FCPA Compliance Report-Episode 449, Francine McKenna with an update on the KPMG-PCAOB Scandal
This Week in FCPA-Episode 159, week ending June 21, 2019 – the KPMG Trainwreck and Walmart Settles
Daily Compliance News-November 1-Day of the Dead
Episode 25 -- Unraveling the KPMG Audit Scandal
Compliance into the Weeds-Episode 67, the KPMG Indictments
On April 5, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board levied a $100,000 fine against Scott Marcello, the former Vice Chair of Audit at KPMG. The penalty is noteworthy for two reasons: (1) it’s the largest monetary...more
In case you haven’t had your eye on matters of global intrigue of late, figured we’d get you a bit caught up so that you know why your gas prices are heading north in the next couple of weeks....more
The SEC has announced a settlement with nearly 80 investment advisory firms in which they will pay back more than $125 million “to clients who were steered into higher-cost mutual funds without adequate disclosure” as part of...more
Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn problems now extend to the United States, where the Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a probe into the accuracy of the company’s financial disclosures and internal controls....more
Hard to imagine that any financial news could come close to making headlines on Thursday, and yet, the SEC and Elon Musk came close. Specifically, the SEC filed suit against Musk, accusing him of “making false public...more
On August 2, 2018, Chief Judge Thomas A. Varlan of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee dismissed in part a putative securities class action against KPMG, LLP asserting claims under Section...more
Last month, over 35% of General Electric Co.’s shareholders voted against ratification of KPMG LLC as GE’s auditor. This high level of opposition (for some context, last year’s votes against KPMG were at a mere 5.7%) comes in...more
It’s certainly a rare event, but both ISS and Glass Lewis have recommended voting against a proposal to ratify the appointment of GE’s auditor, KPMG at the GE annual shareholders meeting. Most often, the issue of auditor...more
Recent civil and criminal fraud charges against partners at KPMG and staffers at the PCAOB, arising out of “their participation in a scheme to misappropriate and use confidential information relating to the PCAOB’s planned...more
KPMG has been taking it on the chin lately – and apparently for good reason. KPMG is enmeshed in an unfolding corruption scandal in South Africa. Add to that the indictment last week of five individuals (four KPMG employees...more
It’s getting worse before better at GE, which yesterday made a disclosure double whammy of a $9.8 billion Q4 loss and an SEC inquiry over the company’s accounting practices....more
I thought about that song when I read about the absolutely stunning indictment of five former partners or employees of KPMG and one former employee at the Public Company Oversight Accounting Board (PCAOB). ...more
On January 22, 2018, the SEC filed charges against six CPAs, including former staffers at the PCAOB and former partners of KPMG, arising out of “their participation in a scheme to misappropriate and use confidential...more
On August 15, 2017, KPMG LLP (“KPMG”) and one of its engagement partners settled claims brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) that they violated Section 4C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934...more
As expected, Wells Fargo has promoted former Fed governor and current vice chair Elizabeth Duke to succeed Board chair Stephen Sanger. Incredibly, the move makes Duke the first woman to hold the top spot at one of the...more
Late last week, financial services company Raymond James agreed to resolve allegations of conspiring with the owner of several VT ski resorts (and others) in a Ponzi scheme targeting foreign investors through the EB-5...more
Today, I continue my four-part series on the above question posed to me recently by a colleague. In Part I, I wrote that only the US government had the wherewithal, tools and will to do so. Yesterday, I focused on corruption...more
On February 6, 2015, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) imposed sanctions against four China-based accounting firms for their refusal to surrender documents in conjunction with an investigation of potential...more
The SEC and the PRC based affiliates of five major accounting firms entered into a settlement of proceedings initiated over the failure to produce audit work papers for issuers with substantial operations in China. The...more
A brief ruling issued this week by U.S. District Court Judge James C. Mahan makes it clear that an auditor isn’t always liable even when a subsequent auditor uncovers fraud. In Oaktree Capital Mgmt., L.P. v. KPMG, 2014 U.S....more
The Commission, as part of its retooled enforcement program, is, in part, focusing on gatekeepers such as attorneys and accounts in an effort to achieve omnipresence. This has resulted in a number of proceedings against...more
On January 22, 2014, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Administrative Law Judge Cameron Elliot (the ALJ) issued an initial decision censuring the Chinese accounting firms affiliated with Ernst & Young LLP, KPMG LLP...more