Another day, another accounting regulator criticizing the work of audit firms. This time the US watchdog has found unacceptable deficiencies in audits carried out by the Chinese arms of KPMG and PwC. It makes me think, if the audit watchdogs are so good at auditing audits, maybe they could just do the audits and save everyone from some very boring work.

The lowdown

• 🐶 US accounting watchdog finds unacceptable deficiencies in audits of US listed Chinese companies.

• 🧊 US inflation cools to 4.9%, slightly less than the 5% expected by the market.

• 🏯 Mubadala and Softbank close to $3 billion deal on sale of asset manager Fortress.

Flex your finance muscle

The SEC whistleblower program

The SEC whistleblower program was established under the Dodd-Frank Act to encourage individuals to report possible violations of securities laws to the SEC, and it just made someone very rich.

Whistleblowers who voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action yielding monetary sanctions of over $1 million are eligible for an award which can range from 10% to 30% of the money collected.

Last week, an individual received a staggering $279 million. The SEC announced that it had bestowed this record-breaking amount but did not identify the grass. Many are speculating ($).

Featured stories

BlackRock versus billionaire

Hedge fund billionaire Boaz Weinstein is challenging investment firm BlackRock over its ESG practices ($) – particularly the G part (which stands for governance if you have been living under a (black)rock).

Weinstein argues that BlackRock, despite championing corporate governance, is not adhering to its own standards and so his firm, Saba Capital Management, is seeking board seats on three BlackRock funds.

Weinstein criticizes BlackRock for practices such as staggered elections for trustees, allowing trustees to serve on multiple boards, and limiting the voting rights of some shareholders.

Sound familiar? Well, that’s because Weinstein tried the same move in 2019 without any luck.

The content we're consuming today

• WSJ: New York Times Names Will Bardeen CFO.

• ACQ2 podcast: Generative AI Moats in B2B with Emergence Capital’s Jake Saper.

• Bond Vigilantes: Tokyo Takeaways – Macro FMs in Japan.

Off-balance sheet items

• If you are not familiar with Hot Ones, it is a YouTube talk show which revolves around celebrities being interviewed while consuming chicken wings that progressively increase in spiciness. Here is the episode with Kieran Culkin.

The bottom line