The revelation that a partner at KPMG leaked privileged information to a “golfing buddy” for a few silver coins is not just another accounting scandal. A 29-year veteran of the accounting firm provided advance notices of client earnings releases and merger plans in exchange for more than $50,000 in cash and gifts, including a $12,000 Rolex watch. It would be easy to dismiss this event, given its minor monetary consequences relative to some of the auditing blunders of the past decade. But this event just may be a watershed.
Investors can view today’s global capital markets as secure only if they trust the financial statements issued by publicly traded companies. Fundamental to this is the belief that information provided by market participants is accurate, complete, and reliable. Accountants have been given the task of certifying this. Investors must, therefore, trust that public company auditors are not only knowledgeable and experienced, but also independent and possess the highest levels of integrity.
There is already mistrust of the profession. The auditors who allowed Enron to flatter their balance sheets have not been forgotten. Nor those who signed off on the infamous Lehman Brothers “Repo 105” accounting wheeze, which magically transformed loans into sales. Such cases cause one to wonder if our current levels of trust in the auditing profession may be too high.