It is an ill wind that blows no good. I see in a story in the FT yesterday that Aidan Birkett, of Deloitte, has been chosen as the chief restructuring officer at Dubai World.
Dubai World (DW) is an investment company that is essentialy a private contractor for the government of that Emirate, handling a portfolio of businesses for it. DW could cause quite a splash by defaulting on its debts, something that the relevant chunks of the world have worried about since November. Indeed, you might think that no good could come out of the failure of Dubai World with all it would imply.
But, then, Accountancy Age says this is a great opportunity for Birkett and Deloitte. Indeed, it "should provide Deloitte and Birkett with the kind of boost that Lehmans has given PwC – the latest count shows the administration has wracked up £150m in fees." For my fellow Americans, GBP£150m is about USD$232 million. That's how much PricewaterhouseCoopers has gotten on the Lehman deal?
It beats keeping the votes on Oscar nominees safe until some celebrity can get on stage to tear open the envelope.
As for the blow-by-blow on the restructuring, there is this.
Showing posts with label PricewaterhouseCoopers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PricewaterhouseCoopers. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
PwC is Out as Overstock's Auditor
A recent Form 8-K filed by Overstock.com, the internet retailer, says that the audit committee of the board has dismissed PricewaterhouseCoopers llc as the company's independent registered public accounting firm.
The form doesn't say much as to why they have parted ways, unless this counts: "In 2008 the Company and Audit Committee discussed with PwC the existence of a material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures...." Overstock has since concluded that it has "remediated" that material weakness as of December 31, 2008.
PwC has signed off on this account. "We agree with the statements concerning our firm in such Formn 8-K," it says in a brief statement attached as an exhibit to the Overstock filing.
Grant Thornton is stepping into the shoes of PwC now. Good luck to them.
A change in auditors can be a sign of underlying troubles. That is not an original observation of mine. It comes from, inter alia, the New York State Society of CPAs">.
I have, by the way, no position in any individual stock at all. My modest nest egg is invested in broad-based equity indexes. Furthermore, I am not now or ever giving stock advice. Anyone who makes investing decisions based on what they see in a blog is ... well ... presumptively imprudent.
My only previous mention of Overstock in this blog concerned the settlement of some litigation in which they were the plaintiff. You can find more discussion of this very intriguing company's history in my other blog.
So all I will say to conclude is that it is possible that in months to come the switch in auditors in March 2009 will be seen as a milestone.
The form doesn't say much as to why they have parted ways, unless this counts: "In 2008 the Company and Audit Committee discussed with PwC the existence of a material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures...." Overstock has since concluded that it has "remediated" that material weakness as of December 31, 2008.
PwC has signed off on this account. "We agree with the statements concerning our firm in such Formn 8-K," it says in a brief statement attached as an exhibit to the Overstock filing.
Grant Thornton is stepping into the shoes of PwC now. Good luck to them.
A change in auditors can be a sign of underlying troubles. That is not an original observation of mine. It comes from, inter alia, the New York State Society of CPAs">.
I have, by the way, no position in any individual stock at all. My modest nest egg is invested in broad-based equity indexes. Furthermore, I am not now or ever giving stock advice. Anyone who makes investing decisions based on what they see in a blog is ... well ... presumptively imprudent.
My only previous mention of Overstock in this blog concerned the settlement of some litigation in which they were the plaintiff. You can find more discussion of this very intriguing company's history in my other blog.
So all I will say to conclude is that it is possible that in months to come the switch in auditors in March 2009 will be seen as a milestone.
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