Turns Out Cohen & Company Auditors Are Human After All
Breaking news: Cohen & Company made a mistake on one of its audits inspected by the PCAOB. Big deal, you’re probably thinking, audit firms screw up all the time—some more than others. (We’re looking at you, BDO USA.) But Cohen & Company had perfect auditing report cards from the PCAOB for 2018, 2019, and 2020. […]
If There Was a PCAOB In the Metaverse, It Would Probably Find a Bunch of Errors In Prager Metis’s Audits Too
In an article for CoinDesk, Francine McKenna took a crack at why the FTX debacle happened, and like she always does when there’s really bad accounting at a company going through a financial crisis, who are/were the auditors: It’s not clear why FTX commissioned two different audit firms to audit its 2020 and 2021 financial […]
Here’s Your Sign From the Universe to Find a Better Opportunity
From the moment you choose accounting as your major, the one thing you consistently hear from peers and professors is “go into public accounting when you graduate.” Many professors, being Big 4 alum themselves, urge you to take a traditional path: internship, graduate, full-time role, CPA exam, and then put in your mandatory two years […]
KPMG UK Somehow Won’t Be Getting a Record Fine From the Financial Reporting Council For Carillion Mess (UPDATE)
[UPDATE] The Queen’s KPMG was finally, officially fined £14.4 million by the Financial Reporting Council earlier this morning for all the stupidity that happened during the 2016 audit of collapsed construction and services company Carillion, as well as for the mistakes that occurred in its 2014 audit of IT software company Regenersis. KPMG UK and […]
6 Rules of Audit Room Etiquette
As workers return to the office, many auditors find themselves visiting client sites for the first time. Given the two-year in-person hiatus we’ve all just been through, even first-year seniors don’t know how to approach audit room protocols. So here are some key rules you should follow in the audit room whenever you do go […]
In the Trenches: My Three Least Favorite Audit Rooms
Audit rooms come in all shapes and sizes—usually small, often windowless, sometimes with chairs you can actually sit on, and almost always as far away from the finance/accounting department as possible. After eight years in public accounting, I have loads of unforgettable audit room experiences. Here are just a few. The hostile work environment This […]
One RSM US Office Might Want to Rethink Its Retention Strategy For Managers and Supervisors
From the tip box last week: Big Salary increases for senior auditors moving to RSM – Seattle. Nearly $100k plus bonus for 2-3 years of experience. Current supervisors and managers making $80k – $96k. No plans to bump the loyal employees….. On one hand, good for those seniors taking advantage of the obvious desperation for […]
Happy Busy Season to All Who Celebrate
Happy first Monday of 2022! But let’s be real—nobody’s happy about being back at work today after the holiday break, especially auditors, who are embarking on another (or maybe their first) busy season. Busy season number 9. Let’s get it #DebitsEqualCredits #EBITDA pic.twitter.com/7FFTK8tcTD — Cory Callaghan (@corycallaghan) January 3, 2022 https://twitter.com/LiviaStrandberg/status/1477867111275921409 Not ready for busy […]
Which Firm Was the Biggest Loser In the Third Auditor Shuffle of 2021?
Are y’all ready for the results of the third auditor round-and-round of 2021? OK. Here we go. It was another big quarter for BF Borgers, which added the most new SEC clients with nine while losing one for a net of eight, according to Audit Analytics’ third quarter audit gains and losses analysis. BF Borgers […]
Which Firm Was the Biggest Loser In the Second Auditor Shuffle of 2021?
The auditor round-and-round continued in the second quarter of 2021, with everyone’s favorite public accounting firm with a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant sounding name, BF Borgers, netting nine new SEC clients, the most of any audit firm, according to the Q2 auditor changes roundup from Audit Analytics. And as Accounting Today noted in its post […]
Which Firm Was the Biggest Loser In the First Auditor Shuffle of 2021?
[Updated with corrected version of net audit fees won table from Audit Analytics.] With the first quarter of 2021 already in the books, it’s time once again to look at the winners and losers among the top 12 global and national accounting firms that participated in the first round of auditor musical chairs for 2021. […]
Nothing Is More Auditor-y Than the Concern One Derek Chauvin Trial Juror Had
As you probably have heard, the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is underway, and a jury of 12 people (and two alternates) will decide if he is guilty of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. The USA Today last weekend ran small profiles of each of the 14 jurors, […]
Which Firm Was the Biggest Loser In the Last Auditor Shuffle of 2020?
The fourth quarter of 2020 had some new winners and losers in the game of auditor musical chairs, as there were 16 new engagements and 41 client departures among the 12 major global and national audit firms between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, according to Audit Analytics. Of the top 12 firms, Deloitte gained the […]
How Are Auditors Handling the Start of Busy Season?
How’s everyone surviving their first Monday of the new year so far? Today is a double whammy for our auditor friends. Not only is it the first official workday of 2021 after holiday break but it’s also the start of the grueling marathon that is busy season. I went on Twitter to see how auditors […]
Which Big 4 Firm Was the Biggest Loser In the Third Auditor Shuffle of 2020?
Now that Accounting Today has published the most recent data from Audit Analytics on who won and who lost the game of auditor musical chairs in the third quarter, let’s take a look at which firm(s) resigned or were fired the most by clients and who the beneficiaries were. All in all there were 33 […]
Grant Thornton’s Streak of Not Being Fined By the PCAOB Has Come to an End
It had been nearly three years since Grant Thornton ran afoul of PCAOB auditing rules and got caught—on Dec. 20, 2017, the Purple Rose of Chicago agreed to pay a $1.5 million penalty to the PCAOB for quality control violations and audit failures as a result of its shoddy auditing work for Bancorp. But GT’s […]
Which Big 4 Firm Was the Biggest Loser In the Second Auditor Shuffle of 2020?
One thing that hasn’t slowed down too much during the Rona pandemic is the game of auditor musical chairs, as there were 51 new SEC audit client engagements and 62 departures in the second quarter among the 12 major global or national accounting firms compared to 57 new engagements and 68 departures in Q1, according […]
Which Big 4 Firm Was the Biggest Loser In the First Auditor Shuffle of 2020?
Nearly 60 companies that are audited by one of the 12 major global or national accounting firms played auditor musical chairs during the first quarter of 2020, and EY ended up being the biggest beneficiary after the last song ended. According to the latest SEC audit client winners and losers analysis by Audit Analytics, which […]
Wells Fargo Continues Bromance with KPMG
A bromance that began in 1931. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced today [April 28] that its shareholders elected as directors the 12 nominees named in the company’s proxy statement and approved the 2019 compensation of the company’s executives named in its proxy statement. Shareholders also ratified the appointment of KPMG LLP as the […]
Which Audit Firm Got Fired the Most In Q4 2019?
It wasn’t a stellar fourth quarter of 2019 for the Big 4 in terms of winning new public company audit clients, according to Accounting Today’s most recent report on the newest data crunched by Audit Analytics. Deloitte and EY brought on four and three new SEC-registered audit clients, respectively, in Q4, but Deloitte also lost […]
Which Audit Firm Got Fired the Most In Q3?
Earlier this month Accounting Today reported the latest data from Audit Analytics on public company audit client gains and losses for the third quarter, with Florida-based CPA firm Assurance Dimensions picking up nine new ones thanks to an acquisition. Among firms you’ll usually see in SEC or PCAOB enforcement orders, Marcum and Deloitte were the […]
10 Things We Learned During #AuditorProud Day 2019
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that today is the fifth annual auditor lovefest known as #AuditorProud Day. There have been a lot of photos and videos posted on social media today of auditors holding balloons, wearing foam fingers, forcing awkward smiles, striking unnatural poses, and eating food of all kinds. Auditors […]
Hiring Watch ’19: Hey Auditors, PwC U.K. Now Has 500 Job Openings For You to Fill
Whoa, if you haven’t seen by now, the Queen’s PwC announced some pretty big news earlier today. The Wall Street Journal reported: Professional-services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on Wednesday announced various measures aimed at overhauling its U.K. audit business, amid growing regulatory concerns about the quality of the country’s audit sector. PwC, one of the Big […]
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 […]
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 […]
How Did the Big 4 Do in Snagging New SEC Audit Clients in Q3?
Answer: Nowhere near as good as Marcum, which brought 30 new SEC audit clients onboard during the third quarter—21 of which were former clients of GBH CPAs, a Houston-based firm that merged with Marcum in July, according to Accounting Today. New York-based Marcum ended the quarter netting 22 new audit clients, more than twice its […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Deloitte Gobbled Up the Most New SEC Audit Clients in Q2; EY and KPMG Threw Up a Bunch of Clients
After two Utah-based firms you might not have ever heard of picked up the most new Securities and Exchange Commission audit clients in the first quarter of 2018, Deloitte was the big winner in the second quarter, snagging 15 new engagements, with a net of 13, according to Accounting Today. BDO USA was the runner-up […]
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 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 […]
Report: Court Documents Name KPMG Audit Clients Caught Up in PCAOB Leak Fiasco
MarketWatch reporter and friend of Going Concern’s, Francine McKenna, wrote an outstanding article today after digging through court documents obtained by MarketWatch that name the audit clients caught up in the KPMG audit inspection conspiracy. And there are some pretty big names. The Justice Department in January brought criminal charges against five former KPMG executives […]
Clearly Not Everyone at KPMG Got the Memo About the ‘Raise-Your-Hand Culture’ at the Firm
Photo: A higher proportion of hand raising than at KPMG.
Foreign Affiliates of Big Audit Firms Screwed Up Some Stuff
The Securities and Exchange Commission fined foreign affiliates of BDO, Deloitte, and KPMG for skirting oversight of the PCAOB. Here’s the skinny: According to the SEC’s orders, the Zimbabwe affiliates of Deloitte & Touche and KPMG improperly audited the majority of assets and revenues of a publicly traded company without registering with the PCAOB. The […]
Deloitte Agrees to Fork Over $149.5 Million for Its Crappy Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Audits
The Justice Department announced that Deloitte would pay a $149.5 million fine to put “potential False Claims Act liability” to bed for its role as the auditor of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., the failed mortgage originator. Justice alleged that “Deloitte’s audits knowingly deviated from applicable auditing standards and therefore failed to detect TBW’s […]
All the Gory Details From the Indictment of Former KPMG Partners
If you’re not one of the six accountants who was criminally or civilly charged today, then you’re having a good Monday. And if you’re still not convinced, let’s peruse the details from the criminal indictment so you can feel better about yourself. The allegations paint a pretty sad picture of some prominent audit professionals at […]
Former KPMG Employees Learn That Using Confidential PCAOB Inspection Info Has Its Drawbacks
Six former employees of KPMG have been arrested and charged “with conspiring to defraud securities regulators and misuse of confidential auditing information.” These charges stem from the leak of confidential PCAOB inspection information that we learned about last year. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil charges in a parallel action. The 54-page indictment lists […]
Grant Thornton Gets Dinged for Giving Partners with Audit Quality Issues More Work
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has announced a big settlement with Grant Thornton over quality control violations and audit failures. The firm was censured and agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty. The quality control violations related to the assignment of two Philadelphia-based partners to audits in 2013 when they had been cited […]
PCAOB Inspection Reports Have Been MIA Lately
Here’s something odd that was brought to our attention: @going_concern @PCAOB Why has the PCAOB not posted an inspection report on their website since July? pic.twitter.com/nMZzKFEB0q — Know Your Audience (@csilvey) December 1, 2017 Sure enough, if you cruise the PCAOB’s Firm Inspection Reports page, you’ll find that the last report was for Crowe Horwath’s […]
#AuditorProud Day Hits the Trifecta
Has it been a year already? The third annual #AuditorProud Day is upon us and it’s building momentum. Last year, 115 countries participated posting over 14,000 tweets and 4,000 Instagram photos. Kiwis got into the act early: Happy #AuditorProud Day! Auditors instil trust and confidence & have indispensable role in capital market system #CAANZ @chartered_accts […]
Former PwC Employee Latest Star of “Auditor Mishandles Sensitive Client Information”
I haven’t been a Big 4 auditor in quite some time, which means I haven’t taken any training on handling sensitive client information in quite some time. However, my keen sense of self-preservation tells me that if I were in possession of sensitive client information, the kind of information about, say, an upcoming acquisition, I […]
Six KPMG Employees Fired After Leak of PCAOB Inspection Info
Updates to report that individuals were terminated appear throughout. Welp, this looks bad. The Wall Street Journal reports that six KPMG employees, including four partners and the firm’s head of audit, have been fired after a PCAOB employee leaked confidential inspection details to the firm. The departing KPMG employees include four partners and Scott Marcello, […]
Robot Auditors Won’t Have a Problem Giving Clients Bad News
Here’s something that won’t surprise anyone: A study from the University of Missouri found that auditors defer to information provided by management. In the study, nearly 50 senior auditors from major accounting firms were asked to assess the cost of an explosion at a client’s facility based on memos provided by the company’s finance chief. […]
PCAOB Sanctions Former PwC Brazil Partner for Lousy Auditing
You may have noticed, maybe not, but PwC is in the midst of a bad publicity streak. Last month, one partner screwed up the hand-off of the Best Picture envelope at the Oscars while the other partner froze. A few days later, federal agents raided Caterpillar’s headquarters over its offshore tax practices that PwC helped […]
Man, This EY Auditor Made Some Bad Choices
Today in consequences of career limiting moves, a former EY auditor settled charges with the SEC that he traded on insider information about a merger of a client that he was staffed on. Now, I know you’re thinking, “Wow, that was dumb.” And yes, that was incredibly bad decision on the part of Nima Hedayati, […]
Big 4 Auditors Are Probably Looking Forward to More Amiable PCAOB
Michael Rapoport reports in the Wall Street Journal on the waning James Doty era at the PCAOB and that he will probably exit with unfinished business: Mr. Doty, chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, may only have months left to pursue his wish list, including a change that would require auditors to tell […]
PCAOB Inspectors Find IT Auditors on the Struggle Bus
In case you missed the news earlier this month, all of the PCAOB reports are out for the Big 4's 2015 cycle of inspections. What schadenfreude awaits us? Let’s take a look. Big picture — regarding overall deficiency rate — PwC is the winner this year. Even if PwC is only slightly ahead, the firm […]
Deloitte’s Dutch Firm Takes Its Turn With PCAOB
The PCAOB has announced another settlement with a Deloitte firm today, this time the Dutch version. This relates to an independence snafu that happened back in May of 2012 when the new CEO, Piet Hein Meeter, resigned abruptly, after serving in that role for just a few months. Here's Michael Rapoport's report in the Wall […]
For Once, a Burned Out Auditor Wrote an Honest Answer to a Stupid Question
A large part of any accountant’s job is to write boring answers to boring questions. Most people meet an accountant and think, “Oh, you’re good with numbers,” and while that’s a safe assumption, what really lurks underneath is a masterful chronicler of complex rules in the most banal language possible.
The Trump Administration Will Drain the PCAOB Swamp
The election of Donald Trump is likely to transform the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). While the PCAOB is technically a non-partisan private regulator, it will not likely escape Trump’s commitment to drain the swamp. Jim Doty’s term as PCAOB chairman expired in October of 2015. The PCAOB chairman is nominated by the SEC […]
Elizabeth Warren Has Questions for KPMG Re: Wells Fargo
Last month we wondered aloud if KPMG would get dragged into this Wells Fargo kerfuffle. It took awhile, but it appears that Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has some fire leftover from her roasting of former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf for the bank's auditor, KPMG:
EY Thought the Weatherford Audit Could Turn Out Badly; It Turned Out Badly
I'm not sure if there's a pattern or not, but it sure seems like the Big 4 take turns being the poster child of sloppy auditing. Sometimes the stretch is long and sometimes it's short, but it's inevitable that something blows up and one firm will be back on top as the King of Failed […]
EY Runs Afoul of Auditor Independence Rules Thanks to Sporting Events, Office Romance
One of the keys to being a successful partner in a large accounting firm is client management. If you’re a tax or advisory partner, this is pretty simple: you wine, you dine, you do the work with a smile on your face. The client is happy. You are a good partner. Audit partners don’t have […]
KPMG Drops an Annoying, Dysfunctional, Possibly Corrupt Client
An editorial from the Orlando Sun-Sentinel has some wonderful details about the fallout between KPMG and Broward Health, one of the largest health systems in the country. Broward announced on Monday that KPMG was resigning as auditor. This came about, according to the Broward chairman, due to a misunderstanding: In a Friday letter to the […]
Hopefully a PwC Employee Doesn’t Get in Trouble for Leaving Their Work Lying Around
Here's a doozy. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that PPG Industries may sell its flat glass business to Mexico-based Vitro, SAB de C.V. This according to "a document obtained by" the paper: A PPG spokesman this afternoon declined to comment on a possible sale, which is mentioned in an undated reference contained in a draft copy […]
Swiss Regulator Investigating Whether KPMG’s Audit of FIFA Is Worth Investigating
Well, this is something? Switzerland's Federal Audit Oversight Authority ("FAOA") will be kicking the tires on KPMG's audit of corruption factory/sports organization FIFA. "The FAOA is monitoring developments related to FIFA, and has selected for evaluation aspects of KPMG's work in connection with the auditing of the financial statements of FIFA," the FAOA, which helps […]
EY Auditor Is the Subject of Affection in Craigslist Missed Connection
Unless you're dead on the inside, you've been infatuated with someone at work. Maybe it's someone on your team, maybe it's a client, maybe it's your boss. Regardless, people have various ways of dealing with this unreasonable love and one of the best ways is Craiglist Missed Connections! We've covered accountant-related missed connections for years […]
PwC Is in the Midst of a Independence Quagmire
Independence: its complicated. Except it isn’t, really. Audits firms are conflicted because they’re paid by the organizations who they’re supposed to be independent of audit clients. Most people, I think, know this yet choose to ignore it. Fine.
Partner Names: Coming to an Audit Near You in 2017
After nearly seven years since the first concept release, the SEC approved the PCAOB's rules for disclosing the names of audit engagement partners and other participating firms. You can read the entire SEC order if you find the securities regulation apparatus fascinating. Personally, I think it's interesting that another round of comments is allowed prior […]
PCAOB: Just Stop Altering Audit Workpapers Already
Are you an auditor? Do you have any public company clients? Have you recently been notified that the PCAOB will be inspecing the audit of one of those public company clients? Are you now just remembering that you may have left something out of the audit documentation that would definitely get you in trouble with […]
Government Audits Turn Up Some Scary Stuff
In 2016, government auditors in Washington state discovered $420,300 in unemployment benefits paid out to prisoners. Prisoners, by the way, are ineligible for unemployment benefits. It feels like an episode of Orange is the New Black (another quality show I've been binge-watching in my spare time), but as far as I know, it's still just […]
What Auditors Ought to Know About the Internet of Things
Whenever I think about the Internet of Things ("IoT"), my mind jumps to a Disney original movie from 1999 called Smart House. If you haven’t seen it (no real surprise), here’s a clip. Fast forward less than two decades and “smart” technology is ubiquitous. As of 2013, there were more internet connected devices than people […]
SEC in No Rush to Make a Decision on PCAOB Chair
SEC Chair Mary Jo White said that she'll wait until two new commissioners are appointed before deciding on whether James Doty will remain the head of the PCAOB. Currently, the SEC only has three commissioners after Dan Gallagher and Luis Aguilar both left last year. But how long do we have to wait?! That all […]
#TBT: Auditors Cringe While Watching Office Space
In honor of throwback Thursday let me take you on a journey down memory lane to reminisce about Office Space, a light hearted and irreverent comedy starring Ron Livingston and Jennifer Aniston. Spoiler alert! (Actually, if you haven’t seen the movie during the last 17 years I don’t feel bad.) Peter, played by Ron Livingston, […]
Auditors Sing The Legacy System Blues
Ed. note: Today we debut a new contributor to Going Concern. Megan Lewczyk, CPA (pronounced left without the “t” and "chick" like a baby bird) is a Big 4 alumna who decided to venture off the beaten path early in her career. She owns a consulting firm, is an adjunct accounting instructor for a couple […]
Big 4 Firms Still Getting Used to This Whole Regulation Thing
Sometimes I get the impression that the Big 4 don’t fully appreciate what the PCAOB is supposed to do as a regulator. Now, please don’t confuse “appreciate” with “like.” The Reuters report from yesterday makes it perfectly clear that the firms don’t like what the PCAOB does at all. What’s become obvious, though, is that […]
PCAOB Member Wants a Closer Look at Tax Services and Auditor Independence
Last week the PCAOB approved its 2016 budget and also its "strategic plan" through 2019. That might sound like a more potent sleeping aid than tryptophan, but sometimes board members say interesting bits worth sharing and, today, we have some for you. Each of the board members made pretty benign statements — quibbles about the […]
Auditors, PCAOB Earn Attaboys From SEC Chief Accountant
SEC Chief Accountant James Schnurr says that, although "there's room for improvement" audit quality "is getting better" and the PCAOB has "deepened their expertise" and "their inspection process has matured." This explains why we've seen more deficiencies, he says. I'm sure KPMG appreciates the vote of confidence. [AT]
Some Audit Committee Members Just Ignoring Auditors Now
As you've probably heard by now, the definition of materiality is up for debate. Back in September, the FASB said they'd like to go with the Supreme Court's definition and investor advocates think that's a terrible idea. Businesses claim that disclosure overload is making everything less informative and and some scholarship agrees. The latest in […]
BDO Spain Took a Siesta on Some PCAOB Paperwork
Audit firms still seem to be getting used to having a regulator that watches their every move. Or failure to move in the case of BDO Auditores, SLP (aka "BDO Spain"). [T]he Firm became a respondent in two separate disciplinary proceedings initiated by the Instituto de Contabilidad y Auditoria de Cuentas ("ICAC"), the foreign auditor […]
Company Loses Bad Auditor; Disaster Ensues
When a company changes their auditors, it can be a bit of a headache. As inconvenient as it can be, I've never heard a company express despair over it until I read this 8-K from Nano Labs Corp. Their auditor was none other than Terry Johnson, the Florida CPA who didn't audit much for his […]
BDO Shouldn’t Have Blown This Audit
This SEC Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Order against BDO will be the best thing you read today. That is, if you enjoy reading about audit firms issuing an unqualified opinion when they absolutely had no business issuing an unqualified opinion. That is the case with the story of BDO's 2009 audit of General Employment Enterprises, […]
PwC Out of the Running for This Year’s “Worst Performance By a Big 4 Audit Firm”
The PCAOB, bless their hearts, released a forgettable inspection report from PwC today. The deficiency rate, 29%, is still in the range we're used to, but was lower than last year, so that's something. Michael Rapoport reports that this deficiency rate is better than EY's (36%) but not as good as Deloitte's (21%) and that […]
Dot VN, Inc. and PLS CPA: A Love Story in One 8-K
Like that miserable couple you know that have been together far too long, here's a, seemingly, dramatic auditor/client interlude, starting with an auditor walking out after years of neglect: On October 13, 2014, the Company was notified by PLS CPA, a Professional Corp. (“PLS”) that the firm resigned as the Company’s independent registered public accounting […]
Deloitte Survey: Auditors’ Use of Technology Does Not Impress
A Deloitte survey of financial executives, financial statement users and audit committee members found that an overwhelming majority — 84%, 70% and 76% respectively — of these people, "believe auditors should use advanced technologies more extensively in performing an audit." Apparently, 21st century auditing is still a few years off. [WSJ] Image: Gnangarra/WIkimedia Commons
PCAOB Going with Plan C for Naming Audit Partners
In a speech given yesterday, PCAOB Chairman James Doty said that the Board will seek comment on a third proposal for naming the lead audit partner. Doty recounts the journey so far, including the concept release that "consider[ed] engagement partner signature in 2009," the proposal for "mere disclosure" in 2011 that they sought comment on […]
Pope Figured The Lord’s Work Could Use a Good Auditor
Here's one way to stay out of hell: The Vatican appointed its first auditor-general on Friday in Pope Francis' latest move aimed at ensuring transparency in the scandal-plagued finances at the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. A statement said the pope, who has made cleaning up finances a major plank of his papacy, […]
Lawyer: KPMG Not Much of a Keeper in FIFA Scandal
Francine McKenna gets in on KPMG’s flop as FIFA auditor today, and Jerry Silk, a lawyer who has represented investors in lawsuits against Big 4 firms, suggests that the firm may have been ball watching: “With all the prior allegations of corruption and bribery leveled against FIFA and some of its member associations over the […]
Did KPMG Flop as FIFA’s Auditor?
The FIFA scandal is increasingly ridiculous as was so deftly shown by John Oliver last night. But now a Big 4 firm appears to be caught in the tentacles of it, which further demonstrates its depth and reach. A tipster dropped us a link to very interesting post from Matt Scott, a journalist who has […]
#FBF: The Time Bernie Madoff’s CFO Fooled a KPMG Auditor With a Refrigerated Trade Ledger
The Madoff scandal crept back into the news recently, as Frank DiPascali, a key figure in the both the Ponzi scheme and the trial his of former associates, died of lung cancer last week. Since speaking ill of the dead is typically frowned upon, it makes sense to pick on an auditor instead. Lucky for […]
Yep, Auditor Independence Is Still a Joke
People like getting worked up about auditor independence. For firms, it's a badge of honor. They like pointing to it as a virtue of their business. You know — objectivity, integrity, all that crap. For audit firm critics, picking a fight over independence is easy. All anyone has to say is, "Audit firms are paid by […]
SEC Didn’t Appreciate McGladrey Partner’s Lack of Attention to Detail
Here's a story of hedge fund of fund guys doing hedge fund of fund guy things — onshore fund, offshore fund, master fund, an investment advisor, along with a couple other affiliated companies — and not being very good at some of the finer points: An SEC investigation found that Alpha Titans LLC, its principal […]
Senators Taking Another Crack at Making PCAOB Proceedings Public
Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bill in 2011 that would make PCAOB disciplinary proceedings public. Like many bills in this political climate, it went precisely nowhere. Reed and Grassley, not unfamiliar with the excruciating pace of the legislative process, are gonna try to get some momentum behind this idea again […]
PwC Disappointed That Former Partners Going to Jail for Satyam Fraud
An addendum to the Bloomberg article on the Satyam executives' sentencing we linked to earlier: the former PwC partners involved, S. Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri, were in the group of ten that were found guilty and sentenced to 7 years in prison as well. PwC is a little sad about this outcome: "As we have said many […]
TIL: Ancient Greeks Used Slaves as Auditors So They Could Be Beaten When They Screwed Up
I've had Jacob Soll's book The Reckoning: Financial Accountability and the Rise and Fall of Nations sitting in my bag forever, always intending to go up on the rooftop deck on a nice summer day with a cigar and a few beers to finish reading it. Of course, that never happens (usually because I drink […]
Spain Can’t Seem to Locate Missing Auditor Before Court Date
I smell a Ken Lay coming on here: Spain's High Court said on Thursday the judge investigating the collapse of wireless networks provider Gowex had issued a search and detain warrant for the company's auditor, who had gone missing. Antonio Diaz Villanueva, from small firm M&A Auditores, is due to testify in court on Friday […]
PwC Defends Itself Against “Baseless” MF Global Suit Using MF Global’s Own Stupidity
PwC was recently dealt a blow when U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero stated: “[u]nder PwC’s reasoning, the in pari delicto doctrine would insulate an auditor from liability whenever a company pursues a failed investment strategy after receiving wrongful advice from an accountant. Such a broad reading of the doctrine would effectively put an end to […]
Miserable Auditor Warns Those Who Wish to Follow Him
The Going Concern tip box is a dumping ground for information of great consequence and trifling tidbits; advice solicitations and fond (or not so fond) farewells; rants and raves. And every so often we get messages that seek to provoke existential questions to those who seek to follow in their footsteps. Like this one: […]
PwC Auditor Retiring at 26 to Follow His Passion for Sports (and an MBA) Left a Farewell Press Release
Perhaps it is not a coincidence that the bro who abandoned his Deloitte bros for KPMG and the following bro from PwC both work in the Washington Metro; sports-themed farewells may officially be a thing now. Whether or not it's a trend, it sure beats past farewell emails we've seen that go on for days […]
Petty Thieves Being Mistaken for Big 4 Auditors Now
If there's one thing clients can't stand, it's a pesky auditor. They're always asking stupid questions, rummaging through the supply closet, drinking all free beverages. God, they're the worst. Be that as it may, auditors are people too and it's unfortunate that we would receive a tip like this one from a Big 4 […]
The Big 4’s Spurious Independence in One Chart
Mark O'Connor of Monadnock Research wrote an epic post over at re:The Auditors yesterday on the Big 4's advisory performance for 2013 and the resulting "conflict metrics." The whole post is worth a read but this chart sums things up well. […]
Someone Made a Life in Audit Remix of Lorde’s “Royals”
I can't really say how this compares to the original on which it's based because obviously I don't listen to the likes of Lorde but I do know she is like a young version of Grace of Will & Grace in purple lipstick and that some people are upset her boyfriend is skinny and not […]
Is There an Auditor Exodus in the Works Or Is It Just Business as Usual in the Big 4?
Finally, a somewhat challenging "question" has found its way into the tip box: Hello Going Concern! I am writing to you because I have come to the realization that there is a bubble forming and it is on the brink of erupting, and no I am not talking about the internet bubble–I am talking about […]
New Audit Associate Looking For Prank Ideas, Possibly a New Job in Near Future
Oh, man. Are we going to go here? I think we are. From the suggestion box: Can we have a post where folks can share their best auditing related pranks? I'm a new associate and want to pull something memorable on my team. When talking audit pranks, the most well-known and widely used prank is […]
Auditor Musical Chairs a Little More Lively in 2013
We tracked over 1,000 auditor changes so far in 2013, compared to around 900 for all of 2012. #auditorchanges — Audit Analytics (@AuditAnalytics) November 8, 2013
EY Tops Big 4 Las Vegas Firms in Hindering Its Advisory Business Growth
In this day and age of professional service firm trends, it's strange to see an announcement that highlights the audit business in the lead paragraph: [On Monday] Ernst & Young LLP’s Las Vegas office celebrates its 10th anniversary. Since its opening here in 2003, it has become the nation’s largest fully integrated gaming and hospitality practice, […]
The PCAOB’s Disciplinary Action Against Deloitte Is the Latest Embarrassment for the Auditing Profession
Late yesterday we learned about the latest wrist slap coming from the PCAOB for an audit firm. Deloitte was fined $2 million for allowing a suspended partner, Christopher Anderson, "to become an 'associated person' of Deloitte during the period of the suspension." I could go on but it's quite simple: there's nothing to like about this […]
Deloitte Fined $2M for Allowing Suspended Audit Partner to Keep on Auditing
Accounting giant Deloitte & Touche will pay a $2 million penalty to settle civil charges that it allowed a suspended auditor to continue working in the firm's public company audit practice, the U.S. audit watchdog said Tuesday. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the body that polices auditors, said the fine matches a record penalty imposed […]