January 12, 2015, 11:48 P.M. ET
Disentangling Chaebol Isn’t Easy: Hyundai Glovis Block Sale Fails
By Shuli Ren
Chairman of Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo and its only son Chung Eui-sun failed to sellaround $1.25 billion of shares in the car group’s logistics arm Hyundai Glovis (086280.KW), despite a substantially discounted offer price. Continue reading
http://www.businessinsider.sg/chinas-offshore-money-circles-2015-1/
http://www.icij.org/offshore/leaked-records-reveal-offshore-holdings-chinas-elite
Here’s The Who’s Who In China’s Offshore Tax Havens
THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY FINANCE JAN. 14, 2015, 1:30 AM
While Chinese officials aren’t required to disclose their assets publicly, citizens have remained largely in the dark about the parallel economy that can allow the powerful and well-connected to avoid taxes and keep their dealings secret. By some estimates, between $1 trillion and $4 trillion in untraced assets have left the country since 2000. Continue reading
http://ww2.cfo.com/gaap-ifrs/2015/01/fasb-rids-income-statements-extraordinary-items/?
FASB Rids Income Statements of ‘Extraordinary Items’
FASB issues an accounting standards update that eliminates the “Extraordinary Items” classification.
January 13, 2015 | CFO.com | US
In accounting terms, could the effects of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 be called an “extraordinary and unusual” item, appropriate for separate reporting on corporate income statements? Continue reading
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/17/us-peregrine-wasendorf-idUSBRE88G16U20120917
Posted by Amy CHAN Wen Yi, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University
Peregrine Financial Group’s former Chief Executive Russell Wasendorf Sr. pleaded guilty on Monday to embezzling more than $100 million from customers of his futures brokerage, lying to regulators to cover his tracks, and mail fraud. Continue reading
Elusive Middle Ground in Punishment of White-Collar Criminals
JANUARY 12, 2015 3:27 PM January 12, 2015 3:27 pm 1 Comment
The punishment meted out to criminals convicted of white-collar crimes like fraud and tax evasion can seem confusing to the public. A low-level accountant once received nearly 25 years for inflating with the company’s revenue while a wealthy entrepreneur received probation for hiding millions of dollars in a secret Swiss bank account.
To help judges make decisions that don’t seem so arbitrary, federal sentencing guidelines are in place to provide a structure for determining an appropriate sentence. Judges have the final say about what punishment to give, yet even with the guidelines, there is persistent criticism that they need to be overhauled to better fit the crimes. Continue reading
Read this together with “Business Groups and Tunneling: Evidence from Private Securities Offerings by Korean Chaebols” (Link)
SEC, stock exchange to plug private placement loopholes
THE NATION January 13, 2015 1:00 am
THE STOCK EXCHANGE of Thailand and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking for ways to plug loopholes in regulations regarding private placements. SET president Kesara Manchusree said listed companies seeking to increase their capital had issued more shares through private placements (PP) last year, which was in line with the overall market situation. PP is a channel for listed firms to find strategic partners to help enhance their potential.
Regarding an observation that some firms had conducted many private placements geared towards the same groups of investors, Kesara said the SET had to consider whether such transactions were appropriate to the objective of enhancing the firms’ future potential.
“If so, the PP is all right and not unusual,” she said.
The SET and SEC are discussing ways to close loopholes to prevent retail investors from being taken advantage of, and putting them on an equal footing with public investors. Continue reading
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/94637dae-9a56-11e4-9602-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3OcnQegKC
Deloitte faces scrutiny over audit of collapsed aerospace group
Big Four accountant Deloitte to face disciplinary panel over audits of collapsed aircraft parts supplier Aero Inventory
Collapsed Aim business Aero Inventory supplied parts for aircraft engines
By Alan Tovey, Industry Editor
5:13PM GMT 12 Jan 2015
Accountancy firm Deloitte is to appear before the industry regulator over its role in events leading up to the collapse of Aero Inventory, an aircraft parts supplier.
The firm, one of the so-called ‘Big Four’ firms, audited the former Aim-listed darling’s books for the three years before the company went into administration in 2009, after lenders refused to support the business because of concerns about the valuation of its inventory. Continue reading
We are very honored to be able to invite the Senior Managing Director of FTI Consulting (FCN US, MV $1.5bn), a billion-dollar NYSE-listed global forensic consulting firm, as a guest speaker in our SMU classes in the Accounting Fraud in Asia course in Week 6, the week of 9th February. Over the years in the Asian capital jungles, the FTI people are amongst the few professionals whom I respect for their on-the-field expertise and thought leadership in the area of fraud and forensic investigation. I am sure that the talk will definitely make an impact for our SMU students who will learn not only invaluable lessons from the speaker’s knowledge and wisdom but also about FTI Consulting as their future choice of a long-term fulfilling career.
Posted by GOH Shu Qi, Year 3 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University
Read this together with “Investors rush to cash in shares linked to Ling family” (Link) and “Relationship Networks and Earnings Informativeness: Evidence from Corruption Cases” (Link).
China sentences state-owned firm chief to death for graft
11 Dec11:51 AM
[BEIJING] China has sentenced the head of a state-owned company to death for corruption involving nearly 400 million yuan (S$84.9 million), state media reported, in a rare instance of an official being condemned to die. Continue reading
Posted by Stephanie TAN Ming Min, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Business, Singapore Management University
Short-seller Block: Markets overvalued, even after sell-off
In the video, Muddy Waters founder, Carson Block, talks about his latest investment calls – specifically about how the stocks of Chinese lottery company, 500.com, should trade at a lower multiple due to the risk of accounting fraud especially with the way the company channels its funds. Following which, Block discusses why accounting fraud is so prevalent in China. Continue reading
AsianExtractor: Unearthing Accounting Fraud in Asia 