Professor Elam

Grant Thornton Improvdes Audit Efficiency

Weekend April 20 2019

 

Going Concern announceds GT sub 20% audit efficiency.

I don't understand all the sarcastic comments made about GT in this article.

As the article notes this is a considerable improvement over the Big 4 results, notice KPMG barely rates big 4 with this author.

KPMG Partner on Trial for Steal the Exam

Tuesday Feb 12, 2019

KPMG former Partners are going to trial for attempting to learn which of their audits the PCAOB would examine.

WSJ story relates that three individuals have already pelad guilty.

KPMG is already under fire for its questionable GE audits. KPMG has been the GE auditor for 110 years.

Audit Intern

Friday Oct  26, 2018

Hopefully this email finds you doing well on this Friday morning!   I am reaching out to you in regards to the upcoming Spring 2019 busy season and we are in need of one more audit intern.    We were curious if you knew of any students who would be able to work a Full-Time Audit internship during Spring 2019?  If you do, can you please have them send me their resume?  Below are a few key points about the internship:

 

1.      Students need to have completed Intermediate I and II

2.      January 2^nd through March 31^st, 2019

3.      40 hours a week M-F, no day classes can be taken during the internship

4.      Ability to travel is preferred but not required

 

I think a student in the Master’s program seems to be more suited to our working environment during busy season or someone who is only taking evening classes.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. We would greatly

 

Auditor Proud

Monday Oct 1 2018

Seems like everyone is getting in on the Auditor Proud band wagon

PwC

https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/audit-assurance/library/audit-quality-report.html

 

Deloitte

https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/audit/articles/deloitte-professionals-share-how-they-are-auditor-proud.html

 

EY

https://www.ey.com/en_gl/audit/quality

 

KPMG

https://home.kpmg.com/us/en/home/services/audit.html

Professor Elam take away

 

as you will learn in ACCT 5308Ethics all these firms have suffered black eyes with audit failures and blow ups,hence they are saying they do a great job

Take my ACCT 5308 class, you decide

PwC Audit Woes

Monday January 15, 2018

The Big Four Audit firms are continually engaged in audits around the globe. And invariably some of them blow up or the auditors are found guilty of gross or ordinary negligence. Recall that a year ago the two PwC Accountants at the Academy Awards.  Ignoring warnings to not use social media backstage,they did so anyway. Apparently so wrapped up in texting and such, a presenter was given the wrong name for an award.  Those two are out but PwC was able to retain the Academy as a client.

Now https://www.accountancyage.com/2018/01/02/pwc-negligent-in-failing-to-detect-2bn-fraud-at-colonial-bank-says-us-judge/

The FDIC is asking for over $2 Billion in damages.

Well when it rains it pours.  The Satyam case is detailed in our textbook. Now Indian authorities have banned PwC from performing any audits in India for the next two years!  PwC is scrambling to avoid this penalty.

 

Just google PwC booted out of India audits for two years to see more reporting on this.

We will be discussing such instances all semester.

What is your feeling about TBTF Too Big to Fail?  Looks like the penalties are mounting.  In the past firms would pay a fine (the cost of doing business?) without admitting guilt.No one lost their job or license in most instances. Is that the way things ought to be?

A Real World Lesson on Earnings Reporting

Thursday Nov 16, 2017

Globalscape GSB responds to an earnings misstatement.

Read the series of announcements here.

Notice that the ticker symbol now has LF associated with it for late filing.

Apparently the outside auditors have refused to file the report until various uncertainties are cleared up.

As you can see below the markets do not reward such action.

And notice that it has cost over a million dollars to investigate a $400,000 error!

These expenses totaled approximately $190,000 and $873,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2017 and September 30, 2017, respectively.

 

 

 

 

Eight Issues for Auditors this Year

Friday Oct 20 2017

I saw this on the TSCPA e mail as a result of my membership. It is an article from CFO magazine.

Take a read. Here is another example of the benefit of having  a student membership in an accounting organization.

Professional Skepticism & Critical Audit Matters CAM

Sunday Sept 10, 2017

In ACCT 4311 Audit we are studying audit standards. One of the concepts is Professional Skepticism.

PwC has responded to a recent consolidation standard by the PCAOB. Click to Read the PwC summary on Critical Audit Matters CAM.

Read EY's take on how Big Data Analytics are affecting the audit process.

Keep clicking down to read KPMG's take on the June 2017 PCAOB standard also discussed above by PwC.

Psychology of Fraud Seminar

Posted Thursday August 31, 2017

https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=270889&

 

This is an all day  8 00 Am  - 5 00 PM seminar. I estimate 200 working internal audit professionals will attend. So it will be a great networking opportunity as well.

The cost for student attendance is $35.  This would be a great way to learn more about internal auditing and fraud.

HIgher Pay for Auditors Means Fewer Re Statements

Thursday May 18, 2017

Using Bureau of Labor salary stats, professors show that higher pay means fewer re statements.

This story also reveals levels of pay at the senior and manager level. This supports what I have long believed.

Which is that external auditors are subject to lots of stress and pressure to bill,but the pay they receive is probably no higher than the ones they are auditing.