Unethical practices of accountants
Name(s):
Fraudulent accounting
Embezzlement by accountants
Corrupt accountancy practices
Malpractice in accountancy
Illegal accounting practices
Incidence
In 1993 it was reported that the accountancy profession as a whole faced some 4,000 lawsuits involving $30-40 billion in claims. The major accounting firms estimate that over 10% of their revenue is spent on litigation. The collapse of BCCI for example led to claims of $8 billion claims against accounting firms.
Counter-claim
1. The onslaught of litigation against accounts is in large measure due to aggrieved parties seeking a financial remedy following the collapse of companies bankrupted by the recession. Accountants have become more and more intimately involved with their clients' affairs, thus when something goes wrong they are a natural target.
2. The accounting profession in the major countries is carrying a very unfair and significantly painful burden of paying for the commercial disappointments of the business community. Unless the trends are reversed, which would appear to require a change in the legal and social atmosphere, the point will be reached when the burdens become so extreme that they will not be able to be absorbed.
Broader
Narrower
Aggravated by
Value(s)
Type
(E) Emanations of other problems