'Big 4' auditors. Will they be next on the chopping block?
Discussion
You'd think that of the thousands of accountants at E&Y, PWC, Deloitte and KPMG (over 600,000 employees between them), that some of the auditors might have smelled a rat over the years at various banks.
I assume they don't get much heat because even though partners at these companies make ££MILLIONS££ each every year, they aren't publicised as much as bankers.
I wonder how long until the politicians and journos mention to Joe public that a partner at PWC makes £3m+ per year and the knives come out for the accountants.
Then who? The lawyers?
I assume they don't get much heat because even though partners at these companies make ££MILLIONS££ each every year, they aren't publicised as much as bankers.
I wonder how long until the politicians and journos mention to Joe public that a partner at PWC makes £3m+ per year and the knives come out for the accountants.
Then who? The lawyers?
johnfm said:
You'd think that of the thousands of accountants at E&Y, PWC, Deloitte and KPMG (over 600,000 employees between them), that some of the auditors might have smelled a rat over the years at various banks.
I think you'll be struggling to implicate them. Directors are responsible for running their businesses, not the auditors. The directors have been making bad decisions and not, so far as I'm aware, fiddling the books.The average Jeremy Kyle watching Brit probably doesn't know what an accountant is, let alone an auditor. It's too complicated a concept for them to understand and get angry with.
Similar to most of the UK blaming the oil companies for high petrol prices, completely ignorant of the level of taxation.
Similar to most of the UK blaming the oil companies for high petrol prices, completely ignorant of the level of taxation.
VxDuncan said:
The average Jeremy Kyle watching Brit probably doesn't know what an accountant is, let alone an auditor. It's too complicated a concept for them to understand and get angry with.
Similar to most of the UK blaming the oil companies for high petrol prices, completely ignorant of the level of taxation.
This x 1000Similar to most of the UK blaming the oil companies for high petrol prices, completely ignorant of the level of taxation.
DJRC said:
The trouble with most auditors is that they *are* accountants. Part of the disease.
Brilliant. Since it's the accounts which are signed off as audited it's actually not a bad starting point. Or perhaps auditors should simply be Daily Mail readers?I don't for one second buy the modern mantra that any opinion is a valid opinion. If we accepted that then the earth would still be flat.
heppers75 said:
I forget from where and have not bothered to Google.
The definition of an Auditor...
Someone who comes in after the battle and bayonets the wounded - always made me smile!
I prefer the definition of an accountant being someone who tells a business person what they already knew - and then charges him for that information.The definition of an Auditor...
Someone who comes in after the battle and bayonets the wounded - always made me smile!
I am under no illusion about the limitations of the profession.
I wholly accept that many auditors have been sleeping on the job and signing off accounts which were flawed in the extreme. You only have to read the accounting press to see how much of that has been going on.
Ozzie Osmond said:
DJRC said:
The trouble with most auditors is that they *are* accountants. Part of the disease.
Brilliant. Since it's the accounts which are signed off as audited it's actually not a bad starting point. Or perhaps auditors should simply be Daily Mail readers?They do a whole lot more than audit the accounts, they also (at least in one case I know very well) audit compliance with FSA regs on behalf of the FSA.
They are then perfectly willing to come out of audit mode and kick into consultant mode, to assist in rectifying issues they found....
Except thatr when the FSA see the proposal facilitated by these auditor-consultants, they often completely disagree with the solution, but were quite willing to take the auditor report of 'failings' to levy a f
k off enormous fine...
Can't say anything more specific, but I have higher regard for the dirt on the soles of my shoes than the companies mentioned above.
Oh, and McKinsey, who I understand are pure consultants, but just as low in my estimation..
They are then perfectly willing to come out of audit mode and kick into consultant mode, to assist in rectifying issues they found....
Except thatr when the FSA see the proposal facilitated by these auditor-consultants, they often completely disagree with the solution, but were quite willing to take the auditor report of 'failings' to levy a f
k off enormous fine...Can't say anything more specific, but I have higher regard for the dirt on the soles of my shoes than the companies mentioned above.
Oh, and McKinsey, who I understand are pure consultants, but just as low in my estimation..
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