Big Four finally held to account
By Ian Fraser Published: Sunday Herald Date: October 2nd, 2011 The “Big Four” accountancy firms, whose complacency and dereliction of duty were major contributors to the banking crisis that tipped the...
View ArticleLooks like Fred Goodwin may face criminal charges after all
December 14th, 2011 An edited version of this blog post is available at Huffington Post UK The FSA spent an estimated £10m on its report into the failure of RBS, including £7.7m paid to ‘Big Four’...
View ArticleOnce again, the banks reveal the great miracle of solvency
January 18th, 2012 Ian Fraser’s introduction: This blog was written by Golem XIV, a pseudonym for filmmaker and author David Malone. The lies which got us to the purgatory we are in are being told...
View ArticleFinancial regulation: With Griffith-Jones’ appointment, Britain keeps it in...
By Ian Fraser Published: Qfinance Date: June 18th, 2012 I was surprised and exasperated to learn last week that chancellor George Osborne has rubber-stamped the appointment of John Griffith-Jones, the...
View ArticleJesse Eisinger: We’ve created a system that rewards bankers for skulduggery...
In this interview Pullitzer-prize-winning US financial journalist Jesse Eisinger comments on the balance sheet obfuscation still favoured by America’s banks and on why no chief executive of a US bank,...
View ArticleSomething sinister about the lack of prosecutions at Lehman Brothers
January 24th, 2013 This is the first interview that Chicago lawyer Anton Valukas has given since the publication of his 2,292 page report into the bankrutpcy of Lehman Brothers on March 11th, 2010. At...
View ArticleSalmond’s £1.7 million bung to KPMG is a kick in the teeth for taxpayers
April 11th, 2013 Yesterday, the government of first minister Alex Salmond gave a £1.7 million Regional Selective Assistance grant to the ‘Big Four’ accountancy firm KPMG to establish a tax avoidance...
View ArticlePaul Moore: Why Griffith-Jones must step down as FCA chairman
April 20th, 2013 Trust in UK financial regulation and auditing cannot be rebuilt unless John Griffith-Jones (pictured right) steps down as chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority, writes HBOS...
View ArticleKPMG’s annual report—vague about ethics
25 March 2016 By Atul Shah The growing size and influence of “big four” accountancy firms as they further transform themselves into global business services supermarkets is generating alarm among many...
View ArticleWhy we should worry about FRC evasiveness over HBOS
30 March 2016 By Atul K. Shah The failure of the UK’s fifth largest bank, HBOS, led to over £52 billion of losses, and had a significant impact on jobs, pensions and savings for thousands of people. In...
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