Free Republic

The trial of nine defendants in the KPMG tax shelter case is due to get under way soon in New York. All nine-- eight former KPMG partners and one outside lawyer-- have pleaded not guilty, despite an admission of wrongdoing by the company and a pledge by KPMG to cooperate with the government.... KPMG's cooperation with the feds was part of the price it paid to avoid a threatened indictment of the firm as a whole. As Arthur Andersen learned the hard way, that would have been a death sentence. KPMG has also agreed to cut its former partners off...

KPMG avoided the fate of Arthur Andersen yesterday... over the marketing and sale of "abusive" tax shelters. But the price of survival was high. The accounting firm will pay $456 million in fines and restitution and has agreed to let a federal monitor look over its shoulder. At the same time, no fewer than eight former KPMG executives and an outside lawyer were indicted on conspiracy charges for designing and selling the shelters.... KPMG will survive this "deferred prosecution" by admitting wrongdoing. But it's easy to forget amid the righteous indignation over tax shelters with names like FLIP, BLIP, OPIS...