China Economy: PwC China Fined and Suspended Over Evergrande Failures with Palki Sharma

This is big news! However, PwC is not a mere scapegoat as Palki put it! It seems the fraud by Evergrande was too big to overlook and happened over several years.

Maybe it was high time for a lesson!

Auditors didn’t flag risks building up in U.S. banks

What are the big four accounting firms good for? Only to keep the honest companies honest!

"KPMG gave Silicon Valley Bank a clean bill of health 14 days before the lender collapsed. The Big Four audit firm signaled potential loan losses, but not its unrealized bond losses and ability to hold them given a reliance on potentially flighty deposits—what actually brought the bank down. Auditors for nine other U.S. banks most exposed to bond losses also didn’t identify this as an issue when they signed off on their financial statements for 2022, according to a WSJ analysis."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

Ernst & Young fined, banned from some audits in Germany over Wirecard scandal

Good news! Too often the four big global audit and accounting firms get caught that one of their major clients fails spectacularly! Most of the times they only get a slap on the wrist if at all. This time is a little different, but not enough! Some of the individual auditors involved also will face disciplinary action.

It seems these global audit and consulting firms too often rubber stamp their clients' books!

EY fined, banned from some audits in Germany over Wirecard scandal | Reuters Germany's accounting watchdog on Monday handed the 2016-2018 auditor of Wirecard, named in the company's annual reports as EY, a 500,000 euro fine ($541,650.00) and banned it from taking on new audits for companies of public interest for two years.

Here is the original decision by the German authority:

APAS: Beschlusskammerentscheidung „Berufsaufsicht“ zum Berufsaufsichtsverfahren der Abschlussprüfer in Sachen Wirecard

Deloitte Explores Splitting Auditing, Consulting Arms, Following Ernst & Young

The four big accounting firms are little bit like the fashion industry! 

Not long ago it was fashionable to merge accounting and consulting (e.g. in 2013 PWC acquired Booz & Company). 😄

Deloitte Explores Splitting Auditing, Consulting Arms, Following Ernst & Young - WSJ Deloitte would be second Big Four firm to divide the businesses, potentially spinning off consulting arm

Germany's biggest postwar financial scandal: Wirecard

Recommendable! SED Kanzlerin Merkel lobbied für Wirecard in China? 

Anscheinend hat die Bafin auch ganz schön versagt! Und Bundesfinanzminister Olaf Scholz? Man kommt aus dem Staunen nicht raus, wie die 4 big accounting firms (PWC, EY, KPMG, Deloitte) immer wieder davon kommen.

Eine der short sellers von Wirecard in New York Stadt! The lady said she does not have much faith in Olaf (Scholz). There were other financial scandals in Germany before. Hold all politicians accountable! Perhaps, she should manage my retirement account? 😄