The following are the opening two paragraphs of a blog by Francine McKenna, who as ever is spot on:
Yesterday’s appointment of Big 4 accounting firms PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young to oversee the $700 billion Wall Street bailout program is a slap in the face to the American taxpayer. PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed auditor for [...]
For informed comment on what to do on mark to market accounting, read this.
John Kay had this to say in the FT yesterday. The rest is also well worth reading:
Mark-to-market accounting is criticised today for forcing banks to recognise that unsalable assets have little value. Companies resent the obligation to use mark-to-market accounting when the market is down. But the public should be more concerned for the implications [...]
If you don’t read Francine you’re missing out. She adds another essential view on the crisis in auditing and reporting.
And now she’s been at this for two years. Congratulations!
From the Observer today, commenting on the failure of Dutch / Belgian bank Fortis:
Fortis’s accounts were jointly audited by KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers - two of the big four practices. They have received audit fees running into tens of millions. But they seemingly failed to give investors an indication that Fortis was heading for severe problems.
‘The [...]
The Tyngewick Gawcott blog reproduces a letter from Mike Page of Portsmouth University that has appeared in the FT. It makes the case for abolishing fair value rules in accounting, and not just suspending them.
This makes sense. The Republican and Tory position of suspending them does not: that is a request to use them to [...]
Fortis has collapsed. Some are suggesting this could have been because of debt not consolidated in its accounts.
The follwoing companies were not consolidated in its last accounts:
Abic Holding, Acens Technologie, Albankerb Investments, Alchinofin B.V., Antilope Invest, ASLK-CGER ServicesESV, AstenJohnson (Holland) B.V., Autor Publicidad Esterior S.L., Avinguda Holding S.A., BPC Developpement,Basement Holding B.V., Battery Technologies, Bigblue [...]
I mentioned earlier today that we need a new breed of non-exec directors of banks to make re-regulation and re-capitalisation work. The likes of Prem Sikka, Frank Field and Will Hutton, I suggested. The awkward squad who are not afraid to ask difficult questions.
Then I noted an article on the Guardian blog by ACCA president [...]
Tynegwick Gawcott is a new blogger. He (for I know it is a he) will be one to watch. In his first blog he says:
John Kay, (www.johnkay.com) who was a director of Halifax at the time of privatisation, makes the astute observation that financial engineering is a zero sum game. If you added up the [...]
I’ve already mentioned the IASB conceptual framework consultation process this morning.
The submission I really like is form Mike Page, Professor of Accounting at Portsmouth University, which starts:
Get a grip guys, the financial system is falling about our ears, the myth of the mighty market has been exploded and you are trying to carry on business [...]
