Audits

More good stuff for auditors – 1-28-14

Leave a Comment / Accounting, Audits, Pondering /

Eight articles on the ‘net you might find helpful as an auditor –

The long simmering dispute over the PCAOB getting access to audit workpapers of firms working on China-based companies has stepped up to another level.  An administrative law judge banned the China-based subs of the Big-4 from signing opinions for six months. This is several orders of magnitude removed from my practice. I’m also guessing it’s outside the practice all the readers of my blog, but that is what makes it fascinating to watch:

1-23 – Wall Street Journal – Judge Suspends Chinese Units o Big Four Auditors – Michael Rapoport gives a great overview.

1-25 – re:The Auditors – One Way or Another: The SEC Versus The Chinese Big Four Firms – Francine McKenna provides lots of quotes & links, color commentary, accompaniment of a song from Blondie (“One way or another I’m gonna find ya / I’m gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha /One way or another I’m gonna win ya / I’m gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha”), and two suggestions how the SEC could reach out and ‘getcha’ some Big 4 firms: …

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More good stuff for auditors – 1-28-14 Read More »

Some thoughts for CPAs after reading the Tampa Bay Times, CIR, and CNN reporting on GIK shipments

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The Tampa Bay Times has run the article they wrote with CNN and the Center for Investigative Research:  No accounting for $40 million in charity shipped overseas. It looks to be the same text as in the CIR report, which I mentioned here.

(cross-posted from my other blog, Nonprofit Update, because this discussion especially applies to auditors.)

I have performed lots of audits over the years but don’t have any clients with the kind of GIK programs that have been in the news lately. That does two things. First, it frees me to pontificate and speculate because the independence rules don’t limit me in discussing an actual client situation.  Second, it gives me an auditor’s knowledge, experience, and intuition to apply to the news I read.

A few thoughts for CPAs after reading the article again…

Opinion shopping.

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Some thoughts for CPAs after reading the Tampa Bay Times, CIR, and CNN reporting on GIK shipmentsRead More »

Some thoughts for CPAs after reading the Tampa Bay Times, CIR, and CNN reporting on GIK shipments Read More »

“No accounting for what charities ship overseas” – another major article on GIK, existence this time

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The combined team of Center for Investigative Reporting, Tampa Bay Times, and CNN have another feature article on GIK, this time trying to substantiate shipments.

The article is No accounting for what charities ship overseas.

If you’ve been following the GIK issues, you’ll want to check out the article.

If you are a charity, might be worth figuring out how your organization and your GIK shipments would look if you received some really simple media inquiries, like ‘do your shipments really exist?’ or ‘what was in the container?’

If you are an auditor, you might want to read the article as an education about what might going on beyond the documents you vouched.

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“No accounting for what charities ship overseas” – another major article on GIK, existence this time Read More »

“Audit. Review. Compilation. What’s the difference?” – New book now available.

Leave a Comment / Audits, Books you might enjoy, Compilations & reviews /

Audit. Review. Compilation. What’s the difference? – Illustrations using a football game, buying a used car, and filling a bucket.

audit-cover

What’s the difference between getting an audit, review, or compilation from your CPA firm? This short, 29 page book will help you understand.

Three illustrations help explain the differences:

  • A football game – How does advancing to the 10-yard line compare to an audit? What would a review look like in a football game?
  • Buying a used car – How does taking the car for a test drive compare to a review?
  • Filling a bucket – How filling it up with water to three different levels illustrates the differences between three levels of service.

This is a compilation of articles at my blog, Nonprofit Update.

The book is now available at Amazon.

Now available here in other formats:

  • ePub format for your iDevices
  • PDF or text
  • Mobi for your Kindle device

Soon to be available at Barnes and Noble.

“Audit. Review. Compilation. What’s the difference?” – New book now available. Read More »

11 bloggers you really oughta’ be following

Leave a Comment / Accounting, Audits, Social media /

In his New Year column, Jim Peterson gives a list of writers on accounting who you really should add to your RSS feed so you can read all they have to say:  Re:Balance – Welcome to a Happy New Year – Or Is It?

Before giving you the list, I’d like to summarize his first post of the year.

He begins by bemoaning the same-o same-o in accounting stories for the last few months of 2013. Seems like it is the same foolishness and silliness we’ve seen the whole year. Another multi-billion settlement from JPMorgan.  More blithering on accounting convergadoption. Blah, blah.

His knowledge of human nature leaves him optimistic the New Year will be brighter. It won’t take long for accounting & finance bloggers to have fresh examples of folly, mischief, break-downs, malfeasance, manipulators, and miscreants enough to keep everyone’s fingers dancing on the keyboard.

Alas, I agree.

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11 bloggers you really oughta’ be followingRead More »

11 bloggers you really oughta’ be following Read More »

Why auditing isn’t like reading a history book

Leave a Comment / Audits, Pondering /

Sometimes it’s weird reading a story about the Civil War. It’s the same when reading about an audit fiasco.

People do the oddest things.

As the first major battle of the war shaped up near Manassas Junction, lots of people rode out from DC in their carriages. They brought along picnic baskets so they could eat as they watched the battle. Would be a fun afternoon outing with the children.

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Why auditing isn’t like reading a history book Read More »

100 year history of the audit profession in under 300 words

1 Comment / Audits /

Professor Dave Albrecht outlines the origins of public accounting and status today:  Black Friday, Black Accounting, White Christmas.

Picture then:  demand from customers (large companies) to providers (public accountants) for a value-added service (audit) the large companies wanted so they could differentiate from their competitors.

Fast forward 100 years.

Picture now:  a self-protecting group of large firms that resist market needs and loud requests for change.

History and sad state of auditing covered in about 260 words, located in the middle part of the post.

Check it out.

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A Halloween costume that would make any CPA pass out from fright – an auditor performing one pension plan audit

Leave a Comment / Audits, Peer Review /
Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

Amid the cute little kids in their funny costumes, this pleasant Halloween night there was a grown man in a suit at the door asking for candy. White shirt, red tie, gray pinstripe.

Not so scary, thought I.

“What are you dressed up as?”

“An auditor,” came the reply.

That’s not frightening, since I’ve been an auditor for a long time. But it did explain the standard issue uniform.

So, putting on my peer reviewer hat, I asked, “what audit work do you do?”

“Oh, only one pension plan….

.

.

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A Halloween costume that would make any CPA pass out from fright – an auditor performing one pension plan audit Read More »

Football as illustration of differences between audits, reviews, and compilations

2 Comments / Audits, Compilations & reviews /

Since football season is in full swing, let’s go to the nearest stadium to compare an audit to a review, to a compilation, and to the newest level of service, a preparation report.

(Cross-post from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)

Audit

If you were performing an audit, you would be on the field and receive the kickoff at your 20-yard line. A series of passes and runs would slowly move the ball. With effort you would advance to your opponent’s 10-yard line. Good touchdown position.

Advancing the football would be the same as gathering evidence to provide you a reasonable level of assurance so you could issue an audit opinion on the financial statements.

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Football as illustration of differences between audits, reviews, and compilations Read More »

Consequences – insider trading edition – #10

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Here are a few more consequences awaiting in the near future for Mr. Scott London, former KPMG partner, as he awaits sentencing after his guilty plea to trading on insider information.

These are pulled from his court filing in September.  Going Concern has posted a copy of the filing by Mr. Scott London taking exception to the pre-sentencing report from the United States Probation Office. You can find the filing here.

Here are some more consequences and more detail on some I’ve mentioned before: …

Consequences – insider trading edition – #10Read More »

Consequences – insider trading edition – #10 Read More »

Sentencing recommendation and suggestion for lighter sentence for ex-KPMG partner’s insider trading

6 Comments / Audits /

Going Concern has breaking news about the KPMG insider trading fiasco. They have a copy of the court filing by Mr. Scott London taking exception to the pre-sentencing report from the United States Probation Office.

Check out Reminder: Insider Trading Turned Out Badly for Ex-KPMG Partner Scott London.

The GC copy of the filing can be found here.

I will have more to say about the case after the sentencing. Here are a few initial thoughts on the filing.

Arguments for shorter sentence – amounts involved

The pre-sentencing report (which I now know is called a PSR) called for downgrading to a 36 month sentence from what is calculated from federal guidelines as a 46 to 57 month range.

Mr. London’s attorney argues it should be in the recommended range of 18 to 24 months based on the amount involved that Mr. London would reasonably have expected to be involved.

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Sentencing recommendation and suggestion for lighter sentence for ex-KPMG partner’s insider tradingRead More »

Sentencing recommendation and suggestion for lighter sentence for ex-KPMG partner’s insider trading Read More »