Without even counting any of the various contracts awarded to Halliburton and other administration-linked companies (which is a huge pile of abuse and corruption in itself), $12 billion was shipped in cash to Iraq to run the American Provisional Authority, the Bush Administration hand-picked auditors to oversee the spending (as is required by law). Except the auditors weren't actually accountants, they didn't have to bid for the contract, and $9 billion of the $12 billion is just "missing", while they apparently used an Excel spreadsheet to store the entire financial records.
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14681As for how much auditing NorthStar really did in Iraq, the missing billions provide the best answer. The company did have personnel in Baghdad, though how many, and for how long, and for what purpose, is not known--another point Howell declines to discuss. Under the terms of C.P.A. Regulation No. 2, signed by Bremer on June 15, 2003, money coming into Iraq was supposed to be tracked by an "independent certified public accounting firm." Howell was not a certified public accountant, nor were any of the people who worked for him.
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State records indicate that several companies operate from the house. ... Another company operating out of 5468 Soledad is called Kota Industries, Inc., whose stated business is the "sale of furniture, home furnishings, flooring," according to California records. Numerous business directories in the San Diego area ascribe similar activities to Kota, listing it as a remodeling, repairing, or restoration contractor. One directory describes its specialty as "kitchen, bathroom, basement remodeling." Again, the Howells are the only officers and directors.
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How did someone whose line of work includes home remodeling end up getting the contract to audit the billions being airlifted to Iraq?
http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=north_star_consultants_1October 2003: Contract to Audit CPA’s Expenditures Awarded to Unqualified Firm
North Star Consultants, Inc. wins a $1.4 million contract to review the Coalition Provisional Authority’s internal controls for managing Iraq’s funds and provide the CPA with a written evaluation. The small firm is not a certified public accounting firm as is required by both UN Security Council Resolution 1483 (see May 22, 2003) and the CPA’s Regulation Number 2 (see June 10, 2003).
A single Northstar employee will reportedly use spreadsheets, not accounting software, to track the $20 billion
Yeah, they got a multi-million dollar accounting contract and sent one non-accountant to keep track of up to $20 billion in infrastructure spending with an Excel spreadsheet as far as I can ascertain.
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