http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/business/sec-wants-the-sinners-to-own-up.html?ref=business

S.E.C. Wants the Sinners to Own Up

MARCH 14, 2015

Mary Jo White, the S.E.C. chairwoman, in 2014. Under her leadership, the agency has undergone a shift in policy to require more companies and individuals to admit to misconduct as part of a settlement. CreditAlex Wong/Getty Images

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON

For decades, the Securities and Exchange Commission has allowed companies and individuals to make settlements without admitting any wrongdoing. Even a company committing an egregious sin that cost investors millions of dollars could walk away from the proceedings without ever acknowledging its role. Continue reading →

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertbowman/2014/04/16/companies-are-failing-to-detect-financial-fraud-in-supply-chains-deloitte/2/

Posted by Hannah YAP Qing, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

Robert BowmanContributor

LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION 4/16/2014 @ 5:59PM 6,353 views

Companies Are Failing to Detect Financial Fraud in Supply Chains: Deloitte

A surprising number of business executives are leaving their supply chains vulnerable to financial fraud, according to a new study by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services. Continue reading →

http://www.forbes.com/sites/riskmap/2015/02/12/behind-chinas-corruption-crackdown-whistleblowers/

Posted by KOH Ngiap Hao, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

A top concern for most multinational companies doing business in China the last year has been the Chinese government’s dogged crackdown against corruption. Ask CEOs in China what wakes them at 2 a.m. in a cold sweat and their answer is simple: the dreaded “dawn raid.” What is less widely known is the outsized role that whistleblowers have played. Almost every major fraud or corruption crisis faced by multinational companies in the past year kicked off because of a whistleblower allegation. According to Chinese officials, four out of every five anti-corruption investigations are initiated by whistleblowers. Often these are former and disgruntled employees, suppliers, distributors, consumers, scammers and competitors—some complaints are legitimate, others not. Continue reading →

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2011/06/14/accounting-scandals-galore-china-not-enron-bound/

Posted by WOO Jiacheng, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

China has always had its fair share of naysayers, but last week’s decision by one mid-sized Connecticut broker dealer to ban margin trading on Chinese equities has vindicated them. Is corporate China run by a bunch of CEOs like Kenneth Lay of the infamous Enron?

On June 8, Interactive Brokers told clients that it would not allow them to buy some Chinese stocks on margin. The news made it to CNBC. China equities underperformed its big emerging market peers, and the MSCI Emerging Markets index, over the next two days over accounting fears. The margin ban went into effect on Monday. Continue reading →

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/10/us-china-accounting-enforcement-idUSTRE7692I820110710

Posted by WOO Jiacheng, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

Alarmed by widening accounting debacles at U.S.-listed Chinese companies, American regulators are scrambling to stem the damage from gaps in laws adopted to protect investors after the Enron scandal a decade ago.

U.S. investors had risked billions of dollars on hundreds of companies based in China – under a belief they were subject to U.S. rules when they sell and list shares in the United States – but a lot of that money has gone up in smoke.

The accounting blowups have humbled some prominent American investors such as top hedge fund manager John Paulson and former AIG CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, spawned lawsuits and prompted a broad investigation by U.S. regulators. Continue reading →

http://blogs.wsj.com/cfo/2015/03/13/avolon-cfo-untangling-new-lease-accounting-rules/

March 13, 2015, 2:44 AM ET

Avolon CFO: Untangling New Lease Accounting Rules

NOELLE KNOX

Editor, CFO Journal

Avolon Holdings Ltd.AVOL +0.42%, a global aircraft-leasing company based in Ireland, went public in December on the New York Stock Exchange and had its first quarterly conference call last week. U.S. accounting regulators are debating sweeping changes for long-term capital leases, and CFO Journal Editor Noelle Knox spoke at length about the ramifications with Avolon Chief Financial Officer Andy Cronin. Here is an edited excerpt:

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is evaluating how to change standards for lease accounting. Will the variations between U.S. and international standards be a challenge to manage? Continue reading →

http://www.businessinsider.sg/bre-x-6-billion-gold-fraud-indonesia-2014-10/?op=1#.VQK62NKUdGM

Posted by Idu Inu Yati, Year 3 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

In 1993, a prospector named Michael de Guzman walked out of the jungles of Borneo with extraordinary news: he found gold.

This is according to MasterMinds, a Canadian true crime documentary television series produced by truTV.

For the next three years, de Guzman produced thousands of core samples riddled with gold. Canada’s CBC News has a detailed timeline of the events. Continue reading →

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/31bdc458-c74b-11e4-8e1f-00144feab7de.html#axzz3UFFEetSI

March 11, 2015 12:29 pm

Lawsuit targets investment ‘introducers’

Judith Evans

Investors in an unregulated oil scheme have alleged negligence in a lawsuit that they hope will establish the principle that “introducers” who informally endorse investments can be held responsible. Continue reading →

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-12/on-broker-rules-sec-falls-behind-labor-department

A Split Over Protecting Investors; The Labor Department is moving ahead of the SEC on broker rules

byDave MichaelsRobert Schmidt

1:23 AM SGT
March 13, 2015

The Obama administration wants the Department of Labor, which oversees employee savings plans such as 401(k)s, to propose sweeping regulations that would curb conflicts of interest among brokers who handle investments for people saving for retirement. The Securities and Exchange Commission has long considered imposing similar rules on all brokers but so far shows no sign of enacting them. Continue reading →

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-13/-catch-me-if-you-can-con-man-says-technology-makes-fraud-easier

‘Catch Me If You Can’ Con Man Says Technology Aids Fraud

bySuzi Ring

March 13, 2015

(Bloomberg) — Technology makes it a lot easier to cheat today, according to reformed con artist Frank Abagnale. The man who made $2.5 million in the 1960s as a teenager faking identities as an airline pilot, lawyer and doctor now works with the FBI and others on cybercrime. He even had a role in the investigation into last year’s JPMorgan Chase & Co. hack, he said in an interview this week near Trafalgar Square in London. Continue reading →