jan 1, 1997 - Background
Description:
Starting in 1998 and continuing until 2005, KPMG officials, executives, and employees created and distributed fraudulent tax shelters which allowed themselves and other wealthy Americans to evade a total of over 1.4 billion dollars in taxes. Approximately 19 people have been identified to be involved in the scandal, 17 of which work for KPMG. Accountants were necessary in solving the case as the tax fraud was largely accomplished by creating fake deficits and investments, things that would require accountants in order to detect and solve. The people that were running, creating, and distributing the shelters had a very large amount of money and power that they could and would use to pressure or bribe accountants in order to get away with their misdeeds. In order to solve such a case, accountants would need to be tenacious, and be able to withstand outside pressure from the company they are investigating. They would need to be good with numbers, in order to see the smallest differences in investments, profits and deficits requires a keen eye that is able to see into the numbers and statistics. Finally, an accountant would have to be clever, they have be one step ahead of the people who were trying to get away with the fraud and to do that, one needs to be clever. If I were to take on the KPMG case, the hardest thing would be the pressure from the company I was investigating and the people who don't want to get caught. The most rewarding thing would be the satisfaction of finally finding the little detail that brings down the entire scandal and solves the case.
Added to timeline:
How KPMG evaded over 1.5 billion dollars in taxes
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