Maggie's Farm

I’ve always felt that I was a girl from the time I can first remember.
Tasha, 19

BKD ranks in the bottom half of all auditing companies in the United States, with reported revenue of $500 million. That compares to accounting leader Deloitte, LLP, which billed nearly $15 billion in revenue. BKD employs 1,523 professionals nationwide, while Deloitte has 64,884 professionals worldwide.

BKD has made news in other ways, however. It was indicted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation for “unprofessional conduct” and “gross negligence,” according to federal court documents

And the Public Company Oversight Accounting Board (PCOAB), the nation’s top federal oversight agency for American accounting firms, reported that BKD violated auditor independence rules over the years, which its inspectors reported as “significant deficiencies.”


BKD — which stands for founders Baird, Kurtz & Dobson — also has been hauled into court by unhappy clients who have charged it with “malpractice” and the manipulation of accounting books.

Leslie Lenkowsky, an expert in the practice of philanthropy at Indiana University and a director of the Philanthropy Roundtable, said he was surprised that the Clinton Foundation had not used one of the top accounting companies in the nation.

“You would think, as a protective measure, the Clinton’s would use only accountants of substantial reputation. Given the visibility of the Clinton’s, you’d think they would have one of the main accounting firms overseeing their books,” Lenkowsky told TheDCNF.

DC: How did they get away with not getting audited? Will any heads roll because of this?

CO: From 2001 through 2013, one key person within the IRS who oversaw tax-exempt charities, including Clinton entities, was Lois Lerner who left government service in disgrace following allegations, still being investigated, that she and other compatriots used the IRS to target conservative and Tea Party groups.

Lois Lerner and her allies likely also have the ability to influence regulators not to target charities with which they are politically allied.