PwC auditors volunteer services in DC tax fraud
PwC has joined in a pro bono investigation of a $US20m fraud by tax employees at the Washington DC Office of Tax and Revenue
Three auditors from
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
will join three lawyers from law firm Wilmer Hale of Enron fame to investigate,
free of charge, the Office of Tax and Revenue in Washington DC after five agency
employees were arrested for allegedly defrauding the city of $A20m (?9.7m).
The team conducting the investigation voluntarily will save the Washington DC
council about $US2m. Chris Simmons, PwC chief diversity officer, will be part of
the team.
Natwar Gandhi, the city’s chief financial officer, also plans to bring in a
five-member audit committee to help his office ‘in reviewing financial reporting
processes, internal control systems and compliance with established policies and
procedures’, according to
The
Washington Post.
Gandhi has taken action against 15 employees, forcing the resignation of top
managers while other workers have been dismissed or placed on administrative
leave after Harriette Walters, manager of the real property tax administration
adjustments unit, and Diane Gustus, a real property program specialist with the
Office of Tax Revenue, were arrested accused of drafting more than 40 fraudulent
refund cheques, averaging $US388,000, since 2004.
Further reading:
US tax officials nabbed in $US16m scam
US CFOs reject auditors’ role in detecting fraud