Category: Taleb — The Black Swan
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The New Andersen’s IPO
No comments on The New Andersen’s IPOThe New Andersen’s IPO After a three-month break obliged by the closure of my blog-hosting service,…
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Welcome Back: A Fresh Look at the Same Issues
Hello again – after an unexpected pause and with a new look – as requested by…
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Lessons from the Classroom: How Trump Worked His Advantages – Which We Allowed
When and how can the looting and pillaging inflicted by Trump’s malign version of government be…
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KPMG’s Family Planning – Good Luck!
Last week I was pleased to guest-post on The Dig, Francine McKenna's Substack. For those who…
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The CPA Pipeline – How It Looks From Here
A drunk scrabbling on his knees under a street light tells the inquiring policeman that…
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Auditor Performance Metrics: The Deal Offered by the PCAOB
Even as the new year will likely bring the defenestration of Erica Williams, chair of…
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Refuge from the Storm – Seeking Shelter in Troubling Times
“… but we must cultivate our garden” …
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Assurance for Sustainability Reports – Risk Management Wants a Word
It was my pleasure this week to be a guest on Kevin LaCroix's D&O Diary,…
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Private Equity Sings the Siren’s Song; Grant Thornton Answers
It's always a pleasure to be a guest on Francine McKenna's Substack, The Dig. This from…
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The CPA Pipeline: Half-Empty – Half-Full – or a Conduit No Longer Fit for Purpose?
“It’s your kids. We’ve gotta do something about your kids!” Doc (Christopher Lloyd),…
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A Reality Check at the UK Audit Regulator: The Big Four Are Here to Stay – For Now
“If the fans don’t want to come to the ballpark, you can’t stop them.” Hall-of-Fame baseball…
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NOCLAR: The Auditors’ Impossible Task Under a PCAOB Proposal
"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." — The Red…
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EY’s Project Everest and Stockton Rush’s Titan –- A Comparison of Two Wrecks
"The Defense Department regrets to inform you that your sons are dead because they were stupid.”…
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EY’s Collapsed Split Attempt — Questions for the Audit Model
The collapse of Project Everest, the doomed attempt by accounting giant EY to split its consulting…
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Silicon Valley Bank — When a “Standard” is not a Standard
Guest-posted on April 19, with pleasure, on Francine McKenna's sub-stack, The Dig: KPMG, auditor for failed…
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Demise of EY’s Project Everest Stems From Self-Inflicted Wound
No one should be surprised at the canceled split of EY’s audit and consulting practices following…
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The Endangered State of EY’s Split-Up Strategy
As I am pleased to discuss today as a guest on Francine McKenna's substack, The Dig…
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Dispatch from the UK: KPMG Settles Carillion –- Whiners Are Not Happy
Guest posted today on Francine McKenna's Substack, The Dig — a pleasure as always. KPMG…
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Accountants and Their Biases: Human Nature Will Not Be Denied — Part I
Updating the syllabus and reading list for my graduate-level course this spring in Risk Management and…
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Crypto-Land –- The Accountants Discover That It’s Terra Incognita
“Hic Sunt Dragones” –Map inscription supposed by medieval cartographers to warn of dangers in uncharted…
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Tipping Points: The Financial Fragility of the Big Four (Part Two)
“None of us has a clue.” The late William McDonough, first chairman of the Public Company…
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“Tipping Point” Sidebar: Should the Big Four Have Their Own Financial Statements? Should the Cobbler’s Children Have Shoes?
On November 28 I guest-posted on Francine McKenna’s substack, The Dig, the first of two installments…
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Tipping Points: The Financial Fragility of the Big Four Global Accounting Firms
I am pleased to offer a two-part guest post on Francine McKenna’s substack, The Dig,…
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“Fall and Slip” — The Uncertain Timetable of EY’s Separation
“Sell while you can – You are not for all markets” Rosalind to Phebe, “As…
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EY’s Project Everest – A Hill Too Steep to Climb
Guest posted this weekend on Francine McKenna's substack, The Dig — to which, for the breadth…
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Ave Atque Vale: What I Learned by Riding in John’s Old Jeep
I am hurting at the loss of a dear friend. John was large in girth, spirit…
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Auditors Cheating on Ethics Exams – Who’s Surprised?
It's my pleasure to offer this guest post on the substack of my friend Francine McKenna,…
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UK Audit Reform: Seeing Past The Government’s Blinkers
Part Two –- to extend my June 6 look at the inability of the UK government…
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UK Audit Reform: Carson Block Comes Up Short
Since the collapse of Carillion in January 2108, there is no remaining dispute on the desirability…
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Big Audit Leaves Russia – Or Does It?
Rapidly as world events are moving, it’s my pleasure to share my guest post of today…
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Luckin Coffee – What’s Brewing In China?
With the echoes still ringing from China-based Luckin Coffee’s $ 300 million accounting scandal in 2019,…
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PwC’s UK Head Is Unhappy -– There Could Be Relief
“When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.” —…
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Hazards in the UK Audit Market – A Parable for the Holidays
Bidding farewell to this dismal year, it’s my long experience with the holiday season in the…
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Brian Kelly Leaves Notre Dame: The Oxymoron of “College Football Ethics”
What lessons from Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly’s abrupt departure for LSU last month? As…