Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Ethics Exam? I Don't Remember an Ethics Exam

Let's talk about a serious topic people: Independence. For the FB4 audit firms, it's kind of a big deal.

Arthur Andersen went the way of the Dodo back in 2002 due to a, some may say, lack in judgment. Others may say it was a monumental fuckup.

Said fuckup was due to a bunch of things but the independence of AA was certainly in question because of consulting work that AA did for Enron, plus some racy photos from the Enron/Arthur Andersen mixer at Gavelston Island.

In the wake, SarbOx seemingly put an end to auditors doing most non-audit, consulting work. Good, great, grand, FINE.

Well, seven years later, PwC has had enough of this independence/shmindependence and has been trying to get IT implementation and integration services back into their Advisory practice (after they sold out to IBM back in '02) because auditing fees just don't cut it people.

Which begs the question: What else is PwC trying to get back into that could potentially get them into hot water? Some initial speculation:
  • Reinstating the no fat chicks rule
  • Public depantsing of associates that fail any section of the CPA exam more than once
  • Confiscation of laptops on engagements with 500 or less billable hours and audits will be completed on pencil and paper
  • Mandatory engagement team sleepovers at client locations during busy times

Wait, that last one is still ongoing. If there are any other policies out there that should be brought to light, by any firms, please inform.

How Satyam Supported PwC’s Schizophrenic Strategy To Reenter The Systems Integration Business [re: The Auditors]

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