Doing a client’s accounting work is a clear breach of SEC auditor independence rules, but accepting a ride in its private jet might not be.
That’s arguably the biggest takeaway, auditors say, from a high-profile retaliation lawsuit between a former PwC auditor and the Big Four accounting firm.
Mauro Botta is suing PwC LLP claiming he was fired after he filed a whistleblower complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That complaint alleges the firm had a too-cozy relationship with its Silicon Valley clients, allowing sloppy accounting and weak internal controls to persist.
Botta also claims that he was removed...