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Friday Footnotes: Big 4 Affiliates Dinged; Deloitte Finds a New Niche; Furbabies Have a CPA to Thank | 8.23.19

When no other image will do, you get cuddly creatures

Accounting firm recovers Cryptopia records to help return funds to victims [Yahoo] Cryptopia hired the New Zealand-based arm of accounting firm Grant Thornton to sort out the mess. Today, the firm revealed that it got hold of the only remaining record of the funds held on the crypto exchange, which went into liquidation in May. That, of course, was key to figuring out how to proportionally divvy up the remaining funds to the exchange’s 900,000 customers, whose funds were frozen. Grant Thornton said the data is now held in a “safe non-hacked environment.”

PCAOB finds KPMG and PwC and affiliates lacking [economia] Another day, another deficiency.

Massachusetts Department of Revenue can withhold data on local marijuana tax distributions, state rules [Masslive] The Massachusetts Department of Revenue can refuse to release a city-by-city list of how local marijuana taxes are distributed when there are fewer than three stores in a municipality, the state Supervisor of Records has ruled.

PAWS gets $60K in donations from local CPA [The Daily World] A retired CPA used his IRA to help out some furbabies.

Failed Northern Rock is still making money for former auditor PwC [Quartz] In 2011, Britain’s House of Lords accused accounting firm PwC of “disturbing” complacency in failing to flag elements of Northern Rock’s “dangerously risky business model” when it was the bank’s auditor as it teetered during the global financial crisis.

Amid industry crackdown, U.K. audit firms evolving with the times [Compliance Week] According to the Financial Reporting Council’s first ever annual review of its enforcement activities, the past year has been an especially active one for sanctions against audit firms. The FRC said it issued £42.9 million (U.S. $52.6 million) in total fines for cases concluded in 2018-19, nearly triple the £15.5 million (U.S. $19 million) in fines issued over the same period last year.

Whistleblower gives House Dems evidence of “inappropriate” conduct on Trump tax returns [Salon] A federal employee turned over “credible” evidence to House Democrats of possible “inappropriate efforts to influence” the IRS presidential audit process, House lawyers said in a court filing Tuesday.

Deloitte China acquires Hong Kong architecture firm WCWP in nod to expansion in real estate, infrastructure advisory services [South China Morning Post] Deloitte China has acquired Hong Kong architecture firm WCWP International Limited for an undisclosed amount, in a deal described by an insider as “niche”, but one that points to a future where consultancy firms offer in-house real-estate advisory services as well. The acquisition will significantly enhance Deloitte’s advisory services in real estate, infrastructure and reorganisation, while WCWP will enjoy access to a wider market.