Unethical practices of accountants

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

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.

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.