In some of the scandals the fraudsters could not have got away with what they did, on the scale they did, without the help of some of the accountants involved.
The position is worse in the US where SEC investigators discovered complicity, backdated documents, lobbying of senators to keep the regulators at bay during their investigations of failed Savings & Loan institutions over 1,000 of which failed.
On the HBOS audit, for example, junior staff highlighted valid concerns that never made it to the audit report and we all know how that ended up. The essence of the author's argument is that the real profits come from non-audit work and that this pursuit, particularly of consulting work, makes the auditors less like to challenge clients. Unfortunately, the high standards of those early guardians of accurate accounts have gone by the wayside. You couldn't make this stuff up!Īfter 40 years of lobbying, in 1900 all British companies required an audit to protect investors from the fraud and malpractice that it was claimed would not have happened if there had been a qualified auditor. It is both alarming and blackly funny that KPMG, which more than any other firm managed to miss the devaluation of sub-prime mortgages, was called in by the European Central Bank to assist with its 'asset review process'. Meanwhile James Marwick, one of the founders of what is now KPMG, irony of ironies, made his name identifying overvalued securities at mortgage businesses. Deloitte, for example, was the scourge of the untrustworthy, self-serving proprietors of the railway companies. The author sets the background well - how & why double entry bookkeeping came into being and charts the origins and rise of the Big 4 as we know them today. I started off thinking he might be going over the top but with the sheer weight of examples my already jaded view of the Big 4 became ever more jaded. The author does go into some of the technical aspects but don't let this deter you from reading the book - it is a riveting, well-written story. In one sense there is nothing too surprising for anyone who has been on the inside, but the sheer number of scandals, failures and dodgy dealings presented together is damning. The case is appropriate for an undergraduate audit or a beginning graduate-level audit and assurance class.This is not a comfortable read for anyone who has ever worked for one of the large accountancy firms (I worked for all of them at one time or another, but never in audit).
Beancounter 2.12 professional#
Finally, the case provides students practice with professional verbal communications through client interviews. Fourth, the case helps students improve documentation skills by writing tick mark explanations. Third, students must consider internal controls and the implications errors have on internal control effectiveness. Second, the case provides students with an opportunity to audit property, plant, and equipment additions using substantive details testing and to test depreciation expense using substantive analytical procedures. First, the case familiarizes students with electronic working papers which allows them to practice their Excel skills. The case has several specific learning objectives. The case furthers audit education by illuminating to students how concepts learned in the classroom translate into practice. In order to successfully complete the audit, students will have to obtain explanations and other assistance from the client. Students are provided with electronic working papers that include the audit program, as well as documents prepared by the client and select prior year working papers. In this case, students are required to audit a company's gross property, plant, and equipment and depreciation expense accounts.
Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting.Current Issues in Auditing Teaching Notes.AUDITING: A Journal of Practice and Theory.Issues in Accounting Education Teaching Notes.
0 kommentar(er)
