Big Four accounting firms bungle a third of US audits but are rarely fined

1 in 3 ain't bad!

Prem Sikka tweet:

Corruption Inc: Big Four accounting firms bungle a third of US audits but are rarely fined. Friends in high places protect them. The private police force of capitalism makes millions from dud audits.  Time to shut them down. Public bodies should do audits

https://t.co/ESLWr07EYp

The Big Four accounting firms bungled 31% of the most recent US audits analyzed by their quasi-governmental watchdog, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Yet despite the abysmal findings, the oversight board—which the US government empowers to police the audit firms—has rarely taken action against them.

In its 16-year history, the PCAOB has made only 18 enforcement cases against the foursome—KPMG, Deloitte, EY, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers—according to an investigation published recently by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO).

Quartz

Big Four accounting firms bungle a third of US audits but are rarely fined