Brightfly, Inc. » Is IFRS All About Greed?

Is IFRS All About Greed?

bsdunlap — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:04:12 +0000

Once again, our hat goes off to Tracy Coenen for her coverage over at The Fraud Files Blog. Way back in November of 2008, Brightfly Researcher Mark Adams wrote a short piece on IFRS as the new Cash Cow for the Big 4. This was a follow-on piece to his insights into the Grant Thornton survey which indicated broad disapproval among CFO’s with IFRS and a reluctance to change. You see, even back then we were debating internally as to why the big push for IFRS seemed to get so much press, despite widespread community support. Mark indicated how the push to this new standard would prop up revenues that were were slipping for SOX work as those efforts matured in Big 4 clients. We all nodded and thought it was plausible and a highly likely Astroturf campaign, then moved on.

Thankfully, via The Fraud Files Blog, Tracy has pointed us to a recent piece by Professor David Albrecht on how the push to IFRS is being driven by the Big 4 (and the lesser firms as well). His hypothesis is that since the only organizations embracing the move seem to be the large audit firms, and that they stand in the best position to profit from the move, that it their greed that propels this change. He goes on to quote Arthur R. Wyatt’s analysis of Arthur Andersen’s implosion as one fueled by greed, and as a canary in the coal mine perhaps, for the future for this industry. A great read, and one that lays many of pieces out in the open for deeper inspection.

Thanks Tracy! Keep up the good work.

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Overstock.com CEO Backhands Grant Thornton

bsdunlap — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:07:11 +0000

In a blow-by-blow rebuttal to Grant Thornton’s letter to the SEC last week, Overstock.com‘s Chairman & CEO, Patrick Byrne, laid it all out in a very public way via a press release. A bit on the ugly side, but a fascinating look inside the interaction between a board and their auditor. It has devolved into an outright pissing match (Henry Blodget‘s term) between the two companies, with both sides accusing the other of lying.

What is particularly alarming about this whole affair (other than the openness of the mudslinging), is the size of the drop in OSTK’s value on Friday the 30th. Gapping up on Monday the 23rd and hitting a high that day of $16.37, it has since given up over $2.00 in two sharp drops. The first was in the early hours of trading on Tuesday (from $16.18 to $15.50), after Mr. Byrne’s press release hit the wires. Just before the markets closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, OSTK was at $15.30. However, on Friday, the 27th, it opened down at $14.42 and has continued to hover below $14.50 today. Black Friday will forever mean something else within the walls of Overstock.com I suspect. All of this, despite their marketing engine churning out multiple releases regarding holiday promotions.

Perhaps airing your audit issues so openly, and through press releases, should be reconsidered as a strategy.

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AICPA Comes out in Favor of IFRS

madams — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 04:10:54 +0000

Ok, I was going to leave IFRS alone for a week, but I couldn’t resist this bit of news. WebCPA covered the testimony on IFRS to the Senate Banking Committee. The AICPA came out in favor but the former SEC Chief Accountant, Lynn Turner came out against it.

At the hearing, the AICPA Vice Chairman for Professional Standards and Services, Chuck Landes told the sub-committee “One common accounting language will benefit all participants in the capital markets. A single worldwide set of accounting standards would help investors by facilitating the comparison of financial results.”

However, former SEC Chief Accountant Lynn Turner warned that adopting IFRS could put US investors at risk. “I believe strongly if the SEC reconciliation is eliminated, it will also eliminate the incentive for standard-setters to work together,” he said. “Indeed, each of the standard-setters is likely to go their own way, and I suspect within 10 years, if not sooner, FASB will cease to exist, leaving the U.S. without a viable private standard-setter responsive to the needs of U.S. investors.”

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