Accenture CEO Defends ESG

Julie Sweet defended ESG in an interview with Alan Murray. I interviewed Accenture CEO Julie Sweet at the Workday Rising event in Florida yesterday, and asked her, as I have others this week, about the political backlash against ESG being led by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. She made no apologies, saying her company’s focus on environmental and…

Accountants work to counter climate change | Accounting Today

Accounting groups are reacting to the latest reports about the accelerated pace of climate change as global warming reaches record levels. Against the backdrop of the United Nations’ 25th annual Conference of the Parties, or COP25, in Madrid, the International Federation of Accountants published a Point of View on climate action to highlight the role…

Francine McKenna: A tale of two SEC enforcement actions — Luckin Coffee and GE

Francine McKenna’s columns on The Dig are always thoughtful and informative. We particularly appreciate her comments on two last-minute settlements by the Trump/Clayton SEC. A week after it announced a $200 million settlement with GE for “disclosure failures,” the Securities and Exchange Commission settled with China’s Luckin Coffee for $180 million. “The Securities and Exchange…

German cabinet approves tougher oversight after Wirecard scandal | Reuters

The German cabinet passed a package of reforms to financial and accounting rules on Wednesday aimed at avoiding another Wirecard scandal amid criticism from opposition lawmakers who say the government’s measures do not go far enough. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the co-governing Social Democrats (SPD) agreed to extend the powers of the BaFin watchdog…

Our Audit of EY’s Apology for Wirecard Finds it Inadequate

Note use of passive voice and that faintest of excuses: it was really, really hard. Not acceptable when the auditor’s primary job is to verify the company’s accounts, and that included detecting fraud. “Many people believe that the fraud at Wirecard should have been detected earlier and we fully understand that,” Mr Di Sibio wrote…

SEC Report: U.S. Investors’ Exposure to Domestic Chinese Issuers

The accounting fraud at Lukin Coffee is just the latest reason to raise concerns about investment risks in Chinese companies. The SEC has issued a new report that includes the exposure of the biggest pension funds in the UA. Excerpts here (footnotes omitted), full report below. More than 150 China-based companies with a combined market…