If there’s one thing CPA David Friehling really couldn’t stand, it was a cheater.
At least that’s what Bernie Madoff’s auditor-of-record says in a column he wrote for “The Trusted Professional,†the newsletter of the New York State Society of CPAs.
Here’s the entire column from April (at the NY CPA Society)
Cheating on Taxes Is Cheating Ourselves
By David Friehling, Rockland Chapter President
I assume we are all deep into tax season. I took a minute to step back the other day to think about what I was really doing: enabling our government to collect money. Government uses our funds to operate departments and services that support the common good. We are all provided with roads, street lights, defense and recreational opportunities. Some of us are also provided with various forms of assistance – and if not us, our elderly parents, or disabled friends and neighbors, etc.
When we see our clients and they ask us to stretch the truth, we are just cheating ourselves. Maybe we should remind our clients that in addition to upholding our ethical standards and keeping our professional license, we are a key part of a system that relies on us as citizens to pay our fair share of the tax burden to fund services that operate to the betterment of all of us. At the micro-level, here’s the potential trade-off-a bridge that is substandard versus an extra $500 in charitable donations on schedule A. The fact is that the answer to any concerns we may have about inefficiencies in government spending will not be met by nickel and diming the government’s allowance. In fact, any shortfall in revenue only comes back to bite us and our offspring as the deficit increases.
Find a moment to step back and look at the big picture. When those cliens who want to feel like they got one over on the government and ask you to stretch (or shrink) the numbers a little bit, remember not only your professional ethics and responsibilities, but your personal ones as a citizen of the United States. If nothing else, remember your basic math.
The Executive Committee is in the process of planning an all-day seminar for this summer covering some interesting topics. If any of our members has suggestions for future seminars or events, please contact any of our chapter officers.
Our golf committee has begun planning our annual golf outing. We are on course to provide our guests with a relaxing day of golf, including a delicious lunch and dinner. Please mark your calendars for May 5 at the New York Country Club. Hope to see you there.
One Response to “Madoff CPA: “Don’t Cheat!””
Chad Bordeaux
This is comical that he wrote this article. I am not sure if it was here or elsewhere, but I read somewhere that his firm was not even registered to do audits and that they had certified to the State Board that they did not do audits for something like 15 years (could be off a few years).