For faster navigation, this Iframe is preloading the Wikiwand page for McKesson and Robbins scandal.

McKesson and Robbins scandal

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The McKesson and Robbins scandal was a major financial scandal in 1938, involving McKesson and Robbins, Inc, now McKesson Corporation. It is widely considered one the largest financial scandals of the 20th century.

McKesson and Robbins was taken over in 1925 by Phillip Musica, who previously used Adelphia Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Company as a front for bootlegging operations. Musica, a twice-convicted felon, used assumed names to conceal his true identity in taking control of the two companies: Frank D. Costa at Adelphia Pharmaceutical and F. Donald Coster at McKesson and Robbins.

Although Musica was successful in expanding the company's legitimate business operations, he recruited three of his brothers, also working under assumed names, one outside the company and two inside it, to generate bogus sales documentation and to pay commissions to a shell distribution company under their control. McKesson and Robbins treasurer Julian Thompson discovered the distribution company was bogus. It was determined that about $20 million (about $335 million in 2017 dollars) of the $87 million in assets on the company's balance sheet were phony.

In December 1938, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) opened an investigation and Musica was arrested. After he was booked, fingerprinted, and released on bond, authorities realized that "Coster" was really Musica. His bond was revoked, and he committed suicide before he could be rearrested.

The McKesson and Robbins scandal led to major corporate governance and auditing reforms. The SEC required that public companies have audit committees of outside directors and that the appointment of auditors be approved by the shareholders. The American Institute of Accountants, now the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, adopted audit standards requiring that auditors verify accounts receivable and inventory.

References

[edit]
  • Chatfield, Michael. "McKesson and Robbins Case." In History of Accounting: An International Encyclopedia, edited by Michael Chatfield and Richard Vangermeersch. New York: Garland Publishing, 1996. pp. 409–410. Full-text
  • John C. Coffee, Gatekeepers: The Professions and Corporate Governance Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press (2006) ISBN 0-19-928809-7 pp. 139–140.
  • David Grayson Allen and Kathleen McDermott, Accounting for Success: A History of Price Waterhouse in America, 1890-1990 Boston: Harvard Business School Press (1993) ISBN 978-0-87584-328-5 pp. 75–83.
  • Paul M. Clikeman, "The Greatest Frauds of the (Last) Century," monograph, May 2003, http://www.newaccountantusa.com/newsFeat/wealthManagement/Clikeman_Greatest_Frauds.pdf (accessed March 15, 2008).
  • Jerry W. Markham, A Financial History of Modern U.S. Corporate Scandals: From Enron to Reform Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe (2006) ISBN 0-7656-1583-5, p. 171.
{{bottomLinkPreText}} {{bottomLinkText}}
McKesson and Robbins scandal
Listen to this article

This browser is not supported by Wikiwand :(
Wikiwand requires a browser with modern capabilities in order to provide you with the best reading experience.
Please download and use one of the following browsers:

This article was just edited, click to reload
This article has been deleted on Wikipedia (Why?)

Back to homepage

Please click Add in the dialog above
Please click Allow in the top-left corner,
then click Install Now in the dialog
Please click Open in the download dialog,
then click Install
Please click the "Downloads" icon in the Safari toolbar, open the first download in the list,
then click Install
{{::$root.activation.text}}

Install Wikiwand

Install on Chrome Install on Firefox
Don't forget to rate us

Tell your friends about Wikiwand!

Gmail Facebook Twitter Link

Enjoying Wikiwand?

Tell your friends and spread the love:
Share on Gmail Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Buffer

Our magic isn't perfect

You can help our automatic cover photo selection by reporting an unsuitable photo.

This photo is visually disturbing This photo is not a good choice

Thank you for helping!


Your input will affect cover photo selection, along with input from other users.

X

Get ready for Wikiwand 2.0 ๐ŸŽ‰! the new version arrives on September 1st! Don't want to wait?