25th May 2011:

Twitter

I have never understood Twitter but, along with many in the UK and other countries, I was curious to know if the rumours I had heard of the name of the UK footballer who had a super injunction was correct (it was) and, as every news broadcast told us, this information was available on Twitter.  Whilst there, and given a comment I read in a magazine recently that you should do a ‘Google search’ on yourself every few months just to see what others will find out when they do such a search on you, I did a ‘Twitter search’ on myself – not expecting to find anything.  Imagine my surprise therefore when I found many references to my recent blog posting about the recent announcement by the UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

Most seemed to just link back to my blog but one went to a website with an article that started:

“Perpetual fusspot and BDO Global CEO Jeremy Newman has not been shy about how unfair he thinks the dominance of the Big 4 is. The majority of his blog posts are tagged ‘Global Accounting’ and several consist of bellyaching about Big 4 this and the Big 4 that.  Of course, since the mainstream media has finally picked up on the idea that the concentration of auditors could be a bit of a problem,...”  http://goingconcern.com/2011/05/jeremy-newman-would-prefer-if-the-big-4-would-just-allow-real-competition-but-regulatory-action-will-do-just-fine-thank-you/

Now call me sensitive, but I do not see myself as a “perpetual fusspot” or “bellyaching”- just someone raising a valid concern and one that has now been recognised by others, including the OFT but also the European Commission, MEPs, the UK’s House of Lords and many others, as being a potential issue.  I also don’t think the dominance of the Big 4 is “unfair” – I think it is a risk and not in the public interest.  And again this view is shared by others – including those who represent the public interest.

So, my apologies to anyone who thinks I come across as a “fusspot” or “bellyaching” – it is not my intention to do so; but rather to raise valid concerns that need a full and open discussion and require appropriate action to be taken.

 Global Accounting  Standards & Regulators  4 Comments May 25th, 2011