• Winning Auditor Malpractice Cases

    Winning a case against an auditing firm when there is a sizeable fraud (such as the Koss Corp. embezzlement) or the collapse of a Ponzi scheme (such as the Bernie Madoff case) is not easy. Simply because there is a […]

  • Why Auditors Do Not Find Fraud

    Even with all the publicity surrounding the issue of financial fraud in the last 20+ years, most auditors, investors, and other professionals still do not “get it” when it comes to detecting fraud. Traditional financial statement audits were never designed […]

  • Blaming the Auditors for Fraud

    When a company discovers an internal fraud, it’s not uncommon for owners and management to look for a party to blame. After all, someone should have known that a fraud was in-progress, right? Often, the blame is cast in the […]

  • Fraud Investigations vs. Audits

    After management becomes aware of a potential fraud and decides that a fraud investigation is necessary, the process of creating a team, mapping the investigation plan, and requesting information begins. An organized approach is the best way to ensure that […]

  • EY Charges Related to Auditor Independence

    An interesting story popped up last week about charges the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought against Ernst & Young (EY) and current and former partners. The current partner is James Herring, and the former partners are James Young and […]

  • Changes to Sarbanes Oxley?

    This week an article in the Wall Street Journal explored whether there might be some changes coming for Sarbanes Oxley. With President Trump talking about rolling back regulations, business groups that want Sarbanes Oxley softened may get their way. Sarbanes […]

  • What is an Accounting Review?

    An independent financial statement audit done by external auditors is the most extensive attest service provided by auditors, and it is still limited. A review of financial statements by an independent auditor is even more limited in scope. Reviews amount […]

  • Marc G. Nochimson, CPA, Medifast, and Deficient Audits

    Alternative Title: Marc Nochimson, CPA makes the case FOR publicly identifying audit partners. (You really need to know if a goof like this was the engagement partner!) In 2013, Marc G. Nochimson, CPA entered into a settlement agreement with the […]

  • The Golden Era of White Collar Crime

    Sam Antar is a legend in the fraud industry. He was the CFO of Crazy Eddie, an electronics retailer which pulled off (for a time!) a massive fraud in the 1980’s. He was interviewed by CNNMoney while attending the New […]

  • Benjamin Wey Threatens Investigative Reporter Francine McKenna

    Francine McKenna is an investigative reporter who focuses her writings on the auditing profession. She blogs at re: The Auditors, and also writes for financial publications such as Forbes, The Financial Times, American Banker, and more. In February, Ms. McKenna […]