Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

(UPDATE) Connecticut Accountant Denies That ‘Paperwork’ Is Code for ‘One Pound of Pot’

Posted on by Caleb Newquist
UPDATE: The Fairfield Citizen post now reports that the charges against Mr. Rosenberg have been dropped. 

The Fairfield Citizen reports that Stuart Rosenberg, 63, got a surprise package back in May:

According to police, a package was sent by overnight priority mail to Rosenberg's office from Oregon. However, Rosenberg was away and instructed an employee to open the package. Inside there was a small, sealed box addressed to Rosenberg containing the marijuana, at which point the police were contacted, according to the report. When he returned to Connecticut, Rosenberg came to Fairfield police headquarters with his lawyer and allegedly told police the package was supposed to contain paperwork. He denied knowing there was marijuana in the package.
Regardless, Mr. Rosenberg has been charged with possession and intent to distribute. We'll withhold judgment on Mr. Rosenberg for now but it bears repeating – selling drugs, whether you're a seasonal or year-round accountant – is not a good option.

Related Posts

KPMG Got Fired by North American Savings Bank After Six Months on the Job

Technically, if you count the days (based on the 8-K) it’s less than six months.

The reason? Without getting too wonky, it appears NASB wasn’t thrilled that KPMG challenged their valuation method of a real estate investment, Central Platte Holdings, LLC.

Klynveld had been engaged to audit the September 30, 2010 financial statements of NASB but things managed to get confrontational right off the bat as KPMG raised questions about the Company’s valuation methodology of Central Platte in its first quarter review.


This must have made NASB a little uncomfortable since KPMG’s methods might not paint as rosy as a picture and could have resulted in a restatement. Per the 8-K, “KPMG also informed the Company that if the investment was determined to be impaired, evidence existed which indicated that such impairment may have occurred in a prior period.”

Obviously the mere idea of a restatement was completely unacceptable for NASB but when KPMG requested that the Company engagement a third party appraisal, they really freaked. Either the bank didn’t want to pay for said third party’s services, or they were worried that the appraisal would show that Central Platte wasn’t worth squat.

More from the 8-K filing:

At KPMG’s request, management estimated the fair value of the investment in Central Platte. After reviewing management’s estimate of fair value, KPMG requested the Company obtain an independent third party appraisal of the fair value of the investment. KPMG did not complete their review of the fair value of the investment in Central Platte prior to their dismissal.

While the Company continues to evaluate whether it should change its accounting method in measuring impairment of the investment in preparing the financial statements for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, the Company disagrees with KPMG that its method of evaluating potential impairment of the investment in such period or in any prior
periods was in error.

For those of you unfamiliar with SEC filing lingo, the statement “the Company continues to evaluate whether it should change its accounting method,” actually means “We’re not changing shit.” Luckily, NASB knew that it can rely on their old auditors to give the thumbs up to their preferred method so they ran back (weeping and arms flailing no doubt) to BKD.

Maybe KPMG’s Kansas City office needed business but something tells us they’re better off.

Real estate dispute leads NASB Financial to switch auditors [KC Star]
8-K [SEC.gov]

Royal Caribbean Sued Over “False and Misleading Statements”

Last month, Royal Caribbean revealed a pretty significant accounting error related to its amortization of some financing fees (interest expense) that forced it to revise its earlier financial statements. This drove second quarter EPS of 47 cents to 43 cents. As a result, Royal Caribbean shares fell 13% on the day it made the “boo boo” announcement to below $31 a share on high volume of over 11.32 million shares.

As a result, Royal Caribbean and certain of its officers and directors are charged with making a series of materially false and misleading statements related to the Company’s business and operations in violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

RC Chairman Richard Fain said last week he was “embarrassed” by the error, which was made  in 2009 and discovered by the company’s internal accounting team. The company said though it revised its past financial statements, it did not restate its prior earnings, and claimed the statements could still be relied upon. Uh huh.

Law firm Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC has filed the class action suit against Royal Caribbean on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Royal Caribbean between January 27, 2011 and July 28, 2011 in a Miami court as of last week.

CPA Canada Is Like Your Grandma Who Sincerely Believes Nigerian Royalty Wants to Give Her Money

You know, I’m kinda starting to feel bad. We rarely write about CPA Canada and […]