A blog by Martin Williams, external affairs spokesman of Graydon UK, focusing on business risks - from fraud to late payment. Martin has has spent the last 35 years in the credit information industry, and has been with Graydon UK, one of the top five commercial credit agencies in the UK, for the last 20. Apart from his PR duties, he teaches credit analysis to risk professionals and helps educate SMEs on the importance of maintaining a good credit rating. Martin is a Fellow of the Institute of Credit Management and is a sitting member of the Institute's Think Tank. He was also honoured by Credit Today, after being included on their Credit 100 list of people who have had the greatest impact in the credit industry during 2008, 2009 and 2010.
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19 Feb 2009
OK, I'm a credit reference agency man, not an accountant, but something strikes me as wrong about the fact that on both sides of the Atlantic, little accounting firms are allowed under current rules to audit billion dollar businesses. Firstly, the news broke soon after the Madoff fraud was unveiled that his 50 billion dollar exclusive fund was being audited by a one man band called Frieling and Horowitz , operating out of a tiny office in up state New York. Then, in the last couple of days , we discover that Allen Stanford's business was audited by a tiny outfit with a London and Antigua office called CAS Hewlett + Co.
I'd be interested to know how, for instance, a high street accountancy firm would react if someone came in to their office one day to ask whether they would like to audit their 10 billion pound business? Would they jump at the chance, or would they politely decline the offer and smell a rat?
I presume that if an accountant holds an Auditing Practising Certificate, he would be quite entitled to take on the work, but is this right? Any feedback would be interesting.
Visitor comments
The whole affair smells rotten. Dennis Kucinich was reported to have information that the US SEC was told to "stand down" in its investigation of Allen Stanford in 2006. This is Mr Kucinich's way of telling people that the CIA is involved. The Charlesworth Hewlett Co is also probably a CIA front or affliate company. How did he die? I know he was almost 73 but had he been sick?
Stanford was served papers late Thursday in Fredericksburg, VA. That is right down I95 from our CIA Quantico operation. Our FBI said he was not hard to locate. I guess not if the CIA calls your agents and tells you where to meet him to serve the papers.
Our SEC needs to quickly hire some honest enforcement officers who aren't afraid of our CIA. It has been rumored in the American press that the Stanford Bank has been used as a drug front/laundering money from the Gulf Cartel. My best guess is that the drugs are coming from Afghanistan and is being moved by our own US CIA. I have watched this unfold and the offices in North London for Shelly Hewlett fit the CIA front offices to a T.
Posted by: Larry Matthews , 20 Feb 2009
It is considered 'best practice' for listed (or larger) companies to appoint one of the 'big four' as their auditors. Any large company who does not should immediately raise a concern. Of course this does not mean that there is no chance of fraudulant accounting with Enron and (more recently) Satyam (Andersons and PWC respectively) it is clear that there are still companies with 'big four' auditors (or big five including Andersons) that will manage to publish accounts with accounting inaccuracies in them.
Posted by: Paul Barker , 24 Feb 2009
I AM MEMBER OF THREE PROFESSIONAL BODIES.IN MY OPINION BIG FIRMS DO INFLUENCE BOARD AGAINST MALPRACTICES.
HOWEVER THE PERSON IN FRONTLINE WHO CONDUCTS THE AUDIT MATTERS EVEN IF IT IS ONE MAN FIRM OR A PARTNER BIG FOUR.
HOEVER THE CHANCES OF MISSTAEMENT ARE ABSOLUELY MINIMUM WITH BIG FOUR
VINAYAK GORHE
ACMA,UK
ACA,ACS INDIA
Posted by: VINAYAK GORHE , 25 Feb 2009
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