News / Bog
Grenke: More thoughts on Related Parties, Cash and the “Brink”-Problem
In our most recent blog post we have already given some first comments on the Viceroy-Grenke-case HERE. We think some more points are worth commenting, in particular to remind everybody that –…
Viceroy’s Grenke-Cash Accusations – rather unlikely that they are true!
Yesterday, short-seller Viceroy attacked MDax-listed leasing company Grenke AG (HERE). Today it raised some more allegations (HERE). One important point relates to the accusations of accounting…
IASB’s Financial Presentation Project: The EV/Equity Value Financial Analysis Problem
In 2019, the IASB issued an Exposure Draft: General Presentation and Disclosures in which the board laid out its proposals for a reorganisation particularly of the profit & loss statement…
What I have learnt for my little Beer Pub Business! The Wirecard Story so far (6)
Preface: This is just an educational explanation based on public press reports. It does not mirror my own analytical views, positions and findings. Please read the disclaimer at the end. First Act:…
Lessons from the Scandal: Three Weaknesses of IFRS – The Wirecard Story so far (5)
The Wirecard case provides a lot of lessons for analysts and investors. However, one aspect has not been discussed a lot so far. The question: Did all this happen despite our well-functioning…
Wirecard’s low Tax Rates as a Warning Sign? The Wirecard Story so far (4)
This problem can really bring a dishonest manager’s decision making process to a breaking point: Overstating revenues (and hence earnings) is one thing, but if you want to draw a complete and…
Gross Revenue Accounting – Audit is not Audit is not Audit! The Wirecard Story so far (3)
During the last days we got a lot of questions about what EY could have seen and what is beyond the detection horizon of regular auditors. This is why we want to shed some more light on Wirecard’s…
KPMG’s Special Investigation Report: The Wirecard-Story so far (2)
There is an old saying in financial statement analysis: A good balance sheet is mostly even better, and a bad balance sheet is mostly even worse in reality. The reason for this observation is that…
Wirecard’s Thrilla in Manila: The Story so far (1)
Thursday, 18 June 2020, marked the preliminary peak of the story of Wirecard, the German DAX-listed payment processing company. That day, auditing company Ernst & Young refused to sign-off the…
Coronavirus: Beware of the Hidden Fixed Costs in Inventory Accounting
It is not a big secret that fixed costs are the real ugly thing for companies in crisis. While leading to rather good effects in times of growing revenues it turns to the bad once revenues decline:…