KPMG fined $18M for ‘integrity and objectivity’ breaches in Silentnight sale
The Financial Reporting Council ordered KPMG to pay a £13 million (U.S. $18 million) fine for “breaches of the principles of integrity and objectivity” in its advisory role regarding the 2011 sale of mattress company Silentnight to U.S. private equity firm HIG Capital.
SEC seeks more risk disclosures from China-based companies
The SEC will require China-based public companies listed on U.S. exchanges to make more disclosures about the financial risks posed by potential interference in their operations by the Chinese government.
EY fined $10M for independence violations in Sealed Air engagement
EY has agreed to pay $10 million as part of a settlement with the SEC related to charges of auditor independence misconduct perpetrated by several partners of the Big Four firm to secure Sealed Air as a client.
Ex-KPMG partners barred by SEC over cheating scandal roles
David Britt and Thomas Whittle have been indefinitely barred from practicing as accountants before the Securities and Exchange Commission for their roles in the KPMG cheating scandal.
Three ideas to improve the whistleblowing process
It’s important to take stock of how far whistleblowing has advanced over the last few years. That said, there is still room for improvement. Aaron Nicodemus offers three suggestions.
Part 5: Waiting for payout a grueling test of tenacity for whistleblowers
The road to a payout for whistleblowers is long, lonely, and full of obstacles. Commitment to the idea that they are doing the right thing helped our whistleblower subjects endure years of hardship to bring their cases to conclusion.
Part 4: Retaliation pervades while whistleblowers persevere
Retaliation for blowing the whistle comes in all kinds of forms. Our whistleblower subjects share their stories—from losing jobs to getting blacklisted to being the target of a newspaper hit piece.
Part 3: Blowing the whistle weighs uncertainty against moral duty
Once someone decides to blow the whistle, their life is forever changed. Their action stands to benefit many people they don’t even know while putting much in jeopardy on a personal level. Our whistleblower subjects each explain what led them to their determinations.
Part 2: Internal reporting sends whistleblowers down path alone
Almost no one becomes a whistleblower by choice. A slow and steady whittling down of options often leads individuals to isolation in coming to their decision. Our whistleblower subjects share the roadblocks they faced in reporting internally.
What companies (and the SEC) can learn from U.K. ESG reporting guidance
The U.K. Financial Reporting Council has proposed a series of measures from which companies—as well as other regulators like the SEC—could benefit as ESG disclosures receive closer scrutiny.
Part 1: Finding the fraud launches whistleblowers on life-changing journey
Whistleblowers aren’t born—they’re made. For five individuals that have taken on that mantle, the story began with discovering a problem that could no longer be ignored.
FRC 2020/21 audit inspections: KPMG rebuked over continued struggles
The U.K. Financial Reporting Council released the results of its 2020/21 audit quality inspections, in which it singled out KPMG for “unacceptable” deficiencies regarding the firm’s audits of banks and similar entities.
ICFR failures cost Tandy Leather in SEC settlement
Tandy Leather Factory and its former CEO have agreed to pay a total of $225,000 as part of a settlement with the SEC to resolve charges of inaccurate financial reporting caused by a faulty inventory tracking system.
FASB issues standard update for variable lease payments
The Financial Accounting Standards Board finalized an update to its leases standard targeting sales-type leases with variable lease payments.
Former FTE Networks CEO, CFO charged with accounting fraud
The former chief executive officer and chief financial officer of telecommunications company FTE Networks were arrested and charged with accounting fraud among a series of other alleged crimes.
Cherry Bekaert audit partner facing SEC scrutiny over MiMedx fraud case
The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering whether to pursue enforcement against a certified public accountant for his alleged role in an accounting fraud case the agency brought against biotech company MiMedx Group.
e-Book: Automate your accounting process: Wring out financial fraud
A recent CW Webcast, sponsored by BlackLine and recapped here, discusses how automation can create a more efficient and effective approach to your accounting process.
Audit report: Assessing risk landscape for IPOs
An initial public offering presents significant opportunities for market participants that are accompanied by equally notable governance risks, new research from Audit Analytics explores.
Want to wring out fraud? Automate your accounting processes
What allows bad actors to perpetuate accounting fraud? In many cases, it’s bad processes and controls. Consider introducing automation to help your company more successfully detect and prevent bad actors.
PwC audit facing scrutiny amid Greensill collapse fallout
Big Four firm PwC is under investigation for its audit of Wyelands Bank as part of a larger U.K. review linked to the recent collapse of Greensill Capital.
Study: Big Four audit hold still strong despite 2021 dip
The Big Four’s dominance on the public company audit market remains despite a slight dip in numbers in the last year, according to the latest research from Audit Analytics.
CPE Webcast: Sustainable lease accounting: Maintaining compliance through Day 2 and beyond
When FASB and IASB first announced the lease accounting standards ASC 842 and IFRS 16, respectively, companies scrambled to pull together their lease data and implement procedures and tools to generate the required disclosures.
SEC’s Gary Gensler stumps for SOFR, shares concerns with Bloomberg rate
SEC Chair Gary Gensler expressed his support for the Fed-backed Secured Overnight Financing Rate over the Bloomberg Short-Term Bank Yield Index, which he believes has similarities to LIBOR that could be manipulated.
Hardball politics at play in leadership changes at PCAOB, CFPB
No federal agency is truly immune from politics—even the ones that are supposed to be independent. That is what’s playing out at the PCAOB and CFPB as Democrats utilize similar tactics coined by their Republican counterparts.
What might an overhauled PCAOB look to accomplish?
With no requirements for the PCAOB to feature a certain number of members from each political party, the SEC has the chance to staff the organization with a decidedly Democratic majority. What might such a Board set out to change?
SEC ousts PCAOB head William Duhnke; larger overhaul planned
SEC Chair Gary Gensler removed William Duhnke III as head of the PCAOB while also announcing plans to replace the entire board of the audit regulator.
CECL roundtable explores implementation issues during COVID
How the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s CECL standard fared during the height of the pandemic and more were discussed as part of a virtual roundtable.
CPE Webcast: Understanding risks & compliance
Are you keeping up with your organization’s evolving risk landscape, or are those risks keeping you up at night? Fraud and restatements are happening every day, and it’s important to recognize that your company is consistently exposed to risk.
Survey: Audit still facing hurdles with next-gen tech
Many senior audit leaders and their teams are still in the early stages of, or have not yet begun, implementing next-generation tools and strategies into their internal audits, according to a new survey.
Swiss Life to pay $77.4M for tax evasion scheme
Swiss Life Holding and three of its subsidiaries entered a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department and will pay $77.4 million for conspiring with U.S. taxpayers to conceal more than $1.4 billion in offshore insurance policies.
FASB proposes update to hedge accounting layering method
The Financial Accounting Standards Board proposed an update designed to further align its derivatives and hedging standard with risk management strategies employed by organizations.
Study: SPACs surge shakes up first-quarter IPO market
Because of the recent SPACs craze, the first quarter of 2021 saw the highest IPO activity in U.S. markets in at least 20 years, according to Audit Analytics. David Bukzin, leader of the SPAC team at Marcum, provides context.
Risk matrix breaks down problem areas of blockchain technology
The use of blockchain technology brings with it a number of risks that prudent auditing and accounting professionals must smartly manage. It’s all described in a new risk matrix released jointly by the ISACA, AICPA, and CIMA.
Under Armour to pay $9M to settle SEC accounting probe
Under Armour agreed to pay $9 million to settle charges brought by the SEC concerning accounting practices by the sports apparel company that rendered statements it made misleading.
Former IIA CEO Richard Chambers partners with AuditBoard
Richard Chambers, former president and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors, has partnered with AuditBoard as a senior internal audit advisor.
SEC settles with 8 companies over untimely reporting disclosures
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced settlements with eight companies for incomplete reporting related to “not timely” form disclosures.
PCAOB reaches cooperative agreement with Belgian counterpart
The PCAOB has added Belgium to its list of countries with which it has a cooperative agreement to exchange information concerning the oversight of audit firms.
FASB advances targeted updates to leases standard
The Financial Accounting Standards Board has tentatively ruled to move forward with a pair of updates to its leases standard aimed at certain sales-type leases and discount rates for lessees.
Ex-PCAOB risk officer files lawsuit alleging harassment, discrimination
The former chief risk officer of the PCAOB says she was subjected to a campaign of harassment and discrimination before she was unlawfully fired last year.
New York law provides LIBOR fallbacks as rate nears end
A new law in New York provides contracts that reference LIBOR with a fallback provision and safe harbor once the benchmark interest rate permanently ceases to be published at the end of the year.
Accounting considerations for companies merging with SPACs
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently reinforced its focus on the importance of corporate governance and financial reporting by special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs).
IIA survey: COVID-19 impact on internal audit smaller than expected
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on internal audit was not nearly as severe as it was for organizations overall, states a new report from the Institute of Internal Auditors.
How might U.K. mandate for audit to find fraud work in practice?
Experts weigh in on the hurdles to be overcome and clarifications needed if U.K. auditors are going to be mandated to detect and prevent fraud as spelled out in new proposals.
Study: Financial services leads way in COVID-related CAMs
More than a quarter of companies citing COVID-19 in their critical audit matters filed with the PCAOB are part of the financial services industry, according to research from Audit Analytics.
FASB finalizes goodwill triggering event standard update
The Financial Accounting Standards Board announced the adoption of an accounting standards update that provides an alternative for goodwill triggering event evaluation.
Enforcement an option as LIBOR deadline nears
Examiners from the Federal Reserve are being encouraged to consider supervisory actions against firms not ready to stop issuing LIBOR-based contracts by Dec. 31.
Five key going concern considerations for 2021 reporting
Evaluating potential going concern issues was a hot topic for companies and their auditors in 2020. With first-quarter 2021 reporting around the corner, Maria Murphy offers five key considerations to be thinking about.
SEC seeking comment on new foreign audit oversight rules
The SEC is seeking comment on new submission and disclosure rules related to foreign public companies that are not allowing U.S.-based auditors to review their financial statements.
Internal audit’s role in cyber-security testing: Where to start
Nathan Anderson, senior director of internal audit at McDonald’s, discusses ways internal audit can better answer management questions about cyber-risks and become a more independent cyber-security testing function overall.
U.K. government proposals spell out Big Four breakup, new audit responsibilities
The U.K. government has unveiled proposals designed to end the Big Four accounting firms’ dominance of the region’s audit market while also making companies and executives more directly accountable—and liable—for failures in corporate reporting.