Going Concern

Fraud

Koss Fraud May Have Been Due, in No Small Part, to Michael Koss Holding Five Executive Positions

Caleb Newquist
March 22, 2010

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It’s been nearly three weeks since we last picked up the Koss/Sue Sachdeva beat, when we told you about Michael Koss resigning as the audit committee chair of Strattec Security Corp. At that time, Strattec had also elected to give Grant Thornton the boot as its auditor.

Over the weekend, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel posted a lengthy-ish piece on the “relaxed oversight and lax controls” as the opportunity for the chronic shop ’til you dropper Sue Sachdeva to make off with $31 million. These particular issues (i.e. incestuous management and virtually no internal controls) are a matter of record although it’s interesting to note the new details that come to light.

The article mentions how Michael Koss managed to “serve” in five executive roles at the company: vice chairman, chief executive officer, chief operating officer, president and chief financial officer. PLUS, the aforementioned audit committee chairmanship at Strattec.

Now, we’re not entirely sure what the responsibilities would be for each of the positions at Koss but at a regular company, one of these jobs would result in some or possibly all of the following: insomnia, workaholism, a drug problem, an ugly divorce. Throw in the responsibilities of an audit committee chairmanship and one would assume that Michael Koss walked across Lake Michigan to get to work.

Oh, and just so you’re aware, the Journal Sentinel brings up that MK was an anthropology major. You may have some opinions about that.

The JS also spoke to one of the women that was fired along with Suze, Tracy Malone, who “still speaks highly of the company, although it fired her and objected to her claim for unemployment compensation.” Koss fired Malone because they allege that she “she knew of the misappropriation of funds but failed to report it to superiors.” Ms Malone’s attorney has stated these allegations are false.

So hang on a minute. Your lawyer says you were fired under “false allegations”, the company rejects your claim for unemployment comp, and you still speak highly of said company? Yeesh, have some self-respect lady.

Theft at Koss blamed on relaxed attitude, lax oversight [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Accounting News Roundup: Dodd Requests Investigation of Lehman “Accounting Manipulation”; Ernst & Young Makes Case to Audit Committee Members; House Passes Health Care Reform | 03.22.10

Caleb Newquist
March 22, 2010

• Dodd Seeks U.S. Inquiry Into Lehman’s Accounting [DealBook]
Late on Friday, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting that the Department of Justice investigate Lehman Brothers’ “accounting manipulation” that contributed to its bankruptcy. According to his letter, Dodd also wants the DOJ to investigate “other companies that may have engaged in similar accounting manipulation with a view to prosecution of employees or agents who contributed to any violations of the law.”

With the exception of Lehman, Dodd did not name any companies specifically. He wrote, “We must work tirelessly to reduce the incidence of financial fraud in order to restore trust and confidence in the financial markets. A task force investigation and taking appropriate Federal actions in these matters will contribute to these goals.”

• An Ernst & Young Response: Dear Audit Committee Member… [Re: The Auditors]
Ernst & Young is on the offensive, telling everyone who will listen their position on the results of the Bankruptcy Examiner’s report. The ubiquitous Enron and Andersen comparisons in the MSM — while cliché and misleading — have motivated E&Y to reach to audit committee members that ulitmately decide whether E&Y will be providing services to their companies. Francine McKenna posted the letter noting, “I guess they know where their bread is buttered: With the guys who hire and fire them in the Fortune 500.”

The firm addresses everything from the actual accounting, “The media reports that these were ‘sham transactions’ designed to off-load Lehman’s ‘bad assets’ are inaccurate,” to whistleblower Matthew Lee’s letter, “When we learned of the letter, our lead partner promptly called the Audit Committee Chair; we also insisted that Lehman’s management inform the Securities & Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Bank of the letter.”

Naturally, the firm plans to defend themselves vigorously stating, “EY is confident we will prevail should any of the potential claims identified against us be pursued.”

• Obama Hails Vote on Health Care as Answering ‘the Call of History’ [NYT]
Last night, the Senate bill was approved by the House, 219-212, and it could be headed back to the Senate for final approval as early as this week. In a shocker, Democrat and GOP views on the bill don’t seem to be converging as one Dem legislator described it as “the Civil Rights Act of the 21st century,” while a GOP member described the bill as, “a fiscal Frankenstein.”

Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day: Did the Ernst & Young Webcast Mention This? | 03.19.10

Caleb Newquist
March 20, 2010

“I believe the manner in which the Firm is reporting these assets is potentially misleading to the public and various governmental agencies.”

~ Matthew Lee, former Lehman Brothers Senior VP in charge of consolidated and unconsolidated balance sheets, in a letter to certain LEH executives. He was fired.

Brightbook Gets a Groovy Review But Questions Remain

Caleb Newquist
March 20, 2010

GC reader Geoff Devereaux pointed us to something that we were honestly surprised to see, a “glowing review” for the psychedelic-inspired online accounting application, Brightbook.

Accounting Web UK interviewed the two designers, James Henderson and “his colleague Warwick.” If Warwick isn’t a acid-dropping Dead Head name, we don’t know what is.

Anyhoo, the AWUK asks the question that you would expect from an accounting pub, “how will Brightbooks make its money?” To which, Hedernson responds, “this isn’t about the money man, it’s about sharing the love of accounting software for free.”

More or less, that’s what he said. Free software that does what small business owners need it to do. What WE still want to know is WTF is up with the T-Rex in the party hat? What is he celebrating? Or is it something that the partygoers are seeing?? Speaking of the rager, why isn’t the egghead guy partying with the hula-hoop girl or topless chick (or the dudes, whatever his preference)? Has he not dropped yet? All important questions.

Brightbook: Free web accounting software [AccountingWEB UK]

Earlier:
Brightbook Knows That Dead Heads Need Accounting Applications Too

Big 4

Has the Post-Busy Season Big 4 Exodus Already Started?

Caleb Newquist
March 20, 2010

Seems a tad early but with two major deadlines passed, it’s possible that the Spring 2010 exodus may have started.

From one Big 4 auditor, “[A]pparently the DC and/or Philly office just underwent some serious turnover – my [schedule] just got all kinds of fucked up and my performance manager’s explanation was that “we’ve had some turnover and you have been shifted around as a solution.” So that’s cool. And by cool, I mean WTF because there was no warning, and it seems to be changing every few hours now.”

Our source continues:

Not a clue just how much turnover or if it was limited only to the audit practice, and how the turnover took place (I’m assuming people are quitting, as that is what pretty much all anyone at my level can talk about lately), but it was enough that I just went from two normal-hours clients to five “plan on overtime” clients. (It was six clients last night, but it looks like it got switched up again this morning.)

If there’s one thing that may cause violence more than someone quitting in the middle of busy season, it’s getting assigned to a “plan on overtime” client in the second half of March.

It’s likely that the timing of people leaving is an office by office phenomenon as one of our New York sources said that people aren’t leaving but “everyone wants to, but that’s nothing new.”

So if people are heading for the exits in your office, forced or otherwise, let us know.

Did RSM McGladrey Enforcers Get to Lane Kiffin?

Caleb Newquist
March 19, 2010

Nat was aware of the problem early on:

Since this was Tweeted Tuesday, RSM McGladrey likely got their enforcers on this ASAP telling LK, “this is not happening” because he started campaigning for NG late on Wednesday.

In spite of these efforts, L to the K still holds a commanding lead. Once these things get rolling they take on a life of their own.

Upset Alert: Sexiest Woman Alive Madness Bracket Busters [Esquire]

Ludacris Should Be Giving Ving Rhames Tax Advice

Caleb Newquist
March 19, 2010

In today’s celebrity tax scofflaw du jour, we learn that Ving “Why do people always have to bring up that scene in Pulp Fiction” Rhames owes the IRS over $800k from two liens, both filed by the IRS in Los Angeles.

Rhames has had trubs in the past, having liens filed against him last May as well.

It seems to that California, being in the fiscal trouble that’s it in, really needs to call on its other celebrity residents to hold some sort of Haiti-esque fundraiser for some of their fellow celebs.

Sure, it might not fix all the state’s budget problems but at least we could admire our celebrities for being financially responsible pillars of the community rather than pillars of the community when there’s an international crisis. Plus, maybe California wouldn’t have to fire more teachers.

In semi-related news, you will never, ever, EVER hear about Ludacris owing the IRS a damn thing. Not now, not ever.

“I pay more in taxes than most people would ever imagine. I guarantee you, I’m looking dead in the camera, you will never hear about Ludacris owing the damn IRS no damn money.”

Okay, financial celebrities f-ups, get on the horn and find out what the great financial mind-cum-rapper/actor of Ludacris has in store for you. Things haven’t worked out so far, so it can’t hurt to see what the man has to say.

Ving Rhames far from OK with Uncle Sam [Tax Watchdog]

Career Center

Job of the Day: Morgan Stanley Needs an Infrastructure Controller

GoingConcern
March 19, 2010

Morgan Stanley is looking for someone to join their Private Equity Finance Division to handle financial reporting, tax support and business analysis for its Fund Infrastructure complex.

The position requires seven to nine years experience and a CPA license.

Get more details on this position in New York after the jump.

Company: Morgan Stanley

Title: Infrastructure Controller – Vice President

Location: New York, NY

Description: Morgan Stanley is looking for a Fund Controller for Private Equity Finance Division to provide accounting and financial reporting, tax support and business analyses for a multi -billion dollar fund. The open position is a Vice President for the Firm’s Infrastructure Fund complex and related feeder funds

Responsibilities: Review of GAAP basis accounting closings for the Partnerships, including maintenance of books and records, valuation of publicly traded and non-public investment portfolios and cash and brokerage records; Review of quarterly GAAP basis financial statements for the Partnerships, cash flow statements, schedules of investments and footnotes; Review of quarterly reports for partners, including detail roll forward analyses of Partner Capital Accounts (PCAAs) and ad hoc investor requests; Identify and resolve partnership legal, tax and accounting issues subject to investment company accounting guidance. Work with the Partnerships’ auditors to issue year end audited financial statements; Review of accounting and reporting for the Partnerships’ general partners and leveraged co-investment vehicles which are owned by the Firm and Partnerships’ Management personnel; Review of capital calls, management fees, expense analyses, investment purchases and sales and distributions; Communicate, coordinate and work with Partnerships’ Management and the Firm’s finance, administration and operations areas (such as Investor Relations, Treasury, Tax, and Legal); Ensure proper guardianship controls over partnership assets and compliance with procedures documented as required by Sarbanes Oxley; Identify opportunities to use technology to enhance accounting, reporting and operating processes; Assist with the operations of portfolio holding companies.

Qualifications: 7-9 years of accounting experience including financial statement preparation experience and prior experience in Private Equity and/or Hedge Fund area; CPA required

See the entire description over at the GC Career Center and visit the main page for all your job search needs.

News

Why Aren’t Accountants Getting Fired for Status Updates on Facebook?

Caleb Newquist
March 19, 2010

A friend of GC recently made mention of the number of people belly aching about busy season in the filterless universe of Facebook. Yes, we realize this is a shock.

Granted, kvetching about your job is a God-given right but at what point is someone just asking to get their ass thrown out? While “experts” are constantly telling you to “be careful about what you post online,” that seems to be overblown because we’re hearing and seeing people hating their jobs out in the open with no discernible repercussions.

God knows there were status updates from E&Y people re: lack of hoops during the Lehman talk.

Case in point, our friend shared this recent status update with us:

“stock options, fraud interviews, preferred equity accounting…my job is sexy.”

Now maybe this isn’t a “get your shit and get the hell out” offense but accountants have proven to be an easily rankled bunch and if the right person were to read this update, there at least might be a frank discussion about this. It’s become obvious that someone at all the major firms is doing nothing but snooping around the Internet, doing nothing but reading employee complaints.

And maybe we’re premature on this issue. Busy season, while winding down, is still going on and warm bodies are still needed, so some gnashing of teeth on FB might be tolerable.

Maybe this is an unwritten rule in the industry that has evolved with the popularity of Facebook. We ignore your rants for all the world to hear, we take pieces of your soul, one busy season at at time.

You’re Wasting Your Time if You Attempt to Bribe an IRS Agent with Starbucks

Caleb Newquist
March 19, 2010

As we’ve recently learned, IRS Agents are a zealous bunch. If you’re out of compliance you can bet the life of your labrador that they will run you down for the overdue tax, regardless of the sum.

Now perhaps you’ve been thinking that a little bribery might take care of things if you find yourself in a bit tax trouble. IRS Agents are human(?) after all; they fall ill to the temptations of this world just like the rest of us. And because they most likely have some sort of accounting background, they are most certainly caffeine abusers and thus, Starbucks whores.

But an Agent’s first responsibility is to serve the American Taxpayer and your attempts to tempt these civil servants with sweet, venti-sized, mega-calorie caffeinated beverages WILL NOT WORK:

Kim Oahn Thi Tran, also known as Jennifer Kim Tran, faced a tax liability of more than $13,287 for the 2006 and 2007 tax years on unreported income of $30,334, authorities said.

In hopes of lowering her tax liability, Tran sent a package on Nov. 30 to IRS revenue agent Imad Hararah that contained promissory notes and a $100 gift card for Starbucks Coffee that read, “To Imad: Enjoy,” investigators said.

Agent Hararah did not fall for this ploy. Nor did he accept the $2,000 that Tran attempted to give him. Instead this presented itself as a perfect opportunity to add charges, “On Dec. 9, Tran gave the agent $1,500, authorities said. In exchange, Hararah gave her a phony document that made Tran believe that she had a zero balance for 2006 and 2007 tax years.”

Does this guy love his job or what? Not cold hard cash nor natural stimulant will distract this man from doing his job. We can only assume that his brethren are of the same cloth and soon we’ll hear about Agents turning down dates with Lane Kiffin.

Woman charged with trying to bribe IRS agent [SF Chronicle]

Are Too Many People Passing the CPA Exam?

Adrienne Gonzalez
March 19, 2010

The AICPA recently announced that it would be re-evaluating the CPA exam scoring process and we’ve been wildly speculating awhile as to what that might actually mean. Staying true to the doom and gloom, yours truly immediately thought the AICPA Board of Examiners was convinced you kids would bomb FAR horribly in Q1 and 2 of 2011 with the addition of IFRS and they were just preparing for that.

Upon further reflection, maybe the exam is too easy. Maybe requirements to sit are not strict enough (even though we’re down to 4 states that allow you to sit with 120 units last I checked). Maybe the job market is worse than anyone wants to admit — now wait a minute, what does that have to do with it?

There isn’t raw data that tells us how many would-be CPAs we have on our hands who have passed all four parts of the CPA exam but still can’t get a job, at least none I’ve seen. I’ve spoken to these people and it doesn’t seem to be getting better in the aggregate.

I believe the BLS numbers somewhat concur with this conclusion, if you can believe them. (CPA Trendlines has them)

I hear you guys bitching about it all the time. If you’re still employed and trying to take the CPA exam, you get the extra special designation of ultra-masochist but it’s not you guys the AICPA BoE is worried about, it’s the bottleneck of people who’ve passed the CPA exam trying to squeeze in 2 years in public to get a license.

Case in point, a friend of mine here in the great (broke) state of California decided to take on the CPA exam a tad later in life than some of you. We won’t hate on her for that. She worked her ass off and eventually got through it. She’s a leader of a prestigious accounting society in her community and has the credentials a lot of the kids coming out of school don’t. She can’t find a job. She’s tried every firm in town large and small as well as the surrounding area. I’ve scouted the Bay Area and can’t find anything for her either.

She’d stay more than 2 years and be more than a body filling the chair but they don’t even have a chair for her.

She’s not the only one. So maybe the AICPA BoE caught on and is going to try to change that. They can’t create the jobs so what do you think they’ll do?

Oh, and if anyone has a lead on a public accounting gig in the top half of California for my qualified little friend here, do get in touch.

Accounting News Roundup: GOP Says Healthcare Bill Will Expand IRS ‘Tentacles’; Jonathan Weil Counts Some of E&Y’s Bodies; RIP Jerry York | 03.19.10

Caleb Newquist
March 19, 2010

• GOP targets IRS in latest health battle [The Hill via TaxProf]
The GOP is still fighting the health care bill tooth and nail and this may be the most effective strategy we’ve seen so far. Forget about debating coverage, preexisting conditions, etc. etc. Just name drop the IRS and a large group of people may change their minds about the whole thing.

“This is a vast expanse of power,” said Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-La.) during a Thursday call organized by Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee. He said the IRS provisions in the healthcare bill “dangerously expand, in an ominous way, the tentacles of the IRS and its reach into every American family.”

On the surface this appears to be the typical GOP “the IRS is eeeevilllll” pandering but the real concern should be that the Service already has a lot to do. The Hill reports that if taxpayers are required to purchase health care insurance but fail to do so they could face fines. The IRS would be responsible for administering and collecting these fines.

Add that to this small task, “The IRS retrieved $2.35 trillion in 2009 by processing 236 million tax returns. It also is working to reduce a $345 billion gap in the taxes it collects and should collect.” Not to mention they’re trying to update systems, answer more phone calls, getting into high speed car chases. There’s always a lot going on.

And in case Rep. Boustany needs caught up, the Service is already auditing more people and trying to collect every ~~dime~~ ~~nickel~~ penny it can.

• Lehman’s Auditor Goes Blind From the Cooking [Bloomberg]
Jonathan Weil is not buying what Ernst & Young is selling. He reports that E&Y spokesman Charlie Perkins denied that the firm had “mischaracertized [the Bankruptcy Examiner’s] findings,” and characterized it this way, “[B]y E&Y’s twisted logic, it would be possible for a company to lie in its financial statements about its off-balance-sheet liabilities, and still manage to account correctly for them in the same financial statements. Imagine that.”

Weil takes off the gloves and digs up some old bodies, namely: partners recently sentenced to prison time for tax shelters; Bally’s (including vice chair Randy Fletchall); HealthSouth; Cendant (man, he’s going way back). Weil then thinks out loud, “With that kind of track record, it’s a wonder anyone would accept anything this firm says at face value again.”

• Jerry York, Iconic CFO, Dies at 71 [CFO]
Served as CFO for IBM, Chrysler. Adviser to Kirk Kerkorian and board member at Apple.

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