- BDO Seidman
Infobox_Company
company_name = BDO Seidman, LLP
company_
company_type = Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
foundation = 1910 as Seidman & Seidman
location = Headquarters inChicago, Illinois
num_employees = 2,200 as ofJune 30, 2005
industry =Accounting
Professional ServicesTax Consulting
products = Professional Services
revenue = $550 million USD (FY 2006)
CEO = Jack Weisbaum
Chairman of the Board = Wayne Kolins
homepage = http://www.bdo.comBDO Seidman, LLP is the United States arm of
BDO International , one of the largest accounting firms outside of theBig Four .History
BDO Seidman, LLP was founded as Seidman and Seidman in New York City in 1910 by Maximillian L. Seidman. At that time the accounting profession was in its infancy, with fewer than 2,200 practicing CPAs in the United States. Shortly thereafter in 1913, the 16th amendment of the Constitution allowed income tax to be levied on individual Americans for the first time. M. L. Seidman saw the potential of the accountant's role to provide tax services to individuals. By 1917, Congress enacted the first revenue bills and the U.S. entry into World War I created the need for corporate income and excess profit taxes. At the same time, federal spending rose to $18.9 billion with 58 percent of the federal revenues provided from income taxes. M.L. Seidman and his siblings, who joined him in his new accounting firm, seized the opportunity to provide tax services to businesses in addition to individuals.
Expansion
An era of expansion began. Fostered by the federal government's conversion of furniture and woodworking companies to aircraft production for the war effort, the firm opened an office in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1917. Seidman and Seidman quickly established itself as a leader in serving the furniture industry by developing the first effective furniture plant costing system. Today, BDO Seidman's Furniture Industry practice remains in the industry.
In 1920, the firm rapidly expanded, opening offices in Jamestown, and Rockford, Illinois, followed by Chicago, Illinois in 1921, and Gardner, Massachusetts in 1924. In 1922, J.S. Seidman joined the firm as a founding member.
The 1930s brought another new beginning for the accounting profession. In 1933, Congress passed the Securities Act, requiring public corporations to have financial statements included in registration statements and periodic reports reported on by independent CPAs. A year later, the Securities and Exchange Commission was created to administer the new legislation.
Development of the National Firm
The firm continued to grow and by the 1960s, truly became a national firm. On April 1, 1968 the firm was converted into a national general partnership. This marked the beginning of a new era of expansion. Over the years to the present, the firm established many offices throughout the United States.
Present
Today, BDO Seidman, LLP has more than 30 offices and 300 independent alliance locations nationwide. During this timeframe,
BDO International , was created and has grown to become the fifth largest accounting and consulting organization in the world with more than 600 member firm offices in over 105 countries.Problems
Miami bank fraud - August 2007
"A jury on Tuesday ordered the accounting firm BDO Seidman to pay more than $351 million in punitive damages in a negligence case, bringing BDO’s potential liability in the case to roughly $521 million, an amount the chief executive said threatens its operations.
The bank also relied on later audits from BDO Seidman, which certified audits for E. S. Bankest accounts totaling some $225 million, of which only $5 million represented legitimate income, a Banco Espírito Santo lawyer, Steven Thomas, said." [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/business/15audit.html?ex=1344830400&en=7082faa161605e9c&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss]
DC tax scandal - November 2007
As of November 14, 2007, it is estimated that over 30 million dollars were scammed by tax officials since 1999. At the height of the scam, half of the property tax refund checks were fraudulent. The average legitimate check was less than $10,000 while the average scam check was over $300,000. "The scandal may also singe BDO Seidman, a private audit firm that gave Gandhi its seal of approval earlier this year. Its auditors were paid millions to go over the city’s books and gave Gandhi’s office an unqualified opinion." [http://www.examiner.com/a-1038178~Missing_tax_dollars_raise_eyebrows.html]
Monster.com option backdating scandal - 1997–2003
On December 13, 2006, Monster filed a $339.6 million restatement of its financial results from 1997–2005 related to intentional fraud in the company's stock option practices. While neither the firm's independent auditor, BDO Seidman, nor any of its employees or shareholders have been a named party in either civil or criminal litigation, the question remains, "Where were the auditors?". BDO auditors were provided falsified documents with incorrect option grant dates by Monster employees, but the lack of a complete set of records regarding the company's option grants could, and quite possibly should, have been discovered and identified as a major red flag at some point during the six-year period in which the backdating took place. As a result of the uncovered fraud, in 1999 and 2000 Monster reported a profit when, in fact, the company lost nearly $40 million.
External links
* [http://www.bdointernational.com/ BDO International]
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