GM's recent filing of its registration statement with the SEC represents the collision of two topics I have written about. First, the fortuitous arrival of $30.2 billion of "goodwill" on GM's balance sheet so soon after the company crammed a…
Not only does General Motors' CEO, Edward E. Whitacre Jr., want to take GM public ASAP, he is asking the federal government to sell its $50 billion (!) stake at the same time. That's all well and good, but I…
I can't cite chapter and verse for this, but experience tells me that there is a cardinal rule for IASB and FASB members that goes something like this: 'If you can't say something nice about board deliberations, then don't say…
If you think you can find a larger wart on the backside of US GAAP than the one I am about to describe, then give it your best shot. Here it is in a nutshell: a careful and cynical application…
On the science/entertainment TV show, Mythbusters, a zany cast of characters attempt to smash various colorful or popular myths to smithereens (often literally) using the scientific method (sort of). Can duct tape really be used to float a boat? Which…
The April issue of CA Magazine, which is published by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, has a lengthy feature article provocatively entitled "IFRS: Dead in the USA?". It author is Lawrence Quinn, a freelance writer based in Atlanta. Thus,…
The EU is simply too committed to pertuating the giddy notion that financial statements can serve investors -- and be smoothed at the same time. That's why I predicted that they would soon respond negatively and vociferously to the SEC's…
No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller is Harry Markopolos's own story of a futile eight-year quest to expose the $65 billion Madoff fraud. As an SEC alum myself, I was not looking forward to reading a blow-by-blow description…
I recently recorded a podcast for Compliance Week with editor Matt Kelly, who interviewed me on the SEC's most recent statement on IFRS—a clear detour from the original Roadmap by any reasonable estimation. Matt gave me some sample questions in…
The Koss Corp. fraud case has been in the news since the end of December, so why am I just getting around to writing about it now? Because, that's the way I roll, man. I don't know if anyone has…