When PW's concerns failed to move the Bank
Article Abstract:
A report issued by Lord Justice Bingham on the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA (BCCI) has shed light into the role Price Waterhouse (PW) played in the run-up to BCCI's collapse in Jul 1991. The Bingham report, released 16 months after the closure of BCCI, exonerates PW from charges that it was negligent in its duties as auditors of the failed banking group. The report confirms the veracity of the position long held by PW that it had, between Feb 1990 and Oct 1990, warned an apparently unworried Bank of England of the possibility that BCCI had committed fraud. The Bingham report, however, does not entirely vindicate PW's claims. Among others, it criticizes PW for not being vigorous enough in conveying to the Bank of England its concerns about the irregularities uncovered in the audit of BCCI's financial statements for 1988 and 1989.
Publication Name: Accountancy
Subject: Business
ISSN: 0001-4664
Year: 1992
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Liquidators and pension schemes
Article Abstract:
Accountants specializing in bankruptcy may face the problem of determining who a pension fund surplus rightly belongs to, which typically arises from final salary schemes. A study by the Occupational Pensions Board concluded that determinations of the proper ownership of the surplus depends on the type of scheme being considered and the terms of the pension funds' documentation. The company may have an interest in a pension fund scheme, particularly in balance of cost pension schemes. Three main objectives of accountants facing a pension surplus in a firm that is being wound down are: winding down the scheme before closing down the company to prevent the government from receiving the surplus; recovering the maximum amount of money from the pension fund for the creditors; and preventing themselves from being sued for malpractice as concerns the pension fund.
Publication Name: Accountancy
Subject: Business
ISSN: 0001-4664
Year: 1991
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