McKenna to Debate GT's Bailey

The annual conference of the Ohio Region of the American Accounting Association is hosting a debate between Francine McKenna (journalist/commentator on the audit industry) and Andy Bailey (Grant Thornton).  It is scheduled for Friday, May 13, 2011, in Dublin (Columbus), Ohio.  Conference registration is $180 on site.

The topic of the debate is, “An Examination of the Audit Business Model.  Presumably, McKenna will talk about the flaws in the current audit model and the many problems that result, and Bailey will talk about the importance of the model and how audit forms function smoothly and effectively.

4:30 PM – 5:45 PM	Concurrent Session
	Panel 5 – An Examination of the Audit Business Model
	A critical examination of the function of the public accounting based audit model. Francine McKenna, Litigation Consultant Andy Bailey, Grant Thornton

As my readers know, I have been studying this topic for 25 years.  There is no theory in the accounting field that predicts that audits and auditors will serve the public interest IF companies are required to secure audits (whether they want them or not), are free to select the auditor they want, pay them for their opinion, and audit firms are large, can restrict competition and shareholder litigation.

Many industry observers have noticed the many instances when audit firms did not act in the public interest, and are asking what can be done to fix the audit model.  My response is that a new audit model needs to be developed.

But what will McKenna and Bailey say?  Presumably McKenna will say that the current model is seriously flawed (if not fatally), and has resulted in the current environment of auditors not serving the public interest.  Presumably Bailey will say that all is well in the auditing world, but can be even better if a few small tweaks are made.

I’ll be there, hanging on every word.  I hope to see you all there.

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Francine McKenna

Francine McKenna is a freelance writer with credits in the Financial Times, Accountancy Age, Accountancy Magazine, the FEI Blog, and various financial, media, and technology blogs. She also blogs at Forbes.com under the heading “Accounting Watchdog.” Her blog is occasionally reposted at the The Huffington Post and she had a weekly column at GoingConcern.com

Ms. McKenna has more than twenty-five years of experience in a range of industries in the consulting and professional services environment. McKenna directed the Y2K PMO for JP Morgan in Latin America and was the first female Managing Director for BearingPoint in Latin America, responsible for the Industrial, Automotive and Transportation practice. She was a RVP for Jefferson Wells/Manpower and a Director for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, auditing the PwC the firm itself. She held various positions in accounting and financial management prior to her career in professional

Ms. McKenna was recently named a finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Financial and Business Journalism in the online commentary and blogging category.

Francine has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Financial Times, Forbes, BusinessWeek, The Deal, The Times of London, the Guardian, and the Financial Chronicle (India) amongst many others. She has been profiled by accounting and social marketing/media sites. Her public speaking credits include private training, university teaching, and speeches for the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, and the Maryland Association of CPAs.

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Andrew Bailey

Andrew D. Bailey was appointed Senior Policy Advisor to the Grant Thornton National Public Policy and Strategy Group in September 2006.

From January 2004 to December 2005, Dr. Bailey was a Senior Officer of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), serving as the Deputy Chief Accountant in the Commission’s Office of the Chief Accountant. In this capacity, Dr. Bailey managed the day-to-day operations of the office, overseeing the accounting aspects of the resolution of registrant issues, rulemaking projects and private sector standard-setting efforts. Earlier, from August 2000 to July 2001, Dr. Bailey had served as an Academic Accounting Fellow in the SEC Office of the Chief Accountant.

Professor Bailey spent a long and distinguished career in academia, with numerous visiting professorships abroad, and culminating with his being named Emeritus Professor of Accountancy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Debit and credit – - David Albrecht