SEC charges 3 former KPMG partners for altering audit working papers

Posted by Tracy Coenen on March 31, 2006 · Leave a Comment 

The SEC press release:
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled administrative actions finding improper professional conduct by a former KPMG engagement partner and senior manager for failing properly to complete the audit of Tenet Healthcare Corporation’s fiscal year 2002 financial statements and for making after-the-fact modifications to the audit working papers which created the [...]

BOOK: Conspiracy of Fools

Posted by Tracy Coenen on March 31, 2006 · Leave a Comment 

I have recently begun reading the true story of the rise and fall of Enron. The book is Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story by Kurt Eichenwald. It is fascinating so far, so I thought I’d post here about it every so often. You’ll be able to find the posts under the Enron category, [...]

Surfing the ‘net on the job?

Posted by Tracy Coenen on March 30, 2006 · Leave a Comment 

Employers are putting the brakes on the use of internet services by employees. They are stooping the use of instant messaging and downloading of files, for starters, in an attempt to protect company computers from viruses, data bottlenecks, and potential legal problems.
General Electric, for one, has stopped the use of outside instant message programs and [...]

Milwaukee County lawsuit over pension deal

Posted by Tracy Coenen on March 29, 2006 · Leave a Comment 

Milwaukee County has sued its former actuarial firm, Mercer Human Resource Consulting, for malpractice and breach of contract related to the 2000 county pension deal. Mercer advised the county on the cost of the pension enhancements under a contract signed by the former personnel director Gary Dobbert. (Dobbert crafted the pension package and went to [...]

Microsoft Windows Vista might not be sold in Europe

Posted by Tracy Coenen on March 29, 2006 · Leave a Comment 

The European Union’s chief antitrust regulator has warned Microsoft Corp that it can’t sell the Windows Vista operating system in Europe if it has certain features. One concern is Microsoft’s potential to unfairly direct users to Microsoft’s internet search service. The EU is also concerned about certain security functions in the system which may prevent [...]

Government wants companies to stop paying legal fees for accused executives

Posted by Tracy Coenen on March 28, 2006 · 1 Comment 

Federal prosecutors in New York, Alabama, and New Hampshire have threatened to label companies uncooperative if they continue to pay the legal fees of indicted executives. Prosecutors want individuals to pay their own legal fees, even though the fees can easily be upwards of $100,000 in a white collar crime case.
The New Hampshire case involves [...]

How high profile white collar criminals fared in the legal system

Posted by Tracy Coenen on March 27, 2006 · Leave a Comment 

A long post, compliments of the Wall Street Journal. I thought this was a great piece. They chronicled how various high-profile white collar defendants fared. The lineup includes Frank Quattrone, Bernie Ebbers, Richard Scrushy, John Rigas, Dennis Kozlowski, Mark Belnick, Andrew Fastow, Martha Stewart, Joseph Nacchio, Walter Forbes, Martin Grass, and Jamie Olis.
Frank Quattrone (CSFB) [...]

Mobile phones help students cheat on exams

Posted by Tracy Coenen on March 27, 2006 · Leave a Comment 

England’s Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) has reported that mobile phones in exam halls make up 25% of the situations in which students are caught cheating. Students are not even supposed to have cell phones with them during exams.

Martin Frankel sentenced to prison again

Posted by Tracy Coenen on March 27, 2006 · Leave a Comment 

Martin Frankel, infamous looter of insurance companies, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his theft of more than $200 million. This is the same sentence he received in 2004, and he was resentenced pursuant to a Supreme Court ruling on sentencing guidelines.
Frankel pleaded guilty to 24 counts of fraud and racketeering, for his [...]

Enron trial: Lay and Skilling to take the stand

Posted by Tracy Coenen on March 26, 2006 · Leave a Comment 

The trial of former Enron executives Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay will continue this week, with the prosecution expected to wrap up its case. However, according to the Wall Street Journal:
…there has been no smoking gun — no emails or incriminating papers — conclusively tying the defendants to illegal acts.
The prosecution’s case has been laid [...]

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