As of 7:00 this morning, the federal PACER system still shows an order that sentencing will take place today, 4/24, at 11:00 Pacific time.
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Sentencing for Scott London still set for 11:00 a.m. todayRead More »
Sentencing for Scott London still set for 11:00 a.m. today Read More »
The sentencing for Scott London on his guilty plea for insider trading has been moved back three hours. As of 4/21 he is still scheduled to be sentenced this Thursday, 4/24, but will be appearing at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time instead of 8:00 a.m.
I took a look at the docket this afternoon and found a few items that may be of wider interest.
Sentencing documents
Lots of documents have been filed under seal since my last post on sentencing. The government’s sentencing memorandum was filed on 4/7; item #47 on the docket. I discussed the government’s recommendation here and here.
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London sentencing watch – scheduled for 4/24 at 11 am as of 4/21Read More »
London sentencing watch – scheduled for 4/24 at 11 am as of 4/21 Read More »
Bloomberg reports Olympus Sued for $273 Million After 13-Year Fraud.
Six banks filed suit claiming 27.9 billion yen ($273M) damages from the drop in stock price after the fraud was disclosed.
The article says Olympus was sued in November 2012 by a group of investors. That claim was for 19.1B Yen ($186M). That one had been preceded by 14 other suits.
Olympus sued by 6 banks over accounting fraud; largest in a series of suits Read More »
I’ve not been reading the federal court filings for Mr. Bryan Shaw, partner in crime of former KPMG partner Mr. Scott London. Started looking at them this evening.
Most pertinent information at the moment is that his sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 19, 2014 at 8 a.m.
The sentencing has been postponed several times.
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On 4/14/14, the U.S. Attorney and Scott London’s attorney filed a request to postpone the sentencing hearing for Mr. London from April 21 to April 24.
The reason cited is that Mr. London’s attorney will be out of town on Monday. The filing says the court clerk indicated there is time available in the schedule on Thursday.
The court has not issued the order, but I would assume that it will easily be approved.
So we will wait patiently for a week from Thursday.
Update: 14 months.
London sentencing watch – request filed to continue hearing three days, to April 24 Read More »
That is the question asked on my other blog, Nonprofit Update: How do you keep one rogue employee from destroying your company? Or at least prevent a FCPA guilty plea and $108M fine?
That is a question I’ve pondered over the years. Have asked several of my clients the question and haven’t gotten any great answers.
I did get helpful answers from two of my clients, but the circumstances are so specific that I can’t share anything of the conversations.
Good internal controls will help. A great ‘tone at the top’ will go a long ways. Showing in everyday actions and words that ethical behavior is the expected norm will be a powerful message. Aggressively dealing with known behavior that is outside the boundaries will send a powerful message to the organization.
But how do you make sure that some completely out-of-control person doesn’t do something that can threaten the existence of your organization?
See the linked post to read of 4 examples that are in the back of my mind.
How do you keep one rogue employee from destroying your company? Read More »
Hey, I’m an accountant. Numbers fascinate me.
Check out this tweet:
Cool, huh?
Yeah, thought you’d like that.
Dates this week read same backwards: 4-13-14 Read More »
A Mr./Ms. sjenson has been commenting on my blog about some family assets belonging to the London family that have apparently been moved into a Nevada corporation.
You can see the current discussion at an older post, Sentencing recommendation and suggestion for lighter sentence for ex-KPMG partner’s insider trading.
The commenter has several thoughts and questions.
The core of his/her idea seems to be wondering why assets would be moved into a Nevada corporation. If you have ever had contact with one of those outfits, you know they operate in a completely different world.
Check out the comments if you are interested.
His or her comments belong to him. Anyone have any thoughts or comments on the comments? All comments welcome. Of course, subject to maintaining a professional demeanor with the determination of what is professional being made by me!
Update: 14 months.
Observations from a reader on Scott London’s family assets Read More »
Michael Rapoport reports yesterday in the Wall Street Journal on the sentencing filings: U.S. Attorney Asks Judge for Three Year Sentence for Former KPMG Partner.
I discussed this yesterday.
Almost bruised my jaw when it hit the keyboard after reading this sentence:
Harland Braun, Mr. London’s attorney, has requested a sentence of probation for his client, with no jail time.
Probation. Really? Yes.
That paragraph continues with quoting Mr. Braun from an interview on Tuesday.
How did I miss that when reading the government’s probation recommendation?
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Scott London asked for probation for insider tradingRead More »
Scott London asked for probation for insider trading Read More »
The U.S. Attorney and Scott London both filed their sentencing position papers on April 7. This is in advance of the sentencing, expected this month.
Mr. London will file his sentencing position brief under seal, according to a filing from his attorney. That means we won’t be reading his arguments, as presented in the filing, anytime soon.
The government’s filing mentions there will be a sentencing hearing on April 21, 2014 at 8:00 a.m. That means that as of 4/7, the hearing is still set for 4/21, as previously mentioned in court filings.
The US Attorney is recommending 3 years in prison, 3 years supervised release, and a $100,000 fine. (There’s also a $100 special assessment. I have no idea {yet} what that is for.)
Prison term
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Sentencing position papers filed with court in Scott London insider trading caseRead More »
Sentencing position papers filed with court in Scott London insider trading case Read More »
Learn About Revenue Accounting for Nonprofits on April 25 is the announcement from Sift Media about a good overview of how to account for revenue in a charity. The course is Key Accounting and Reporting Issues for Nonprofits No. 2: Revenue Accounting.
The course is free and will be offered April 25 at 2:00 Eastern. Runs for one hour, thus you can get one hour CPE.
I read through the handout for the course. This will be a superb class those who are new to the nonprofit community.
It will be a good review if you are quite experienced. I have a fair number of years working the NPO community, yet still enjoy this type of class for two reasons: First, it reinforces what I think I know. Second, I frequently find some little tidbit that escaped my attention or that I’d forgot about. Thus it is quite helpful. That, by the way, is the reason I always read the annual risk alert updates. You should too.
Looks to be a great course. I’ve gone through two classes from this instructor. He does a great job.
Oh, did I mention it’s free? And an hour of CPE?
Free class on how nonprofits record contributions Read More »
A few links and comments of interest to auditors. A ridiculous suit against a Big 4 firm, reminder on confirmations, a Big 4 partner on his way to jail, and three articles on whether PCAOB is exaggerating the severity of inspection results.
3/31/14 – Jonathan Weil at Bloomberg View – Go Ahead, Blame the Accountants – In a tweet pointing to the article, Mr. Weil wonders what is happening to him, what with defending a Big 4 accounting firm. The lawsuit from failed MF Global Holdings against their auditor, PwC, is a source of some amusement when the details are considered. MF Global accuses PwC of causing MF Global to violate GAAP.
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More good stuff for auditors – 4-2-14 Read More »
Check out my other blog, Outrun Change, for breaking news today: Sgt. Saunders, star of documentary series “Combat”, still in the labor force, with no immediate plans to retire
Will have another report this afternoon.
Original reporting for April 1 Read More »
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: If there is a component included in the financial statements then Special Considerations—Audits of Group Financial Statements (Including the Work of Component Auditors) found in AU-C Section 600 applies to your audit.
The simple illustration of a component is a consolidated subsidiary. Other examples include a division, geographical location, or subunit of a governmental agency.
So, you can’t dismiss group audits just because you are the only auditor on the engagement.
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The PCAOB’s self-created definition of audit failures overstates the severity of issues found during inspection, according to a board member of the PCAOB.
Journal of Accountancy reports on 3/21 a PCAOB member suggesting Stop using “audit failure” term in PCAOB reports, Hanson says.
Mr. Jay Hanson says the definition used by the PCAOB is causing confusion about the severity of issues identified during inspections. Here’s the range of definitions of that phrase:
Casual description of PCAOB usage, according to the article:
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