[Updated August 2019] As an attorney, I am required to take an oath to support the Constitution and to never counsel or support any action that appears unjust. It is unfortunate that much of society views lawyers as nothing more than “hired guns.” Sometimes we are even called “whores.” Despite how we may be labeled […]
Autonomy and the "willful shock" that accompanies the strategic termination of willful blindness
Guest Post by Charles Seavey [Ed. Note: I found this article in a LinkedIn industry group. With the author’s permission, it is reposted here. Charles Seavey is a lawyer, consultant and writer. He is one of the few folks who writes more articles than I do! Recently I was asked why we post so many […]
CPAs Are Not Fraud Auditors or Security Professionals (guest post)
[Ed. Note: This is a guest post by L. Burke Files, a seasoned financial fraud examiner and author of the book, Due Diligence. While we often work cases together, the opinions of Burke are his own. Like all professions, both CPAs and the world of fraud investigations have both highly skilled and knowledigble practitioners and […]
NY Judge Rules Against KPMG In Massive Fraud Suit
by Brian Mahany If we aren’t critical of big banks and mortgage lenders, then we are probably writing about the Big 4 audit firms. Everyday we read another lawsuit or complaint accusing these giants of fraud, negligence or worse. Some claim these big institutions are “too big to fail.” We simply think they have become […]
Another Big 4 Accounting Firm Called On The Carpet
by Brian Mahany It’s no secret that we are not fans of the Big 4 accounting firms, particularly when it comes to their auditing practices. It’s not these firms don’t employ good people, they do. Rather, the huge accounting firms frequently lose their independence, especially when called upon to audit a client that generates millions […]
Audit Firm Named In Class Action Suit For Failure To Detect Fraud
The audit system in the United States is largely broken. Most auditors are financially dependent on the very people they are required to audit. If you perform a rigorous audit and get a reputation for not giving clients high markets on their financials you will soon find yourself with no clients. Fail to report something, […]
Captive Insurance Companies & Diversified Insurance Company
by Brian Mahany Captive Insurance Companies are certainly on the IRS’ radar screen these days. Yesterday, a colleague forwarded me a copy of a summons from the IRS to a New York attorney seeking information on the lawyer’s clients who had done business with Diversified Insurance Company. While getting a summons from the IRS is […]
Another Black Eye For KPMG And The Audit World
by Brian Mahany Japan’s Financial Services Agency ordered KPMG affiliate KPMG Azsa to dramatically improve the quality of their audits. The Japanese regulator had similar words for Ernst & Young ShinNihon as well. This action comes on the heels of one of the worst accounting scandals in Japanese history, last year’s revelation that Olympus, a […]
More Audit Fraud – Tiny Illinois Town Loses $50 Million!
by Brian Mahany The little Illinois town of Dixon has less than 16,000 residents. Located in rural Lee county, Dixon was best known for being the boyhood home of former President Ronald Reagan. Now it is known for being the city that lost $50,000,000.00. That’s quite a feat considering the per capita income of Dixon is […]
Battle of the Titans
by Brian Mahany We hear of many people making claims against their tax preparers for not properly advising them of their foreign account reporting requirements. Lately some taxpayers are suing Swiss banks for allegedly providing them bad advise – like, “don’t worry you won’t get caught.” Now in what may be the ultimate lawsuit, billionaire […]