Monday, April 22, 2019

KPMG: “do as I say, not as I do” just check out Aldi

In the Soviet Union, capitalism triumphed over communism. In this country, capitalism triumphed over democracy. 
~Fran Lebowitz


Deepfake of democracies: Alan Dershowitz: Who won, who lost in Mueller report



It is extraordinary that the profit from Barnaby Joyce’s record payment for Australian water rights, an $80 million payment of taxpayers’ money, found its way to a company in the Cayman Islands which had been set up by Angus Taylor, a company at which Taylor had been a director for six years. Report by Michael West.
Heavenly Water Everywhere: Barnaby Joyce, Angus Taylor, Australia and the Caribbean



Quod ego dico, non quod ego faciam. That should be KPMG’s motto. Do what I say, not what I do. It has a ring to it, but more importantly, it goes to the heart of the firm’s business model: quae abscondam – hide stuff.

Check out this little beauty from the KPMG Twitter feed this week:


Gender diversity is one theme here. It is good to see a robust and balanced representation of women in the foreground of the photo … looking up at the five old blokes on the stage, but the thing which is perhaps surprising is that KPMG would have the gall to proselytise about transparency, let alone “Robust and balanced external reporting”.
The same might be said of all the Big Four accounting firms but as KPMG has kindly offered itself as an exemplar … well, what have we here, fresh from the world’s most expensive source of public information, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission? It is Aldi’s 2018 financial statements.
These accounts are the apogee of transparency, the very zenith of robustness.  Look no further than the Profit & Loss Statement for this large entity, Aldi Pty Ltd.

KPMG: “do as I say, not as I do” just check out Aldi