When accounting goes unaccounted for
“We’re not Greece but we could end up with their same problems down the road if we don’t get spending under control and start dealing with our structural deficit soon.”
~ David Walker, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former U.S. Comptroller General on the US of A.
“[If I Were An Auditor] tells the story of two auditors (would-be auditors) in love, who view their relationship through the lens of accounting and auditing.”
~ Edith Orenstein, editor of the FEI Financial Reporting Blog on the rom com created by her and many others in Second Life (just in time for St. Val’s).
“We will get every penny we put into the banks back. I think when you look at all the other programs, we may be surprised at what we get back.”
~ Hank Paulson, to Warren Buffet on TARP.
“In my opinion, KPMG will resign the engagement if there is reason to doubt management integrity, and will not be rushed into issuing an audit opinion by NASDAQ-listing deadlines needed to avoid Overstock.com becoming a Pink Sheet or Bulletin Board stock.”
~ Howard B. Sirota, former lead counsel in Crazy Eddie class action suits
“If former top executives at Bank of America committed the fraud outlined in Attorney General Cuomo’s suit, those executives must be held accountable not only to the people of New York, but also to the people of Florida.”
~ Alex Sink, CFO of Florida weighing in on the NYAG’s suit against her former boss, Ken Lewis.
“If you go to HR and tell them you have a drinking problem, they’ll give you hotlines and help. If you say you have a porn problem, they’ll get security to throw you out.”
~ Michael Leahy, the author of “Porn @Work” and “Porn Nation” on porn addiction, which may be rampant at the SEC.
“I suspect he takes much more pleasure in baiting opponents than he does in running a company. The evidence he is good at baiting is much clearer than the evidence he is good at managing.”
~ Floyd Norris, New York Times Columnist on the Farmville obsessed, Segway Cowboy Patrick Byrne.
“[A]t Deloitte we began planning for the downturn and beyond in 2006. Not having a crystal ball, we didn’t anticipate such a violent contraction.”
~ Barry Salzberg, CEO of Deloitte.
“Even in Washington, where we throw around trillions of dollars as if they were Hershey’s Kisses at Halloween, these numbers take your breath away.”
~ Howard Gleckman, editor of TaxVox, on the numbers in President Obama’s 2011 budget.
“High speed and commuter rail are a key part of growing our economy here in Florida, and today’s announcement couldn’t come at a more important time for our state”
~ Alex Sink, Chief Financial Officer for the State of Florida and cost-saving guru on her state receiving $1.25 billion in federal funding for a high speed rail system.
“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.
“They’re never afraid to print rumor and innuendo. They’re keeping accountants and auditors honest, never afraid to write about the idiocy frequently displayed by finance professionals and executives.”
~ Tracy Coenen, of BloggingSuits and Fraud Files Blog on a certain website
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“It is self-debasing greed. It is avarice of the corrupted soul.”
~ Professor David Albrecht, Concordia College on those who will profit from a switch to IFRS from U.S. GAAP.