Like all professions, accountants have a few bad apples in their ranks. Everyone makes mistakes now and then and when a CPA makes an error, it’s called Accounting Malpractice. Sometimes the errors involve a missed deadline. Sometimes professionals fail to keep up with changes in the law (after all, there are only 73,608 pages of […]
Accounting Malpractice Post – CPA White Label Lending Programs
Sometimes I don’t have to look very hard to find something important to our readers. Literally upon logging into my email this morning was a discussion on LinkedIn about a new small business lending program being marketed through accountants. Is that a wonderful new tool for CPAs to help clients with cash flow problems or […]
Stoel Rives Hit With Legal Malpractice Verdict
Jurors in Park City, Utah found prominent West Coast law firm Stoel Rives guilty of legal malpractice in a botched real estate development deal. The firm must now pay their former client $12.8 million in damages. The suit also named one of the firm’s top real estate and construction law partners, Thomas Ellison. According to […]
Who’s Guarding The Hen House? Accounting Malpractice Post
by Brian Mahany Two of the biggest brokerage industry failures last year were Peregrine Financial Group and MF Global Holdings. In August of last year we covered the Peregrine story after the firm’s CEO attempted suicide and left a note confessing to a massive theft from customers. At that time, we questioned why the firm’s […]
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 […]
Another Convicted Lawyer Suspended… But Only After 4th Conviction
by Brian Mahany Yesterday the Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended a St. Croix Falls lawyer Warren Brandt’s license to practice law. He is ineligible to practice for the next four months. Afterwards, he must undergo any necessary monitoring and treatment for alcohol dependency. Everyone in society can suffer from alcoholism – we have seen lawyers, doctors, […]
Accounting Malpractice (Can I Sue My Accountant?)
The term “malpractice” strikes fear in the minds of many professionals… doctors, lawyers and accountants. For most people, their only interaction with an accountant occurs during income tax filing season. People make that once a year visit, drop off a box of receipts and that’s it. For many other people, however, their accountant is also […]
CPA Jailed for Misusing Client Funds (What to Do When a CPA Steals)
What to Do When Your Accountant Steals An Oregon CPA pleaded guilty to charges that he conspired to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Brian Stevens of Bend, Oregon entered the guilty at his arraignment. According to the government’s complaint, Stevens misused $44 million of his client’s money. When his business collapsed, 91 customers lost […]
When Good Lawyers Turn Bad
[Post updated] Lawyers are not held in high regard by many people. That is unfortunate since 99% of them do great work. Most lawyers get themselves in trouble when they get in over their heads and fail to seek help. Unfortunately a few are simply corrupt. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged one Minnesota […]