Things that make you go, "Huh?"
Former KPMG Partner Scott London to Hold CPE-Eligible Webcast on Ethics Before He Goes to Prison for Insider Trading
Remember the KPMG scandal from about a year ago? If not, the short is: Senior partner at one of the world's biggest accounting firms was busted for giving his golf buddy inside information about two companies. The friend then traded stock in those companies, making half a million bucks and gave the accountant friends "gifts," like $25,000 in cash, a Rolex, etc... you know- things we all give our inside trading buddies.
He is going to federal "Martha Stewart" prison for about 14 months, starting in July, but before then, he's taking part in a webcast on "Ethics in Accounting."
Before he goes to jail the fallen financier is going to be the key guest in a CPE-eligible webcast on accounting ethics. The event, scheduled for June 27 at 9:00 am ET, will be hosted by former NASBA chair Gaylen Hansen. NASBA is the governing authority for continuing professional education requirements for the accounting profession.
To his credit, he pleaded guilty almost immediately and took the blame and did the whole atonement thing. He seems truly penitent. And the webcast is mostly about telling his fellow professionals not to do what he did... that the consequences are really crappy.
"What i did was clearly wrong, and I take full responsibility. However, this is a subject matter that unfortunately may be very prevalent with people who have access to confidential company information, but it's difficult to catch people doing. Even seemingly innocuous conversations with a good friend can lead a person to be tempted and think they won't get caught. I hope that my story can help prevent others from crossing the line."
Hope he can do some good. But in his own words, it's probably so common and most who do it don't get caught.