Joseph Berardino
Encyclopedia
Joseph F. Berardino (born 1950) is an American businessman, Certified Public Accountant
, and managing director at Alvarez & Marsal. Beradino was formerly managing partner and CEO of Arthur Andersen
and chairman and CEO of Profectus Bioscience.
Arthur Andersen
's New York
office in 1972 after graduating from the Fairfield University Dolan School of Business
with a B.S. in Accounting. He was admitted to the partnership in 1982, rising to head of Andersen's U.S. audit practice.
In 1998, then United States Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) Chairman Arthur Levitt
launched an attack on the auditing business. It was felt that accounting firms were conflicted by selling consulting services to the same companies whose books they were auditing. In 2000, Berardino negotiated a compromise with the SEC. Auditing and consulting fees would henceforth be disclosed. At Andersen, Berardino was admired for having negotiated this compromise, because a prohibition from signing consulting contracts with audit clients would have been very damaging to Andersen's business. Levitt praised Berardino's leadership in his book Take on the Street....
Berardino became Managing Partner - Chief Executive Officer of Andersen Worldwide (the governing body of Andersen's operations in 84 countries including 85,000 people) in January, 2001 shortly after its split with Andersen Consulting (Accenture). When Andersen's client Enron
declared bankruptcy
, Berardino appeared before Congress and announced a series of steps to improve Andersen and the accounting profession. In early 2002, when Andersen discovered that its auditors had been involved with shredding documents related to the Enron audit, Berardino disclosed this activity voluntarily to the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC. While in Tokyo meeting with Asia-Pacific partners in an attempt to keep the firm together, Berardino received the news that the U.S. Justice Department
was likely to indict the firm.
Berardino hired former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker
in February 2002 to create an independent oversight board and reform Andersen into a pure auditing business. On March 14, 2002, the Justice Department indicted Andersen for obstruction of justice based on the document shredding which took place.
Initially, the firm's 18-strong Board of Partners asked Berardino to stay on. He resigned on March 26, 2002, in the hope that Justice would reconsider the indictment. They did not, and Andersen was convicted of obstruction of justice
on June 15, 2002. By the end of August, it surrendered its licenses to audit public companies in the US.
In 2006, the Supreme Court of the U.S. overturned this conviction in a unanimous opinion. It was a symbolic victory for the defunct accounting firm.
, Maryland
up until January 24, 2008. Berardino continued with the company as a Director through 2010. He had joined the company as a Director in 2004.
Profectus Biosciences, Inc. is a biotechnology start-up that develops therapeutic and vaccine technologies intended to reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by viral diseases. The company’s near-term target is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). On the vaccine front, Profectus is trying to target HIV as it attempts to enter a cell. The company’s therapies aim to cool the body’s overheated immune system after it is infected with HIV. Profectus is a spin-off
from the Institute of Human Virology
and was created to commercialize its work.
.
In 2001, he received Fairfield University’s Beta Alpha Sigma Award, as well as a Doctor of Law, Honoras Causas, from the University of the East in the Philippines.
In 2004 Berardino was invested as a Knight of Malta.
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...
, and managing director at Alvarez & Marsal. Beradino was formerly managing partner and CEO of Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen LLP, based in Chicago, was once one of the "Big Five" accounting firms among PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and KPMG, providing auditing, tax, and consulting services to large corporations...
and chairman and CEO of Profectus Bioscience.
Arthur Andersen
Berardino joined the Big 5 accounting firmBig Four auditors
The Big Four are the four largest international professional services networks in accountancy and professional services, which handle the vast majority of audits for publicly traded companies as well as many private companies, creating an oligopoly in auditing large companies...
Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen LLP, based in Chicago, was once one of the "Big Five" accounting firms among PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and KPMG, providing auditing, tax, and consulting services to large corporations...
's New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
office in 1972 after graduating from the Fairfield University Dolan School of Business
Fairfield University Dolan School of Business
The Charles F. Dolan School of Business is a graduate and undergraduate business school and one of the professional schools of Fairfield University located in Fairfield, Connecticut...
with a B.S. in Accounting. He was admitted to the partnership in 1982, rising to head of Andersen's U.S. audit practice.
In 1998, then United States Securities and Exchange Commission
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is a federal agency which holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets in the United States...
(SEC) Chairman Arthur Levitt
Arthur Levitt
Arthur Levitt, Jr. was the twenty-fifth and longest-serving Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission from 1993 to 2001. Widely hailed as a champion of the individual investor, he has been criticized for not pushing for tougher accounting rules. Since May 2001 he has been...
launched an attack on the auditing business. It was felt that accounting firms were conflicted by selling consulting services to the same companies whose books they were auditing. In 2000, Berardino negotiated a compromise with the SEC. Auditing and consulting fees would henceforth be disclosed. At Andersen, Berardino was admired for having negotiated this compromise, because a prohibition from signing consulting contracts with audit clients would have been very damaging to Andersen's business. Levitt praised Berardino's leadership in his book Take on the Street....
Berardino became Managing Partner - Chief Executive Officer of Andersen Worldwide (the governing body of Andersen's operations in 84 countries including 85,000 people) in January, 2001 shortly after its split with Andersen Consulting (Accenture). When Andersen's client Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
declared bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, Berardino appeared before Congress and announced a series of steps to improve Andersen and the accounting profession. In early 2002, when Andersen discovered that its auditors had been involved with shredding documents related to the Enron audit, Berardino disclosed this activity voluntarily to the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC. While in Tokyo meeting with Asia-Pacific partners in an attempt to keep the firm together, Berardino received the news that the U.S. Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
was likely to indict the firm.
Berardino hired former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker
Paul Volcker
Paul Adolph Volcker, Jr. is an American economist. He was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve under United States Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan from August 1979 to August 1987. He is widely credited with ending the high levels of inflation seen in the United States in the 1970s and...
in February 2002 to create an independent oversight board and reform Andersen into a pure auditing business. On March 14, 2002, the Justice Department indicted Andersen for obstruction of justice based on the document shredding which took place.
Initially, the firm's 18-strong Board of Partners asked Berardino to stay on. He resigned on March 26, 2002, in the hope that Justice would reconsider the indictment. They did not, and Andersen was convicted of obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
on June 15, 2002. By the end of August, it surrendered its licenses to audit public companies in the US.
In 2006, the Supreme Court of the U.S. overturned this conviction in a unanimous opinion. It was a symbolic victory for the defunct accounting firm.
Profectus BioScience
He was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Profectus BioSciences in BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
up until January 24, 2008. Berardino continued with the company as a Director through 2010. He had joined the company as a Director in 2004.
Profectus Biosciences, Inc. is a biotechnology start-up that develops therapeutic and vaccine technologies intended to reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by viral diseases. The company’s near-term target is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). On the vaccine front, Profectus is trying to target HIV as it attempts to enter a cell. The company’s therapies aim to cool the body’s overheated immune system after it is infected with HIV. Profectus is a spin-off
Research spin-off
A research spin-off is a company that falls into at least one of the four following categories:#Companies that have an equity investment from a national library or university#Companies that license technology from a public research institute or university...
from the Institute of Human Virology
Institute of Human Virology
The Institute of Human Virology of the University of Maryland School of Medicine is a center in Baltimore City focusing on chronic viral diseases, most notably HIV/AIDS, and virally linked cancers...
and was created to commercialize its work.
Alvarez & Marsal
Berardino is currently a Managing Director (since 2008) in charge of the Eastern region in the Business Consulting practice at Alvarez & Marsal. He also coordinates its Financial Services industry practice globally. Based in New York, he brings more than three decades of executive leadership and board service experience to the firm.Affiliations
Berardino serves on the Boards of Directors of ValueVision Media (aka ShopNBC; NASDAQ:VVTV) since 2008 and Quiksilver (NYSE:ZQK) since 2011 and has served for eighteen years on the Board of Trustees of Fairfield UniversityFairfield University
Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master's level teaching-oriented university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, and today is one of 28 member institutions of the...
.
In 2001, he received Fairfield University’s Beta Alpha Sigma Award, as well as a Doctor of Law, Honoras Causas, from the University of the East in the Philippines.
In 2004 Berardino was invested as a Knight of Malta.