Unaccountable: How the Accounting Profession Forfeited a Public Trust

Book Description

For thousands of years, those who controlled and monitored society's finances-accountants-were often the most powerful, respected, and influential members of the community. From the collectors at communal granaries in the ancient Middle East to the scribes who monitored Queen Victoria's Exchequer, the accountant's role has been to preserve the integrity of financial systems.

In the United States, twentieth-century accountants played a vital role in shaping the transparency of U.S. capital markets, counseling the Allies on financial matters in both world wars, advising Congress on the creation of the federal income tax, and inventing the concept of the gross national product.

Yet by 2003, the reputation of the public accountant was in tatters. How did the accounting profession in America squander its legacy of public service? What happened to the accountants that presidents, senators, and captains of industry turned to for advice? Why did auditors stop looking for fraud? How did this once revered profession find itself in this unlikely and humiliating state?

Customer Reviews:

History and Current Affairs.......2006-07-13

This book starts with the history of accounting, from about 8000 BC continuing to current events. This is better than it sounds. A main focus of the book is on the development of the accounting culture in the United States from the 1890s, the development of accounting standards, and how accountants gained the public trust. An important theme is that without the public trust, auditors don't have anything to sell; what good is the assurance of someone who can not be trusted?

The majority of the book focuses on recent and current events. Beginning in the 1950s, the culture of audit firms changed so that the focus was on growth and building a profitable business. Prior to that, there was a much greater awareness of the public as a major stakeholder. It is called public accounting after all. The coverage of the culture shift and the resulting loss of faith in the audit profession is first rate. This is a problem that the profession is just beginning to address. Good information if you are interested in a career as an auditor.

I worked for KPMG.......2006-03-08

and bought the book, because thats where Brewster worked as a communications guy (spinmaster). Despite the fact that he was not an auditor (or perhaps because he wasn't) I found the book to be an excellent analysis of what STILL troubles the Big 4. Mr. Brewster knows of what he speaks-and wrote the book before KPMG was almost "Andersened" in the Summer of 2005. Absent a government concerns warning of further reductions in big accounting firms-It might be the "Big 3" now.

These firms advertise their work as the Good Housekeeping Seal of approval to the public, but the truth is that the public would be shocked to see how little value is added by the outside auditors. A modern organization is simply to complicated and produces to much data to allow anything more than a very limited review of the financial data, focused on areas of greatest risk.

The direct relationship between the auditor and the management inevitably means following professional standards is a an objective subordinated to pleasing the client and meeting the time budget. Large companies aren't paying for anything more than a clean bill of health and partners are somewhere between hairdressers and pimps to a big company. They are of course, well paid for their "services".

An example of what I mean would be the common practice of SALY (Same As Last Year), when the bright-eyed young auditor finds out that the wiley old Controller they think they are smarter than runs rings around them. This usually comes as a surprise to staff, since they've been told they are the "best and brightest" since they were recruited,usually as juniors. Not one wonders if they were the "best and brightest" would they instead have been at Harvard Med School. Ironically, KPMG managers and partners often gave little value to an MBA degree, mostly because they rarely get them.

Unless the error (mistatement) or potential for misstatement is so egregious as to be a great big red flag to the PCAOB, the SEC or a jury, a great deal of the errors are simply written off as I/M (immaterial). A large audit's "workpapers" fills tens or even hundreds of binders and they know screwups will have to be frequent or huge to be spotted.

Untill auditors are hired by, and paid by, the SEC or an organization that provides insurance that the financial statements are "fairly stated", this situation will persist. The American economy spends BILLIONS to support the lavish lifestyles of Big 4 partners and we still have mal- and mis-feasance.

If you want more information about KPMG, read the inspection report issued last year by the PCAOB, or the issues related to audits where KPMG was sued (Fannie Mae, Rite Aid, now Ahold)

valuable historical overview of a profession in crisis.......2004-12-19

This provided to be an extremely valuable wider context to research that I was doing on Arthur Andersen's demise. It begins with the ancient Greeks and their Ventian counterparts during the Renaissance(!), and progresses to the present-day crisis in the accounting profession. Brewster writes about it all as clearly as a professional writer-reporter would, which is enjoyable considering how many dry and self-serving academic books there are on the subject today. While he does not add anything all that original about the present time, his book does convincingly demonstrate that AA was not any worse than the other firms, though with a series of missteps and its involvement with Enron it made itself, in Brewster's words, "an ideal target" of the government. But all the big acct firms desired to make money from their insider knowledge: they lost their ideal of public service, i.e. guarantors of the underpinings of the capitalist system. This bears out my own research and as such is an extremely useful book for anyone attempting to put this arcane and vital-for-capitalism discipline - accounting - in context.

Recommended as an ideal introduction to those who are interested. Admittedly, that is a rather important caveat.

Excellent history, powerful primary research........2004-11-27

While there are several other books that cover this general history, this book digs in with much greater detail. Throughout its long (but not exhaustive) review of the history of public accounting and auditing, many primary sources give a much better overview of the politics and controversies that have plagued accounting over the years. Linking 1930s legislation to the latest accounting debacle was no easy feat, but the book does so with several clear theses that are well-linked throughout.

Instead of repeating the same "SarBox will fix it" conclusions about the future of accounting, this book returns to its primary research in to present a more well-rounded impression of what challenges the future brings, what time bombs are (still!) waiting for the profession and what those on both sides of the regulatory line have to say abou it.

HBS recommendation.......2003-10-21

I saw this fairly obscure book recommended by Harvard Business Review Online. I'm an MBS student and this is a great introduction to the dual nature of auditors: in the business of making money but supposedly beholden ot the public. The author does a great job of showing how the big firms got caught up in the quest for business and forgot about their second duty. Not sure why I haven't seen more of this book; probably not sensationalistic enough.

Book Description

Product Description

En este libro prosiguen las cosmicas y comicas aventuras iniciadas en la Guia del autoestopista galactico y El restaurante del fin del mundo, la universalmente aclamada trilogia. cuyos volumenes pueden leerse de forma independiente.

Customer Reviews:

Complex and Satisfying.......2000-07-04

If you've read Douglas Adams before, you'll know what I mean. I love his writing and his original thoughts and the complex plots he comes up with. It's nice to see that it is being translated. If you're trying to read this, it helps if you've read the other books in the series first. otherwise, you might not understand some things. Anyway, the story goes that -- wait. You know the game of cricket, right? Well, apparently cricket started from the war that the people of Krikket (who hated the space above them) had against the rest of the universe. The people of Krikket hate everything else so much that they want to annihilate it. However, they were stopped a long time ago. Now, there planet is locked up in itself and will only be unlocked after the end of the Universe when they will be free and be alone in the Universe (which is what they want). However, some of their killer whit robots have somehow started gaining the Wooden Pillar, the Plastic Pillar, the Steel Pillar, the Golden Bail, and a purple award from a party, which are the keys to unlock Krikket. But how are Arthur Dent, Slartibarfast, Trillian, Zaphod, and Ford Prefect going to stop these killer robots?

Los premios Nobel a los orígenes de la vida y el Universo: a cinco científicos de los EU: cinco estadounidenses recibieron este año los premios Nobel de ... del Universo.: An article from: Siempre!

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Los premios Nobel a los orígenes de la vida y el Universo: a cinco científicos de los EU: cinco estadounidenses recibieron este año los premios Nobel de ... del Universo.: An article from: Siempre!
René Anaya
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000KLRRKK
Release Date: 2006-11-15

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Thomson Gale on October 15, 2006. The length of the article is 907 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Los premios Nobel a los orígenes de la vida y el Universo: a cinco científicos de los EU: cinco estadounidenses recibieron este año los premios Nobel de ciencias por sus trabajos relacionados con las moléculas de la vida y con el origen del Universo.
Author: René Anaya
Publication: Siempre! (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 15, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 53 Issue: 2783 Page: 78(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Tal vez no estemos solos en el Universo: la vida es una conjunción de fenómenos físicos, químicos y biológicos.(exploración e imágenes del satélite Titán, ... otros planetas): An article from: Siempre!

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Tal vez no estemos solos en el Universo: la vida es una conjunción de fenómenos físicos, químicos y biológicos.(exploración e imágenes del satélite Titán, ... otros planetas): An article from: Siempre!
René Anaya
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000BSQ8K2
Release Date: 2006-06-29

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Thomson Gale on January 30, 2005. The length of the article is 886 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Tal vez no estemos solos en el Universo: la vida es una conjunción de fenómenos físicos, químicos y biológicos.(exploración e imágenes del satélite Titán, de Saturno)(posible vida en otros planetas)
Author: René Anaya
Publication: Siempre! (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 30, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 51 Issue: 2694 Page: 80(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Titán: viaje a los confines del Universo: los científicos han comprobado que la mayor luna de Saturno contiene el tipo de moléculas que originaron la vida ... millones de años.: An article from: Epoca

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Titán: viaje a los confines del Universo: los científicos han comprobado que la mayor luna de Saturno contiene el tipo de moléculas que originaron la vida ... millones de años.: An article from: Epoca
Ana Del Paso
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0007UU1CK
Release Date: 2006-06-29

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Thomson Gale on January 21, 2005. The length of the article is 827 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Titán: viaje a los confines del Universo: los científicos han comprobado que la mayor luna de Saturno contiene el tipo de moléculas que originaron la vida en la Tierra hace 4.000 millones de años.
Author: Ana Del Paso
Publication: Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 21, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 1036 Page: 60(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Usted también puede ser Pedro Duque: ¿hay vida en otros planetas, además de Marte? ¿Es rentable la Estación Espacial Europea? ¿Qué es una supernova? Astronautas ... del universo. : An article from: Epoca

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Usted también puede ser Pedro Duque: ¿hay vida en otros planetas, además de Marte? ¿Es rentable la Estación Espacial Europea? ¿Qué es una supernova? Astronautas ... del universo. : An article from: Epoca
Eva Reuss
Manufacturer: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000ALT6PY
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Thomson Gale on May 27, 2005. The length of the article is 811 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Usted también puede ser Pedro Duque: ¿hay vida en otros planetas, además de Marte? ¿Es rentable la Estación Espacial Europea? ¿Qué es una supernova? Astronautas de primera fila, astrofísicos y técnicos de la Estación Espacial Europea han debatido en París sobre algunos pequeños misterios del Cosmos para acercarnos al conocimiento del universo.
Author: Eva Reuss
Publication: Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 27, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 1054 Page: 56(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

La Rueda Del Tiempo / The Wheel of Time: Los Chamanes del Antiguo Mexico y sus Pensamientos Acerca de la Vida, la Muerte y el Universo / The Shamans of ... Life, Deat (Obras Diversas / Diverse Works)

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La Rueda Del Tiempo / The Wheel of Time: Los Chamanes del Antiguo Mexico y sus Pensamientos Acerca de la Vida, la Muerte y el Universo / The Shamans of ... Life, Deat (Obras Diversas / Diverse Works)
Carlos Castaneda
Manufacturer: Plaza & Janes Mexico
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mythology & Folklore | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Shamanism | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 9681103521

Book Description

Carlos CastaÒeda is an anthropologist who has dedicated thirty years of his life to studying the world of shamans who lived in Mexico in ancient times.  He has written ten books on this subject, during and after his apprenticeship with don Juan Matus, a Yagui Indian shaman from Mexico.

This book is a collection of quotes derived from those books.  The quotations, by themselves, show a strand of continuity, which was not dictated by the teacher, don Juan Matus, nor by the student, Carlos CastaÒeda.  It seems to be an independent trend set in motion by the shamans of old Mexico themselves.

Accompanying the quotations, Carlos CastaÒeda has written his personal commentaries.  Together, the quotations and commentaries create a counterpoint of ideas that will be of great interest to the reader.

ESTRELLAS, PLANETAS Y VIDA EN EL UNIVERSO

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ESTRELLAS, PLANETAS Y VIDA EN EL UNIVERSO
German Puerta
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 9586144860

Product Description

A well known Colombian astronomer and educator discussed stars, planets and life in the universe. 170 pp

Book Description

This volume presents the proceedings of an international symposium held by the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in August 2006. In this book, the contributors emphasize the role of physical modeling in developing a sustainable environment. In addition to this main theme, the contributors also address modernization and new developments in physical modeling, numerical versus physical modeling, soil dynamics and geotechnical earthquake engineering, soil-structure interaction, model studies versus field performance, natural hazard mitigation, process modeling, and a host of other important related topics.

Physical Modelling in Geotechnics - 6th Icpmg'06 - Volume 1

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Physical Modelling in Geotechnics - 6th Icpmg'06 - Volume 1
Ng C W W , Zhang L M , and Wang y H
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 041541587X

Physical Modelling in Geotechnics - 6th Icpmg'06 - Volume 2

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Physical Modelling in Geotechnics - 6th Icpmg'06 - Volume 2
Ng C W W , Zhang L M , and Wang y H
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0415415888

Book Description

Dieses Lehrbuch behandelt die Dimensionierung, die Berechnung sowie die Analyse von Schaltungen und Geräten der analogen und digitalen elektrischen Messtechnik anhand von Übungsbespielen, die im Rahmen der Vorlesungen "Elektrische Messtechnik" "Computerunterstützte Messdatenerfassung" sowie angegliederten Rechenübungen ausgearbeitet wurden. Die erläuterten Übungsaufgaben eignen sich sowohl zur Vorbereitung auf entsprechende Prüfungen als auch zur selbständigen Aneignung bzw. Vertiefung praxisrelevanter Kenntnisse auf dem Gebiet der modernen elektrischen Messtechnik.

Book Description

No Rest for the Wicked...

What do ancient Satanic curses, rock n' roll, the Mafia, urban legends, Internet porn, Tourette's Syndrome, and zombies have in common?

Read Night of the Loving Dead, and you'll find out. You'll also never go to sleep again.

Night after night, in Grady Memorial Hospital's Autopsy Room #1, the dead awaken. For several hours they rise, with an unholy urge. But these reanimated corpses are driven not by a hunger for human flesh, but by an evil lust for carnal knowledge!

Night of the Loving Dead is a novella of hardcore horror, a trashy, B-movie hybrid of The Sopranos, Day of the Dead and Showgirls. Throw in a demented dash of drive-in camp and a blood-spattered ode to sex on the information superhighway, and you've got a story that might just be the most twisted tale you've ever read.

Night of the Loving Dead. You'll never look at sex and death the same way again...

A Demonic Clown Book

Customer Reviews:

Completely vile.......2007-07-23

The concept for this novel is based on any number of zombie books and movies. For whatever reason, supernatural or scientific, the dead rise and stalk among the living to quench their dreadful hunger. In James Futch and James Newman's cojoined imagination, however, the zombies aren't hungry for flesh or brains, they're hungry for sex. Their carnal appetites are loosed upon the world each night within the confines of the Grady Memorial Hospital morgue, where rumor has it ancient, arcane practices that predated the hospital's construction still haunt the site and cause the nightly resurrection.

"Night of the Loving Dead" could have been a clever twist on the zombie genre. But no, Futch and Newman take the concept entirely too far, coating themselves and their readers in blood, bile and other bodily fluids. The detail with which they describe grotesque and graphic zombie sex -- and the sexual damage the undead can wreak on themselves, their zombie partners and any living humans who get in their way -- tells me these two lads spend an unhealthy amount of time imagining this sort of thing -- right down to its festering core. Believe me, they will detail for you exactly what body parts will tear, what will break and what will burst in a viscous explosion.

Come on, boys, you can dress it up in occult trappings, but rape is never funny, even if the character is drugged and/or is someone we're not supposed to like. Don't be fooled by the hype that makes "Night of the Loving Dead" sound like a comic horror romp. It's vile.

On the other hand, if the thought of sex with dead things appeals to you, this book is just your thing.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(n e t) editor

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