TOM EATON: A brief history of KPMG's unique auditing style
KPMG even crops up in the greatest fraud of all time - Bernie Madoff’s dazzling theft of $18-billion
You don’t need to be a forensic auditor to join the dots. You just need Wikipedia. It’s all there. 2004: KPMG pays $115-million in settlements after a software company it audits is revealed to have fabricated 70% of its sales in its largest unit.2006: KPMG is sued for $2-billion by the Federal National Mortgage Association‚ the United States’s de facto home-loan originator‚ for signing off on “years of erroneous financial statements”. 2007: KPMG is investigated by German authorities for turning a blind eye to suspicious payments made to Siemens. 2008: KPMG is sued for $1-billion for rubber-stamping “improper and imprudent practices” at New Century Financial‚ the US’s second largest sub-prime lender in 2007 and a major domino that fell in the ensuing global collapse. Also in 2008: KPMG pays $80-million for helping to overstate Xerox’s earnings by $2-billion. The list goes on. There are allegations of helping tax evasion in Canada‚ “serious accounting improprieties” left undiscovered ...
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