The dawn of the audit bro

Shout if you’ve heard this one before: a CPA and an MD walk into a bar. The MD says, “Plz Fix,” and the CPA says, “sure, but I’ll need three forms of ID and an engagement letter first.” In response to which the MD, of course, literally explodes.

Not heard it? Well you may soon, because private equity ownership of auditing firms is causing concern in the wake of deals like the New Mountain Capital acquisition of Grant Thornton earlier this year.

In this week’s episode of Cloud 9fin, our LevFin editor David Bell and senior reporter Sasha Padbidri look into this rising trend and how it’s being received by the debt market.

Then, Sasha speaks to Dr Steven Mintz, a professor of accounting at California Polytechnic State University, author of two books and a popular blog Ethics Sage. They talk about how the entrance of PE into the audit business is sparking concerns both new and familiar.