Better Late Than Never: PCAOB Fines Ex-KPMG Vice Chair of Audit Scott Marcello $100,000 In Connection With Inspection Scandal
It only took five years, but Scott Marcello finally received some sort of punishment for what happened in KPMG’s audit practice several years ago as partners were working with PCAOB insiders to illegally receive advanced notice of the PCAOB’s inspection plans for KPMG audits. Marcello, KPMG’s former vice chair of audit, was fined $100,000 today […]
Two of the ‘KPMG 5’ Barred By the SEC Indefinitely For Being Dirty Cheaters
Ex-KPMG partners David Britt and Thomas Whittle were told by the SEC on Wednesday that their accounting privileges were being taken away for a long time because of their involvement in a multiyear scheme with three other KPMGers to steal regulatory information from the PCAOB to cheat on audit inspections. The administrative proceeding orders released […]
German Investigator Can Confidently Prove EY Was Unbelievably Bad At Auditing Wirecard
Bloomberg reported on Saturday: A special parliamentary investigator lists far-reaching shortcomings in Ernst & Young’s audits of Wirecard AG before the German financial technology company collapsed last year, a person familiar with the report said. The investigator lists about 11 incidences where EY failed to take measures to uncover the multibillion fraud, said the person, who spoke […]
Last Indicted Ex-KPMG Partner to Be Sentenced In PCAOB Scandal Won’t Be Going to Prison
Almost three years after being indicted for his involvement in one of the biggest ethics debacles in public accounting history, former KPMG partner Thomas Whittle was sentenced today to two years of supervised release. And that’s all, folks. The six accountants who were charged with fraud and conspiracy by the feds on Jan. 22, 2018, […]
No Jail Time For Another One of the ‘KPMG 5’ Indicted In PCAOB Scandal
When former KPMG partner Thomas Whittle goes before U.S. District Court Judge J. Paul Oetken to hear his sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 2, he will be the last of the five ex-KPMG executives who were indicted in January 2018 for their roles in a scheme to steal confidential audit inspection information from the PCAOB to […]
EY Shouldn’t Be Awarded Any New U.K. Government Contracts For Three Years Because EY Is Bad, Says Some Group
“Banning [EY] for three years from UK public contracts would send an incredibly powerful message that the government will not give public contracts to companies that engage in misconduct … and do not get their house in order.” — Spotlight on Corruption, an anti-corruption campaign group based in the U.K., wrote in a recent letter […]
KPMG Fined $1.3 Million By the California Board of Accountancy For Lots of Unethical Stuff
[Updated on Nov. 3 with statement from KPMG.] Here’s some more news pertaining to the KPMG/PCAOB cheating scandal that I wasn’t expecting to post about today: KPMG has to pay a $1.3 million fine to the California Board of Accountancy for bending the audit inspection rules a handful of years ago AND for auditors cheating […]
Ex-KPMG Partner Thomas Whittle Is Up Next For Sentencing In PCAOB Scheme
Former KPMG partner Thomas Whittle—one of the five decision-makers at the House of Klynveld who were indicted in January 2018 for making the very poor decision to steal confidential information on which clients’ audits the PCAOB would be reviewing so KPMG could improve its dismal inspection results—is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2, according […]
Ex-KPMG Partner Given Slap on the Wrist From Judge During Cheating Scandal Sentencing
Adrienne mentioned this in Footnotes on Friday, but just in case you missed it, former KPMG partner David Britt won’t be serving any time behind bars for his role in the audit firm’s scheme to cheat the PCAOB inspection process a handful of years ago. Instead, Britt, 57, who is a resident of North Carolina, […]
Wirecard Drama of the Day: EY … Y U No Listen to Whistleblower?
A new Financial Times report once again makes EY look completely incompetent as the auditors of the ill-fated German payments company Wirecard: EY was warned in 2016 by one of its own employees that senior managers at Wirecard may have committed fraud and one had attempted to bribe an auditor. The revelation that an EY […]
FYI: One of the ‘KPMG 5’ Is Scheduled to Be Sentenced on Oct. 9 (UPDATE)
[Article updated with new sentencing date.] A Manhattan federal court judge will decide next month whether former KPMG executive David Britt should spend some time inside a jail cell for his involvement in a scheme to steal secret audit inspection information from the PCAOB. But if Britt, former co-leader of KPMG’s Banking and Capital Markets […]
EY Partners Told How to EYsplain Wirecard Mess to Clients
The Financial Times reported on Monday: EY has told its partners how to prepare for difficult conversations with clients about its audits of Wirecard, the German payments company that has filed for insolvency after admitting that €1.9bn of cash probably never existed. In an internal note to senior partners on Friday, EY advised them to tell […]
RIP Bernard Ebbers, Former WorldCom CEO and Convicted Felon
So, ex-WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers died on Sunday at age 78. His death wasn’t a complete shock; I saw recently that he was in ill health and was granted an early release from prison after serving 13 years of his 25-year sentence for securities fraud, conspiracy, and filing false reports with regulators. My mom used […]
SEC Takes Away Privileges From Another Felon In KPMG/PCAOB Scandal
David Middendorf’s trial buddy, Jeffrey Wada, the now-former PCAOB inspections leader who fed confidential information about upcoming audit inspections to some folks at KPMG, including Middendorf, in the hopes of landing a job at the Big 4 firm, is now prohibited from appearing or practicing before the Securities and Exchange Commission as an accountant. Wada’s […]
Convicted Ex-KPMG Partner David Middendorf Suspended By the SEC
Another “KPMG 5” executive who will be serving prison time for his role in a scheme to steal confidential audit inspection lists from the PCAOB was suspended today from appearing or practicing before the Securities and Exchange Commission as an accountant. The SEC released the following two-page order of suspension against David Middendorf, former national […]
Jailed Ex-KPMG Executive Director Barred By the SEC Because Why Not?
Cynthia Holder, one of the “KPMG 5” who was sentenced to eight months in federal prison in August for her role in a scheme to steal confidential audit inspection information from the PCAOB, was “denied the privilege” of appearing or practicing before the SEC as an accountant, the commission announced on Nov. 29. The SEC […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
PwC Italy Partner Is Probably In a Lot of Trouble, You Guys
So, there was this accounting scandal in early 2017 at the Italian unit of British phone company BT, in which nearly two dozen people at BT Global Services, including its CEO, CFO, and head of Europe, knew about inflated revenues, bogus contract renewals and invoices, and made-up supplier transactions to “meet bonus targets and disguise […]
Patisserie Holdings Said It Was Hiring an Audit Firm That No Longer Exists to Replace Grant Thornton U.K. as Auditor
It’s the Friday before Christmas, and when you have a bad case of holiday brain, sometimes mistakes can happen. Sometimes these mistakes can be hilarious. Like this one from Patisserie Holdings, parent company of U.K. coffeehouse chain Patisserie Valerie: Patisserie Valerie mistakenly says it has named RSM Tenon as its new auditor… RSM Tenon collapsed […]
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 […]
Toshiba Seems to Have Escaped SEC Penalty After Accounting Probe Ends
It was reported in March 2016 that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department were investigating the “accounting problems” at Toshiba Corp.’s business units in the United States. Well, according to Reuters, the SEC has completed the investigation, and Toshiba is likely breathing a sigh of relief. “We understand that all SEC investigations […]
Olympus Decides Fighting Lawsuits for Accounting Scandal Not a Pretty Picture
Olympus Corp, proud owner of a $1.7 billion accounting scandal, decided to say sayōnara to 11 billion yen ($92 million) to settle two civil lawsuits brought by investors. The company, who also settled litigation in the U.S. for $2.6 million in 2013, "had been defending against the claims, but decided that 'swiftly resolving this matter through […]