPMG and Issues a Press Release, Part II
In the comment section of an article we posted on May 10 about a managing director and a partner recently fleeing KPMG to join Grant Thornton’s Corporate Value Consulting practice, we got a tip that the Purple Rose of Chicago recently poached KPMG again—Candice Turner left the HoK to join GT as a principal in […]
Grant Thornton Poaches Two People From KPMG and Issues a Press Release, Part I
A couple of months ago, we reported that a partner and a principal bolted Grant Thornton earlier this year for the blue-and-white confines of KPMG, one of whom actually left and came back to the House of Klynveld. Well, it looks like the Purple Rose of Chicago has turned the tables on KPMG. Grant Thornton […]
Another Day, Another Fine for KPMG
Here we go again … A U.K. regulator on Wednesday fined KPMG LLP and a partner at the firm after they admitted to misconduct in relation to the audit of financial statements of Co-operative Bank PLC. The Financial Reporting Council, Britain’s watchdog for accounting and audit, handed KPMG a fine of £5 million ($6.51 million) […]
KPMG Just Can’t Stay Out of Trouble
On this week’s episode of “KPMG Did Something Bad” … A U.K. regulator on Tuesday fined KPMG LLP and three executives after an investigation that found misconduct in relation to the audit of financial statements of a Lloyd’s of London insurance syndicate. The Financial Reporting Council, Britain’s watchdog for accounting and audit, fined KPMG £6 […]
IRS Poaches a KPMG Managing Director and Issues a Press Release, Part I
The IRS has itself a new associate chief counsel, international, in the Office of the Chief Counsel, and the agency plucked him away from our favorite four-letter Big 4 firm. Peter Blessing is his name, and international tax law is his game. “We are very fortunate to attract an individual of his caliber and expertise,” […]
KPMG Mexico Could Be Facing Fine of Up to $1.6 Million For Huge Data Leak Blunder
Mexican authorities said KPMG Mexico could be fined as much as 30 million pesos (about $1.57 million) for exposing the confidential payroll data of employees at 41 of its clients, which was housed in an unsecured database that wound up on the Internet. According to El Economista, the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information […]
This Slo-Mo KPMG Ignition Center Ribbon-Cutting Video Is Oddly Amusing
KPMG and the city of Chicago broke out the giant scissors on April 9, officially opening KPMG’s seventh and largest Ignition Center, located on the 68th floor of the Aon Center. I honestly could care less about the new Ignition Center. If for some reason you do, you can read more about it here. But […]
Apparently KPMG Mexico Exposed Some People’s Personal and Tax Information For All the World to See
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for KPMG, we have this news coming out of Mexico. And it seems really bad. José Soto Galindo of El Economista reported (translated from Spanish): A group of software developers of KPMG Mexico downloaded without authorization from their holders digital tax receipts from the Tax Administration […]
Ex-KPMG Executive Director’s Sentencing Put Off Until June
We won’t know until June at the earliest how much prison time former KPMG executive director Cynthia Holder will get for her involvement in a scheme to steal confidential audit inspection information from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Holder was supposed to be sentenced in Manhattan federal court on April 5, but her sentencing […]
KPMG Bermuda’s Head of Ethics Fined By the PCAOB For Being Unethical
Here’s a fun story of what not to do if you’re an ethics director at a Big 4 firm. Damion Henderson, a managing director at KPMG Bermuda, was fined $10,000 by the PCAOB on April 9 for signing off on documents that had been re-created and backdated in advance of a PCAOB inspection and not […]
Ex-KPMG Recruiter Who Got Caught Screwing a Gymnast In Parking Lot Gets Off
Forgive us for being late with this update, my “perverted former Big 4 employees behaving badly” Google alert has been acting funky lately. Back in October we introduced you to Scott Vetere, a randy young fella who boasted an impressive athletic past, a stint recruiting for KPMG, and the skills necessary to bag a young […]
U.K.’s Audit Regulator Wants to Find Out Exactly Why KPMG Is Such a Hot F*cking Mess
From the Wall Street Journal: The U.K. watchdog for accounting and audit on Tuesday launched an independent review into the governance, controls and culture at KPMG LLP’s U.K. audit unit. The Financial Reporting Council will examine KPMG’s risk management, its controls and the behavior of partners and other employees in the audit practice. This first-of-its-kind […]
Gender Pay Gap at KPMG U.K. Is Actually Getting Larger, You Guys
From the Financial Times: KPMG is the only Big Four accounting firm [in the U.K.] to have failed to close its gender pay gap over the past 12 months, with the median gap between what its male and female staff earn increasing to 28 per cent. The other three firms, EY, PwC and Deloitte, all […]
Big 4 Calling On All Blockchain Nerds to Come Nerd Out At Their Firms
From CoinDesk: “Big Four” professional consulting firms Deloitte, KPMG and EY are all in the top five when it comes to posting blockchain job ads, according to new data from Indeed.com. The employment site released its latest figures for job postings relating to blockchain, cryptocurrency and bitcoin in the U.S. on Thursday, with the data covering […]
Kamp KPMG Will Officially Be Called KPMG Lakehouse, According to Over-the-Top Teaser Video
KPMG released a one-minute video yesterday teasing KPMG Lakehouse, its new $450 million training and development center that is scheduled to open next January in the Orlando community of Lake Nona. And woo-boy, is it cheesy—replete with uplifting music, black turtlenecks, people using tablets, selfies, and the sun glistening off the water. Located on a […]
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Fraud Trial: David Middendorf and Jeffrey Wada GUILTY!
A Manhattan jury on Monday convicted former KPMG partner David Middendorf and former Public Company Accounting Oversight Board staffer Jeffrey Wada for their roles in one of the biggest accounting scandals in recent years. Law360 court reporter Jack Newsham broke the news on Twitter earlier this afternoon: BREAK – Middendorf, Wada convicted on all but […]
KPMG Appeals One-Year Auditing Suspension In Oman, Loses
KPMG couldn’t talk its way out of trouble, as an independent appellate court in Oman recently upheld a securities regulator’s ruling last November that prohibits the firm from taking on any new auditing clients for one year. In a statement on March 3, the Capital Market Authority of the Sultanate of Oman said: “Capital Market […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From Grant Thornton and Issues a Press Release, Parts I and II
We here at GC HQ love a good poaching, especially when it involves two of the top six firms in the U.S. So we were happy to see this press release from KPMG come across our virtual desk this morning: Mark Rems has joined KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, as a principal […]
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Fraud Trial: David Middendorf Takes the Stand
Law360 court reporter Jack Newsham wrote on Feb. 28 that it could happen this week, and he was right: Former KPMG partner David Middendorf took the stand this afternoon to testify in his own defense. MIDDENDORF TAKES THE STAND — Jack Newsham (@TheNewsHam) March 4, 2019 Authorities have said that Middendorf and four of his […]
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Fraud Trial: What David Middendorf Allegedly Said Once the Scheme Started to Unravel
OK guys, things are starting to get good in the David Middendorf trial. We now know the identity of “Partner-5”—the person at KPMG who allegedly blew the whistle on the information-stealing scheme that five KPMG executives and one Public Company Accounting Oversight Board employee were involved in to help KPMG know ahead of time which […]
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Fraud Trial: Brian Sweet Takes the Stand
The trial of ex-KPMG partner David Middendorf keeps rolling along, as prosecutors on Feb. 19 called on one of the major players in the scheme to steal secret audit inspection information from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to testify against Middendorf. Brian Sweet, a former associate director at the PCAOB who later became a […]
Legal Experts Think KPMG France Will Likely Get Away With Fidal Lawyer Poaching
Early last week we told you guys about KPMG France recently stealing away 130 lawyers (some reports say 144 or 145 lawyers) away from France’s largest law firm, Fidal, which is threatening to sue the Big 4 firm for “unfair competition.” But legal experts who were interviewed by Law.com say Fidal’s case against KPMG is […]
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Fraud Trial: Opening Arguments
A jury heard opening arguments in a Manhattan courtroom on Feb. 12 in the trial of a former high-ranking audit partner at KPMG who was charged with conspiracy and wire fraud for his role in a scheme to cheat the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board inspection process. David Middendorf and co-defendant Jeffrey Wada, a former […]
KPMG France Just Poached 130 Lawyers From a French Law Firm, Which Is Understandably Pissed
In Going Concern’s nine-plus-year history, Caleb and Adrienne have chronicled many, many instances of “competitive poaching” among the Big 4 firms. PwC and KPMG, in particular, have a long history of poaching from one another. But with the Big 4 firms’ legal brands showing huge growth among alternative legal service providers, what is starting to […]
Good News, KPMG: At Least Your Badness of Late Didn’t Rub Off on Phil Mickelson
I know things have been kinda rough lately, Klynveldians. KPMG’s 2016 and 2017 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board inspection reports were brutally bad. The criminal trial starts today for one of your former audit partners who had a prominent role in the PCAOB inspection information-sharing scandal. The firm might lose longtime client General Electric. And […]
The PCAOB Needs to Just Beat the Sh*t Out of KPMG Already
Story time. Many, many years ago when my favorite show was the Snorks and my Big Wheel was my only mode of transportation, there was this kid on my block who was a real little shit. He constantly broke everyone’s toys and once ran over my plastic Good Luck Bear with his bike, permanently rendering […]
KPMG’s Logo May or May Not Give You Heartburn
Is KPMG’s new marketing plan for 2019 to have its people and distinguished guests at conferences devour the firm’s logo? Great morning of education at the Annual KPMG Board Leadership Conference. Plus a fun little treat at lunch. pic.twitter.com/xtthJyFWKr — philipsmith (@PRS2) January 8, 2019 Our cupcake overfloweth…. celebrating our new office space in […]
KPMG IT Advisory Associate Looking for Love on ‘The Bachelor’
I don’t watch reality TV shows. They are dumb. They are contrived. They are overrated. I don’t get why so many people watch them. I would rather watch six hours straight of C-SPAN than watch a six-hour marathon of Say Yes to the Dress. If Caillou and Keeping Up with the Kardashians were the only […]
KPMG U.K. Employees Are Reportedly Pissed Off About Being Fined for Late Timesheets
A new timesheet policy being rolled out at KPMG U.K. is causing a little ruckus between employees and management. From The Guardian: KPMG has angered UK staff by threatening them with £100 fines if they submit their paperwork late. The accounting company said it would impose the penalties if staff were late to file their […]
Longtime KPMG Client General Electric Looking to Mess Around with Another Audit Firm
109 years. That’s how long KPMG has been General Electric’s auditor. When that engagement started, the rotund William Howard Taft was in the White House, there were 46 states in the U.S., and the start of World War I and Babe Ruth’s professional baseball career were still five years away. But the spark in the […]
KPMG Reports Global Revenue of $29 Billion for FY 2018
Back in early October, the Going Concern prognostication team (me, Adrienne, and three people eating lunch at Panda Express) predicted that KPMG’s global revenue for fiscal year 2018 would be $28.1 billion. With word today that KPMG reported global revenue of $28.96 billion for the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2018, we were […]
KPMG Got Down on Its Knees and Begged South Africa for Forgiveness
South Africa, KPMG is sorry. Sorry for doing work for the billionaire Gupta family, who has been accused of using their links to former South Africa president Jacob Zuma to influence government decisions and the awarding of government contracts. Sorry for making severe auditing mistakes that led to the collapse of VBS Mutual Bank, in […]
KPMG, PwC, and EY Also Kicked U.K. Partners to the Curb for Sexual Harassment, Bullying
We learned on Dec. 9 that Deloitte U.K. had fired about 20 partners in the past four years for inappropriate behavior, including sexual harassment and bullying. The Financial Times, which broke the story, had asked the other Big 4 firms in the U.K. if they would disclose similar information. They declined. But KPMG, PwC, and […]
Federal Judge Sides with KPMG in Gender Discrimination Lawsuit
KPMG scored a huge victory in court on Nov. 30, as a New York federal court judge declined to certify a long-running class-action lawsuit by thousands of current and former female KPMG tax and advisory professionals who accused the firm of gender, pay, and promotion discrimination dating back to 2008. While the ruling bars the […]
Female KPMG Employees Seek Class Status in Gender Discrimination Lawsuit, Detail Alleged Sexual Misconduct at the Firm
There was a new development yesterday in the long-running gender bias lawsuit against KPMG, in which a group of current and former female advisory and tax professionals have accused the firm of gender, pay, and promotion discrimination, as well as condoning sexual harassment. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs filed a motion on Nov. 27 that asked […]
Ignatius Sehoole Takes Over as CEO of the Dumpster Fire That Is KPMG South Africa
KPMG in South Africa has had its problems of late. And the firm believes it has found the man to help fix them. Good luck, Ignatius Sehoole! KPMG South Africa is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Ignatius Sehoole as Chief Executive Officer. Mr Sehoole is expected to take up this role on 1 […]
KPMG Is Thankful for SOX
I was kinda wondering about this myself, but I figured the answer would be no. From Tammy Whitehouse of Compliance Week: KPMG is under fire in the U.K. for diminishing audit performance, particularly in connection with the collapse of British construction firm Carillion. The firm has reportedly advised its partners internally that it would halt all […]
KPMG Adds Another Independent Warm Body to Its Board of Directors
KPMG has given retired Air Force General Janet Wolfenbarger a friend on its board of directors. KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Linda L. Addison as an independent director to its U.S. Board of Directors. Addison is the second distinguished independent director the Firm has […]
University of Michigan to Ex-KPMG Recruiter: ‘Keep Your Horny Ass Off Campus’
Last month, we met Scott Vetere, a 39-year-old father of three from Michigan who made a name for himself in collegiate sports in the late ’90s and early 2000s before that legacy was trumped by a series of poor choices and a little bit of hot car sex this year. In case you need a […]
KPMG Gets One-Year Auditing Ban in Oman
2018 has been a no-good, rotten year for KPMG. The firm has been embroiled in accounting scandals in the United States and South Africa, was told by the United Kingdom’s accounting regulator that its audit quality sucks, defended an indefensible audit of the now-collapsed Carillion in the U.K., was fined £4.5 million in the U.K. […]
Dear Slobs and Whores with No Fashion Sense, This KPMG Video is Just For You
Those of you who know me know it’s rare that I’m speechless. I have an opinion on everything from cat food to those little sensors attached to street lights that serve to give priority to approaching emergency vehicles at intersections. And while I have an opinion about the following video I’m about to share with […]
KPMG U.K. Is Giving Up Non-Audit Work on FTSE 350 Clients. Will the Other Big 4 Firms Follow?
So, Sky News broke some pretty big news in the United Kingdom earlier this morning regarding the House of Klynveld: KPMG is to cease undertaking non-audit work for the FTSE-350 companies whose accounts it supervises, becoming the first of the ‘big four’ firms to make such a pledge in the aftermath of scandals surrounding the […]
Ex-KPMG Partner Pleads Guilty to Using Stolen PCAOB Inspection Information
The former national partner-in-charge of inspections at KPMG pled guilty on Oct. 29 for his involvement in a scheme in which the Big 4 firm repeatedly used stolen confidential Public Company Accounting Oversight Board information to cheat the regulatory inspection process. Thomas Whittle, 55, pled guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy charges, pursuant to a […]
(UPDATE) Married Ex-KPMG Recruiter and Gym Coach Busted For Banging Young Gymnast in a Car
Whew, you guys, this one is … awkward. Scott Vetere is a 39-year-old father of three from Michigan who serves as assistant coach for the University of Michigan women’s gymnastics team, or at least he did until he resigned Oct. 15. His resignation came after Vetere was caught getting it on with an 18-year-old female […]
Ex-KPMG Executive Director Admits Guilt in PCAOB Inspection Leak Scandal
A former Public Company Accounting Oversight Board inspector-turned-KPMG executive director, who was accused of obtaining confidential information on which KPMG clients’ audits the PCAOB would be reviewing so the Big 4 firm could improve its dismal inspection results, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court on Oct. 16 for her involvement in the scandal. Cynthia Holder, […]
Here’s Your Open Thread for KPMG Compensation Discussions (2018)
So we might be a little late on this one, but who cares? Obviously you guys don’t, you’ve all but given up on these open threads come comp time. As such, this may be our last open thread of comp season, not just for this year but for good. It sucks we have to go […]
KPMG Adds Retired Four-Star Air Force General to Its One-Star Board of Directors
No, it wasn’t Pope Francis, Malala Yousafzai, or the ghost of Nelson Mandela, as Caleb suggested last April, but KPMG U.S. on Oct. 4 appointed retired Air Force General Janet Wolfenbarger as the firm’s first independent director to its board, nearly nine months after five former KPMG executives were indicted for their roles in an […]
BNY Mellon Client Asset Reports Were Seriously Bungled by KPMG, U.K. Watchdog Says
Oh jeez, KPMG U.K. is in trouble again with the Financial Reporting Council. Per Reuters: KPMG and one of its partners have admitted to serious failings in compliance reports for Bank of New York Mellon, Britain’s accountancy watchdog said, potentially leading to heavy fines as the auditor comes under unprecedented scrutiny. The Financial Reporting Council […]
Where, Oh Where, Is KPMG’s 2016 Inspection Report?
KPMG’s 2016 inspection report has still not been published by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and the PCAOB won’t say why—or if the report will ever see the light of day. Compliance Week reports: The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board published its 2016 inspection results for Deloitte in December 2017 followed by reports for EY […]
Federal Judge Strikes Down Ex-KPMG Partners’ Request for SEC Evidence Search
If you’re dying to know what’s going on with David Britt, David Middendorf, and Thomas Whittle, the former KPMG partners who are accused of participating in a scandal in which confidential Public Company Accounting Oversight Board inspection information was leaked to the accounting firm, Law360 has an update: A group of former and would-be KPMG auditors […]
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before: FRC Reprimands KPMG U.K. for Crappy Audit
When it comes to the Financial Reporting Council and KPMG audits, it must be like shooting fish in a barrel. This time, the U.K. accounting watchdog fined KPMG £2.1 million ($2.7 million) on Aug. 20 following the Big 4 firm’s admission of misconduct on the audit of fashion company Ted Baker Plc’s financial statements in […]
Another Former KPMG Employee Gets Into Trouble for Insider Trading
You can add Daniel Senn to the list of current and not-so-current KPMG employees and representatives, such as Scott London, Andrei Postrado, Thomas Avent, and Phil Mickelson (but not his KPMG hat), who have either been accused of, or found guilty of, insider trading. Senn, a Klynveldian auditor from 2007 to 2013, was convicted of […]
25,000 Students Voted For the Top Internship and the Results Will SHOCK You
Alright so twice now I’ve been called out for writing clickbait headlines now that the comment section is reopened, but whatever, what do you guys think I did in the years between getting laid off from this website last time and coming back? I WROTE CLICKBAIT. I’m not joking. One time I paid my rent […]
Judge Allows Class-Action Suit to Proceed Against KPMG Over Shoddy Miller Energy Audit
A federal judge in Tennessee on Aug. 2 declined to throw out a securities class-action lawsuit against KPMG, in which investors are accusing the Big 4 firm of screwing up the audit of now-defunct oil and gas company Miller Energy Resources Inc. In Lewis Cosby et al. v. KPMG L.L.P., the investors say they got […]
Do KPMG’s Summer Employee Perks Put All Other Summer Employee Perks to Shame?
This Accounting Today article on the perks KPMG is offering to its 30,000 U.S. employees this summer got me thinking about the summer employee perks, or lack thereof, I’ve received during my career. And I’m not just focusing on my last 19 years as a writer and/or editor. I’m going all the way back to […]
KPMG U.K. Lawyers Up Because Not Breaking the Law is Hard, You Guys
The Financial Times did not hold back in its headline announcing the news on KPMG U.K.’s latest hire earlier this week: KPMG appoints risk management chief after accounting scandals. Ouch. Here, KPMG, you might need this. So just who is this brave individual willing to take on a brand-new role at a scandal-plagued accounting firm? […]
Setback in Court For Ex-KPMG Execs, As Judge Refuses to Toss Out Counts in PCAOB Inspection Info Leak Case
As Mick Jagger sings, “You can’t always get what you want.” What three former top KPMG executives and two former employees of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board—who are accused of participating in a scheme in which confidential PCAOB inspection information was shared with the accounting firm—wanted was for their conspiracy and wire fraud counts […]
KPMG U.K. Chairman Taking Heat for Defending Carillion Audit
An article published today by The Times in which KPMG U.K. Chairman Bill Michael defended the firm’s audit of Carillion is getting some reaction on Twitter—good for the newspaper, bad for Michael and KPMG. The article states: The chairman of KPMG has hit back at MPs in charge of the inquiry into the collapse of […]
Does the ‘P’ in KPMG Stand For ‘Probes?’
Because we have two new probes into KPMG to tell you about. First, two weeks after the quality of its audit work was called “unacceptable” by the Financial Reporting Council, KPMG is being probed by the United Kingdom’s accounting watchdog over its audit of British beverage wholesaler Conviviality’s financial statements, according to the Financial Times. […]
KPMG Used Confidential Inspection Info to Snatch BBVA Away From Rivals, Report Says
If you missed this late last week, Francine McKenna of MarketWatch detailed how KPMG used access to confidential Public Company Accounting Oversight Board inspection information to poach a client from its Big 4 rivals. The client, Spanish bank BBVA, was one of nearly a dozen KPMG clients caught up in the audit inspection scandal. Others […]