discussion The Big Four - Accounting firms under scrutiny. Should we abolish public audit firms?

[Before Today]

 

Should we let the government handle the audit of these publicly listed companies' financial statements instead of these "independent" private companies?

[shookspeare]

The people I know who work for these places or aspire to do so are the worst, so yes abolish them  People should aim to do something more productive with their lives

[truthteller]

abolish MBB first tbh 

[BlondGuts]

Not me working at one of these …. 
 

Honestly idk … The tax side I guess is useful but the audit side is so crooked, I’ve heard nothing but horror stories both about the shady business practices (ie fraudulently certifying wrong financial statements or “overlooking” fraud just to maintain a client relationship bc it brings in big money to the firms’ partners) and the way that workers are treated … so if anything maybe abolish THAT 

[pimmelfratze]

37 minutes ago, truthteller said:

abolish MBB first tbh 

Yes please. But these idiots will then move to the big four.

[Babydoll.]

I work at one of these. They're always under scrutiny and largely don't care because fines don't really do much to them financially. The fines are more like a slap on the back of the hand.

 

Also, damage to reputation doesn't really matter. The largest companies need to be audited by these huge big four firms because the smaller firms simply don't have the experience with the client nor the resourcing. No matter what, according to law, they need the audit. So why not go with the firms they know can handle big business and have dealt with them for the past 5-10 years lol.

 

Obviously there are exceptional circumstances like the Guptas lol, but even still, the big four aren't exactly crippled by these instances.

 

I guess for us "normal people" i.e. not partners or directors, the main concern is the working conditions. I've heard so many horror stories from rival firms and a lot of them transfer to the one I work at because its not as bad (it still can be bad lmao).

 

aaaaaand deloitte just announced a massive audit hiring drive, ALL the big four are doing this due to new regulations and to combat high turnover rates. So long as there are graduates who need to pay rent, need experience and need a career springboard, the big four will remain desirable 

[Before Today]

On 8/23/2022 at 9:13 PM, shookspeare said:

The people I know who work for these places or aspire to do so are the worst, so yes abolish them  People should aim to do something more productive with their lives

Are they backstabbing workaholic freaks who remain single up into their late 30s and that's where their bitterness come from therefore they can't really see their coworkers enjoy their life and having life outside of work in general not even for goddamn two seconds?  

[Before Today]

On 8/23/2022 at 9:21 PM, truthteller said:

abolish MBB first tbh 

 

On 8/23/2022 at 10:00 PM, pimmelfratze said:

Yes please. But these idiots will then move to the big four.

Okay what's the tea with MBB

[Before Today]

On 8/23/2022 at 9:42 PM, BlondGuts said:

Not me working at one of these …. 
 

Honestly idk … The tax side I guess is useful but the audit side is so crooked, I’ve heard nothing but horror stories both about the shady business practices (ie fraudulently certifying wrong financial statements or “overlooking” fraud just to maintain a client relationship bc it brings in big money to the firms’ partners) and the way that workers are treated … so if anything maybe abolish THAT 

Do you work in their audit & assurance division or their tax? And the bolded part couldn't be any more true  Which is why I'm for EITHER abolishing the Big Four (which is unlikely) and leave the external audit services to the government OR separate their audit and consulting divisions under different distinct branding and business entity. We all see the idea of presenting yourself as a reliable independent auditor who also advices the same company is shady from miles away.

[Before Today]

On 8/23/2022 at 11:02 PM, Babydoll. said:

I work at one of these. They're always under scrutiny and largely don't care because fines don't really do much to them financially. The fines are more like a slap on the back of the hand.

 

Also, damage to reputation doesn't really matter. The largest companies need to be audited by these huge big four firms because the smaller firms simply don't have the experience with the client nor the resourcing. No matter what, according to law, they need the audit. So why not go with the firms they know can handle big business and have dealt with them for the past 5-10 years lol.

 

Obviously there are exceptional circumstances like the Guptas lol, but even still, the big four aren't exactly crippled by these instances.

 

I guess for us "normal people" i.e. not partners or directors, the main concern is the working conditions. I've heard so many horror stories from rival firms and a lot of them transfer to the one I work at because its not as bad (it still can be bad lmao).

 

aaaaaand deloitte just announced a massive audit hiring drive, ALL the big four are doing this due to new regulations and to combat high turnover rates. So long as there are graduates who need to pay rent, need experience and need a career springboard, the big four will remain desirable 

Lmg your firm is the four-word audit firm?