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scathing article on the big 4

Here's a scathing article on the big 4 and how they're thriving while their clients are failing. The author, Francine Mckenna, has been targeting the auditing firms for a while now. Sure, I bear down pretty heavily on the firms at times, but her article is about a more serious issue and takes it to a whole new level.
I really don't agree with her, and I genuinely do think the firms, or atleast the one I work for, do a good job at making sure that the financials are fairly presented. Sure, we can do more, but we're paid by our clients, and we only have a certain amount of time to work on each company's numbers. This precludes us from doing an extremely thorough job. The real problem here lies with GAAP and the FASB, they are the ones setting the rules. Sure, the big 4 play a role in helping set up the rules, but come on now. Comparing them to a mafia, seriously? Don't hate the cops, the robbers were just smart enough to get away from them with the resources they have.
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Comments

just me said…
How exactly would a public accounting firm, whose job is look backwards at financial information for one specific company, "prevent, warn, or mitigate the desperate financial situation, the national crisis of significant proportions we now find ourselves in"??

I can't even read the rest of an article that starts with such faulty logic.
April 22, 2009 at 5:35 PM
anon44 said…
Stumbled across this blog its awesome. It great to see you are not alone with all the shit that goes down within a Big4, all over the world.

Haha, this Francine lady is a nutcase. I think she has truth to most of her stories but she is so extreme in her accusations.

Love your work!
February 5, 2010 at 8:21 PM
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