Jim Ulvog

CCH running sale on Compilation and Review CPE courses

CCH sent out the following announcement:

 

 

Full disclosure: I am the author of seven of those courses. I was compensated to write the courses but don’t receive any additional comp after the courses were finished. Also, don’t get anything for telling you about the courses.

There’s another course I wrote for CCH that isn’t listed above:

Obviously, I think the courses would be big help for you and your staff. And there’s that 15% discount through the end of March.

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FDIC sues 16 big banks claiming manipulation of LIBOR

The FDIC filed a suit against a host of big banks claiming they manipulated the LIBOR rates thus harming 38 banks that were taken over by the FDIC.

Included are lots of names you’ll recognize: Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse Group,  HSBC, Barclays, JPMorgan Chase, and RBS. They also included the British Bankers’ Association which owned and managed LIBOR.

Even a few hours after the news broke, the reports I’ve read are only a couple of paragraphs long. Not much background. Here’s a few articles to read, if you wish:

The case is 14-cv-01757, Southern District of New York, in case I want to look it up later.

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Lincoln’s advice to fellow attorneys – Discourage litigation

I previously used the publicly visible costs of a charity’s legal dispute to urge you to Please Try to Stay Out of Court.  The costs in dollars and time can be high. (Cross-posted from my other blog, Nonprofit Update, because it could help your clients.)

This advice is not anything new.

Turns out Abraham Lincoln gave that same advice to young attorneys.  He said

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More good stuff for auditors – 3-12-14

A few links and comments of interest to auditors. Big firms book increasing amount of consulting work and whether the PCAOB’s definition of audit failure a bit too broad.

3/3 – Accounting Onion – Accounting Complexity: What if “Truth in Labeling” were and Accounting Principle? – If we applied ‘truth in labeling’ to property, plant, and equipment, we’d have to call it something like

undepreciated cost stated in ancient units of purchasing power.

If we did that, what in the world would be a truthful label for right of use asset under the proposed lease rules?

More good stuff for auditors – 3-12-14 Read More »

Irony: Charity’s anti-fraud manager pleads guilty to fraud

BBC reports on 3/6 that Oxfam ex-fraud chief admits defrauding charity.

Oxfam, a development charity in England, has revenue of £385.5M (~$645M) in 2012.

The charity’s head of the counter-fraud department pled guilty to embezzling about £62.6K (~US$105K) and will be sentenced May 16.

(Cross-posted from my other blog, Nonprofit Update, since this is useful info for CPAs.)

His scheme?

Irony: Charity’s anti-fraud manager pleads guilty to fraud Read More »

KPMG global chairman speaks about insider trading fiasco

John Veihmeyer, U.S. and global chairman of KPMG, addressed the Scott London insider trading mess during a speaking event with the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business on Tuesday evening, March 4.

I found coverage of his discussion in two media outlets:

The Times-Dispatch article has the following comments:

Veihmeyer said he made the decision to fire London on the day — a Friday afternoon — he learned the partner was under federal investigation.

The following Monday, Veihmeyer told the firm’s leadership team not to circle the wagons, but to put out a public announcement about the investigation. KPMG also withdrew as the accounting firm for the two companies that had been compromised.

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More good stuff for auditors – 3-3-14

A few links and comments of interest to auditors –

2-1 – CPA-Scribo – Code of Ethics Codification Approved by AICPA – Charles Hall has the news flash that the codified rewrite of the ethics rules has been approved. Will be effective 12/15/14. See his post for a summary and link to the current version, which is subject to editing.

2-3 – Thriveal – Accounting for what? – Here’s a great thought question. …

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Please try to stay out of court

This article is cross-posted from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.  It is posted here as well because it might also be helpful for your business clients. The article is focused on charities, but the same ideas apply to for-profit businesses:  please try to stay out of court.

In my journeys as a CPA serving the nonprofit community, I’ve been able to observe one (or more) charity/charities that have been in court because of their involvement in civil litigation. The time and costs involved can be substantial if you find yourself in civil court.

I can’t talk about those situation(s) because of confidentiality rules.

There are several things an auditor would routinely do in such situations.  The auditor would see the costs incurred from looking at the general ledger. Because of the possible financial impact, the auditor would have discussed the status of the case and possible outcomes with management, looked at legal invoices, and read the legal confirmation letter received from outside counsel. I can’t tell you what steps I took in any particular situation.

What I can say after seeing one/some specific situation(s) is that you should try really, really hard to stay out of court.

The costs can be high. The distraction for your leadership (and membership if you have members of some sort) can be significant.

One situation I can talk about

Please try to stay out of court Read More »

More consequences of insider trading – #11

Previous post explained Mr. Scott London surrendered his CPA license as a consequence of his guilty plea to insider trading. This discussion will go through the timing of the disciplinary process and outline a few more well-deserved consequences Mr. London has earned.

Update #74, which contains a summary of the action can be found here. The formal disciplinary action can be found here.

Timing

More consequences of insider trading – #11 Read More »

Scott London surrendered his CPA license in December 2013

California Board of Accountancy’s Update #74, sent by email this morning, had the following news:

LONDON, SCOTT IAN

Agoura Hills, CA (CPA 46174)

CBA ACTIONS

Surrender of CPA license, via stipulated settlement.

Mr. London shall pay the CBA its costs of investigation and prosecution in the amount of $1,637.50 prior to issuance of a new or reinstated license.

Effective December 27, 2013

CAUSE FOR DISCIPLINE

Scott London surrendered his CPA license in December 2013 Read More »

The suspense and wait continues – Scott London sentencing for insider trading rescheduled from February 27 to April 21

Since there has been so much traffic today checking out posts about the scheduled date for Scott London’s sentencing for his admitted insider trading (thank you for the mention, Going Concern!), I thought to check the federal document system before turning in for the night.

Guess what I found?

The sentencing has been continued from February 27 to April 21.

Previously mentioned there were four documents filed under seal.

As of yesterday morning, all four entries had a date of 2/18/2014 and said:

SEALED DOCUMENT- Under Seal Document (mat) (Entered: 02/19/2014)

When I looked a few minutes ago, item #45 still had a date of 2/18/2014 but the comment has been changed.  It now reads:

SEALED DOCUMENT- Under Seal Document – Sentencing hearing set for 02/27/14, continued to 04/21/14 at 8:00 a.m. (mat) Modified on 2/24/2014 (jag). (Entered: 02/19/2014)

That means the sentencing which had previously been scheduled for February 27 has now been moved to April 21, 2014.

Everyone who had been looking forward to a generous serving of popcorn and schadenfreude on Thursday will have to wait another 2 months. 

Update:  According to the comments on the docket, sentencing has been continued to the following dates: 10/21/13, 12/9/13, 1/27/14, 2/6/14, 2/27/14, 4/21/14.

Other tidbits: Passport was surrendered on 4/17/13. Turned in $50K on 4/19/13, which is presumably the estimated proceeds of the then-alleged insider trading.

The suspense and wait continues – Scott London sentencing for insider trading rescheduled from February 27 to April 21 Read More »

Minor updates on insider trading fiasco at KPMG including more consequences

Since we are all anticipating the expected sentencing on Thursday for Mr. Scott London, regional audit PIC, lately of KPMG, here’s two tidbits I’ve noticed over the last few months but haven’t mentioned previously. Cost of re-auditing Herbalife will drop into the category of earned consequences when KPMG gets around to suing Mr. London. In older news, Mr. London updated his LinkedIn profile.

Minor updates on insider trading fiasco at KPMG including more consequences Read More »

Sentencing watch for insider trading case

Sentencing is scheduled for former KPMG regional audit PIC Scott London on February 27, 2014 regarding his plea agreement admitting insider trading. That’s the latest visible information in the federal system that shows filings.

Previous post mentioned on 2/13 that Something in London case about to go under seal.

On 2/18 there were four documents filed under seal. Obviously the contents of those filings aren’t visible on the PACER system. My completely wild, uneducated guess would be those are arguments from the defense and prosecution about sentencing. Could also be recommendations from the federal group that provides sentencing guidance to judges.

If you are really interested, keep your eyes open on Thursday. If you are only slightly interested, check back here. I’ll keep you updated.

Update: Next post – minor updates, including LinkedIn profile and cost of reauditing Herbalife

UPDATE on sentencing date here.

Sentencing watch for insider trading case Read More »

Engagement letters on comps and reviews. Oh, and don’t do ‘evergreen’ letters. Seriously, don’t.

Signed engagement letters will soon be required for reviews and comps.

Evergreen letters are a really, really bad idea.

Engagement letters on comps and reviews. Oh, and don’t do ‘evergreen’ letters. Seriously, don’t. Read More »