Crooked accountants at PwC, EY “complicit” in Thomas Cook collapse – FT

KPMG put the spotlight on the deep corruption that has infected the accounting industry, with its professionals involved in every major global money scandal you care to mention – from FIFA racketeering to state capture in South Africa. But Dodgy Accounting isn't only a game that KPMG auditors play. The latest corporate collapse demonstrates that KPMG rivals PwC and EY are of the same ilk. The Thomas Cook collapse, which cost thousands of jobs around the world and left many passengers stranded as their holidays evaporated into thin air, is the latest case to raise questions about the true worth of accountants in a modern economy. The Big Four have inveigled their way into commanding huge fees for watching over the books of big businesses. But, behind the facade of smart offices lies a seedy tale of highly educated, and greedy individuals cooking books to keep their paymasters, and themselves, happy at the expense of other stakeholders, including unsuspecting minority shareholders, service providers and employees. The FT puts the spotlight on the latest scandal involving accounting giants. – Jackie Cameron

By Thulasizwe Sithole

British Members of Parliament say accountants working for two of the world's biggest professional services firms are partly to blame for the collapse of travel group Thomas Cook.

Thomas Cook, a global brand that appeared to be too big to fail, collapsed suddenly last month, leaving hundreds of thousands of people stranded.

The Financial Times reports that MPs have accused two of the UK's Big Four accounting groups of being "complicit" in the failure of Thomas Cook, slamming one, the travel group's former auditor PwC, over an alleged conflict of interest in its pay advice to executives.

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