Do you know who audits your investment fund?
The collapse of the Bernie Madoff $50 billion "exclusive" investment fund has called into question the depth of investigating which investors, charities, hedge funds and investment advisers carryout when looking at investment schemes. It now turns out that even though there were seven funds, all with recognised auditors attached, the vast majority of the funds in question were actually held through Madoff Securities and audited by one accountant and a secretary in Florida.
The "accountancy firm" is currently under investigation by the US authorities amid claims that there are irregularities with the paperwork. There are also calls for the SEC to disclose exactly what it knew about the investment fund which was hardly kept under wraps and very popular with many influential investors. The fact that $50 billion has effectively been lost after the collapse will blow a further hole in the US rescue package and seriously impact upon consumer and investor confidence.
It is rumoured that there are a number of UK banks who have taken substantial hits with Royal Bank of Scotland said to be the worst affected with figures yet to be confirmed. Whether the UK government will now need to step in again and assist the banking sector remains to be seen but at this moment in time it seems to be one step forward and two steps back.
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