UBS will pay $545M for manipulating foreign-exchange rates. First of 5 expected settlements today
First in what is expected to be a string of settlements announced on Wednesday:
UBS Hit With $545 Million in Fines, from the Wall Street Journal.
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Expect big news of big settlements for big banks next week
Multiple reports indicate UBS will join previously expected Barclays, JP Morgan, RBS, and Citigroup in settling up on their forex manipulation behavior next week.
A guilty plea to a felony criminal count is expected for all 5 TBTFs.
Biggest rumor is that DoJ may tear up the deferred prosecution agreement with UBS.
My wild guess of the dollar amount of the settlement? Four and a quarter billion. Reports i have seen over the past few weeks leave me wondering if that is just the DoJ settlements and doesn’t include NYDFS. If not, add another billion or three.
A few articles for more details:
http://fraudinfoblog.squarespace.com//fraud-info/2015/5/14/scarlet-letters-and-large-fines?hootPostID=6cd1af78b96858067766436572dd639b
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/14/business/dealbook/5-big-banks-expected-to-plead-guilty-to-felony-charges-but-punishments-may-be-tempered.html?_r=1&referrer
http://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-to-tear-up-past-ubs-settlement-1431645723
Expect big news of big settlements for big banks next week Read More »
Get control of every domain that refers to your name, including all extensions
Back in 2013, I offered An illustration why you should gain control over your name on the ‘net, both through buying domain names and reserving your name at social media sights (oops, meant to say sites!).
To illustrate the concept that you should grab control over your name on the ’net, I pointed out a pro-Second Amendment activist who bought a domain and turned it into a pro-gun website to poke fun at an anti-gun politician.
The domain?
- www.senatorfeinstein.com
I just checked that address and found out it is a dead link. It used to be an advocacy site. However, the joke (if you are into such things) and the point (which is the reason for this post) stand.
In recent weeks, a politician from the opposite side of the aisle got zinged. She is former head of a large technology company. Someone grabbed a domain including her name and put up a one-page site criticizing how many people were laid off during her tenure.
The domain? …
Get control of every domain that refers to your name, including all extensionsRead More »
Get control of every domain that refers to your name, including all extensions Read More »
Two free webinars on proposed overhaul of NPO accounting
Here are two opportunities to get an introduction to the massive rewrite of financial reporting rules for NPOs. No travel. No cost beyond your time.
CliftonLarsonAllen is offering a free one-hour webinar about the exposure draft on Thursday, May 21 at 2:00 p.m. Central Time.
You can register for the CLA webinar here.
As I mentioned earlier, FASB is offering a free webinar on May 12 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Their session will run for two hours and is good for two hours of CPE.
You can register for the FASB webinar here.
Both free. FASB session offers 2 hours CPE.
(Cross-post from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)
Two free webinars on proposed overhaul of NPO accounting Read More »
What to make of the bribery investigations of hiring official’s children? It will merely require a genealogical background check before hiring any non-American.
I don’t quite know what to make of this, but have an idea.
4/29 – Wall Street Journal – Wall Street Pushes Back on Foreign Bribery Probe – Here is a situation I don’t understand.
Several big banks have hired children of senior level government officials and managers of state-owned companies. J.P. Morgan is the one in the headlines at the moment. At some point in time said banks got permission for some deal or approval for some in-country activity.
The U.S. Department of Justice is looking at those hiring decisions to consider whether they are violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. That law prohibits paying government officials something of value in return for approving a commercial transaction. Bribery, in other words.
At issue is whether hiring children of high level officials is illegal. Until now, that has not been considered a violation of the FCPA.
So….
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Minor update on banking settlements
Just a few tidbits on the massive settlements for manipulating forex and Libor rates.
4/23 – Zero Hedge – It Just Cost Deutsche Bank $25,000 Per Employee To Keep Its Libor Manipulating Bankers Out Of Jail – …
Minor update on banking settlements Read More »
Scott London moved from prison to half way house
The Bureau of Prisons inmate locator shows that Scott London is currently under supervision of the Long Beach Residential Reentry Management office. His scheduled release date still shows at July 23, 2015.
I don’t know when he was released from the Lompoc United States Penitentiary. My last check on February 20 showed he was still in Lompoc. He reported to prison on July 19, 2014, so he is currently at about the nine-month point of his sentence. He has about three months until his scheduled release date.
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Scott London moved from prison to half way house Read More »
Background articles on overhaul of nonprofit accounting – #1
I’ll start listing the helpful articles providing background on the major changes to financial reporting of charities. Here’s the first articles I have seen:
- 4/22 – CliftonLarsonAllen – Proposed FASB Standards Foretell Multiple Changes for Nonprofits – Bit more detail than the typical introductory article.
- 4/22 – Journal of Accountancy – FASB proposes significant changes to not-for-profit reporting
Mentioned this previously:
- 4/22 – FASB press release – FASB proposes improvements to not-for-profit financial statements
(Cross post from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)
Background articles on overhaul of nonprofit accounting – #1 Read More »
FASB webinar on proposed changes to financial reporting for NPOs. Free. CPE credit.
FASB is offering a free webinar on the exposure draft to overhaul financial reporting for charities. Session will be good for 2 hours of CPE.
Webinar will be offered on May 12 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
You can register at this page.
(Cross-post from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)
FASB webinar on proposed changes to financial reporting for NPOs. Free. CPE credit. Read More »
Deutsche Bank ponies up $2.5B for cooking Libor; industry wide settlements approaching $9B.
The dubious distinction of drawing the largest fine for manipulating Libor goes to Deutsche Bank. Their total tab is now $3.5B. That leaves UBS in a distant second place at $1.6B.
Check out two articles on April 22:
- Wall Street Journal – Deutsche Bank to Pay $2.5 Billion to Settle Libor Investigation With U.S., U.K. Authorities
- New York Times – Deutsche Bank to Pay $2.5 Billion Fine to Settle Rate-Rigging Case
Deutsche Bank will pay slightly over $2.5 billion to settle up for manipulating Libor, Eurbor, and Tibor (Tokyo interbank). Several specific Directors and VPs will be fired.
A subsidiary company in Britain will plead guilty to violating American criminal laws.
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FASB releases exposure draft on overhaul of NPO financial reporting
FASB has released the long-awaited revision to reporting by nonprofit organizations.
The FASB’s press release can be found here.
The document along with a link is: Proposed Accounting Standards Update- Not-for-Profit Entities (Topic 958) and Health Care Entities (Topic 954) – Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities.
(Cross-post from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)
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FASB releases exposure draft on overhaul of NPO financial reportingRead More »
FASB releases exposure draft on overhaul of NPO financial reporting Read More »
More good stuff for auditors – 4-20
Big 4 firms moving into legal work, how state based regulation is slowing the profession’s responsiveness to change, and tax situations when you should refer a client to an attorney.
4/13 – Journal of Accountancy – 10 situations when a CPA should call “timeout” – When a client’s situation starts getting dicey, a CPA needs to call a timeout so the client can retain legal counsel. A list of 10 situations in the article doesn’t just apply to CPAs preparing individual tax returns. Some of them apply to auditors.
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More good stuff for auditors – 4-20 Read More »
5 million views of a rap video on economics? Yeah. 5 million. On economics.
Over 5.1M views of the first video in the series and just a few more views to cross the 3M point for the second. Check them out for entertaining, creative ways of explaining the views of Hayek and Keynes. Great contrast between the two.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk]
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc]
Previously mentioned these videos here: …
5 million views of a rap video on economics? Yeah. 5 million. On economics.Read More »
5 million views of a rap video on economics? Yeah. 5 million. On economics. Read More »
More good stuff on banking fiascos – 4-14
Plan on how the banks will get out of the suits from soldiers. Also France tells HSBC to post a billion euro bond. Like they’re gonna’ grab a passport and book a flight to Argentina.
4/6 – Alison Frankel at Reuters – How Western banks hope to shake ex-U.S. soldiers’ Iran terror suit – Previously mentioned lawsuit by a number of US soldiers who were wounded by IEDs in Iraq. They allege the banks were providing the banking services used in turn to fund the terrorists who in turn wounded them.
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More good stuff on banking fiascos – 4-14 Read More »
One fresh idea for fresh thinking on your audits: A blank sheet of paper
Checklists are great tools to help get audits done. They can be superb reminders of something you forgot or hadn’t thought about. They can also be a constraint on actual thinking, leading us into cookie-cutter audits.
My friend Charles Hall, writing at CPA-Scribo, suggests How to Overcome Cookie-Cutter Audits.
The idea is to start with a blank sheet of paper and ask some questions about the audit. Ponder what has changed in the economy, the accounting & audit rules, what problems might be encountered, and what work from the prior audit isn’t needed anymore.
This might get you out of the mental rut of doing things the same as every other audit and avoid the inefficiencies of hanging out with SALY all the time.
Here are his ideas for questions to ponder: …
One fresh idea for fresh thinking on your audits: A blank sheet of paperRead More »
One fresh idea for fresh thinking on your audits: A blank sheet of paper Read More »