"At first glance is appears there are a handful of global accounting firms--the Big Four and a couple of others--but that is not the reality. ... And while they may market themselves as unified organizations with worldwide abilties, a very different view is presented when someone sues over a failed audit. Then the firms disclaim any responsibility to actions of a firm with a similiar name in another country", Floyd Norris at http://www.nytimes.com/, 14 March 2008.
The large CPA firms have played this game for decades. The SEC should have ended this nonsense decades ago. If you're "one firm, you're one firm". Period. The PCAOB should deregister any firm which asserts such defenses in litigation. Mark Olson, wake up. Francine McKenna's 14 March 2008 post about this at http://www.retheauditors.blogspot.com/, is worth reading. These large firms live an Orwellian world of doublethink as described in 1984.
2 comments:
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox was asked on March 11 if he was concerned about the financial condition of Bear Stearns Cos.
"We have a good deal of comfort about the capital cushions at these firms at the moment," Cox told reporters.
Three days later, the Federal Reserve said it was pumping emergency funds into the 85-year-old securities firm through JPMorgan Chase & Co.
I caught Cox's statement. So? Who can take these characters seriously?
Post a Comment