SEC Slaps CohnReznick and Three Partners with Improper Professional Conduct
This press release from the SEC is wayyyy too boring to be rewritten in an interesting way on a sunny Friday afternoon so have some copy paste instead: The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged audit firm CohnReznick LLP with improper professional conduct on engagements for two clients in 2017. The two clients, Sequential Brands […]
Accounting Fraud Watch: Luckin Cleans House, Wirecard’s Woes, Ex-Penn West Execs Pay Up
Luckin Coffee sacks CEO, COO for alleged fraud [Reuters] Chinese coffee chain and Starbucks wannabe Luckin Coffee fired its CEO Jenny Zhiya Qian and COO Jian Liu following an internal investigation on the fabrication of annual sales numbers, the company said on May 12. Luckin revealed in April that much of its 2019 sales of […]
Accounting Fraud Watch: Under Armour’s Messy House?, Former Soccer Club Chairman Convicted, Ex-Comscore CEO Fined
It’s been a while since we’ve posted an Accounting Fraud Watch, but there’s news to share, starting with Under Armour’s possible shady accounting. Five things to know about the federal investigation into Under Armour [Baltimore Sun] The Wall Street Journal broke the story on Sunday about Baltimore-based Under Armour’s accounting practices being investigated by the […]
Accounting Fraud Watch: GE Bigger Than Enron?, Brixmor Bad, SEC Piles On Power Solutions Execs
A certain report about General Electric caused quite the uproar yesterday. GE falls the most in 11 years after Madoff whistleblower calls it a ‘bigger fraud than Enron’ [CNBC] Boy, did Harry Markopolos send shares of GE into a tizzy on Aug. 15: Markopolos targeted the conglomerate in a new report, accusing it of issuing […]
Accounting Fraud Watch: Autonomy Trial, Patisserie Valerie Arrests, Longfin CEO Charged
Plus, Patisserie Valerie’s ex-chairman doesn’t have nice things to say about Grant Thornton and Steinhoff warns of lingering damage from massive accounting fraud. Lynch says HP’s Meg Whitman couldn’t cope with ‘all the fires’ [Bloomberg] On his first day of testimony, Autonomy founder Mike Lynch said Hewlett-Packard Co.’s executives made him a scapegoat for their […]
As a Result of Breaking SEC Rules, Deloitte Japan Is $2 Million Lighter In the Wallet
There was some bad decision-making going on at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in Japan. Dozens of its employees had bank accounts at the subsidiary of a client for which Deloitte Japan issued audit reports, which is a no-no because Securities and Exchange Commission rules don’t allow accountants to have bank accounts with audit clients that have […]
SEC Got All Grinchy on Crowe, Four Partners for Bad Banana of an Audit
We interrupt your Christmas Eve merriment to bring you this press release from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which on Dec. 21 announced not-so-glad tidings about Crowe LLP’s audit team: The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed settled charges against national audit firm Crowe LLP, two of its partners, and two partners of a now-defunct audit […]
eBay’s Former Director of SEC Reporting (and Deloitte Alum) Charged With Insider Trading By SEC
A CPA who once was the director of Securities and Exchange Commission reporting for eBay Inc. was charged with insider trading by the SEC on Sept. 28 for allegedly using insider information ahead of a PayPal Holdings acquisition to make nearly $36,000 in illegal trading profits, according to documents released on Oct. 16. Bryan Long, […]
How Do We Fraudulently Boost Revenues for Thee? Let Me Count the Ways
If you’re going to get busted for using fraudulent accounting practices to artificially inflate your company’s revenues, you might as well make it worth your while—or at least worth the fine you’re going to have to pay to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC levied fraudulent accounting charges against Tangoe, formerly a public telecommunications […]
BOOYAH! SEC Goes After TheStreet for Multiple Accounting Infractions
Hmm, wonder if Jim Cramer will mention this on his show tonight? The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a digital financial media company and three executives for their roles in an accounting fraud that artificially inflated company revenues and misstated operating income to investors. According to the SEC, TheStreet Inc. filed false financial reports […]