In a major embarrassment for one particular CPA firm and all CPAs in general, last week a partner from one of the Big 4 firms was indicted for conspiracy to commit insider trading.
Mr. Scott London, formerly a partner with KPMG, was indicted by the US government and charged with insider trading by the SEC in the context of allegedly passing information about his clients to a buddy who allegedly traded on the info. He obtained that information as a part of his role as a senior level audit partner.
Several posts at my other blog, Attestation Update, talk about the story as it developed during the week. Here’s the posts in chronological order:
- Initial highlights of insider trading by KPMG partner
- KPMG partner indicted for insider trading. Indictment shows fiasco is far worse than shown in initial reports
- SEC files complaint against former KPMG partner
- KPMG partner arraigned – might plead guilty – hint on how to avoid jail time?
- Background articles emerging on KPMG insider trading fiasco
I’ve mentioned the front-page-of-the-newspaper-test as a way to help analyze ethical decisions. This case provides two illustrations: