When accounting goes unaccounted for
“We thought it was important for people to appreciate that the announcement today has nothing to do with the operational performance of the company, it is all about Mark’s behavior and judgment.”
~ HP Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak, who is now interim CEO after an abrupt resignation by Mark Hurd amid sexual harassment allegations.
“How about going online and printing [the statement or report] every month as if it were mailed to you — and actually looking at it?”
~ Stephen Pedneault, a veteran forensic accountant, isn’t crazy about all the benefits of technology.
“An auditor’s report tells less about a public company’s health than a doctor’s report tells about an individual – in scope, detail and precision. And if investors and other financial information users are not happy, they are doing nothing to make their dissatisfactions effectively known.”
~ Jim Peterson, from his post “Medical Check-Ups and Annual Audits: What if Your Doctor Reported Like Your Accountant?” at Re:Balance.
“Before the fraud broke, people would ask me what I did before I retired and I’d say I was founder and former CFO of HealthSouth. But today when people ask me what I did before I retired I kind of look away and say I was an accountant and hope they don’t ask me any other questions.”
~ Aaron Beam, former CFO of HealthSouth and current lawn-care business owner, at the University of Texas-Dallas Fraud Summit, earlier this month.