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Accounting Fraud on the Stage Fails: Enron to Close Sunday

After mixed reviews, it seems that no combination of nostalgic accounting fraud, raptors in Brooks Brothers and former President Charles Logan could save Enron the musical.


The play will close Sunday, May 9th after 22 previews and 15 regular performances despite Stephen Kunken’s portrayal of Andy Fastow was nominated for a Tony.

Maybe the producers completely misjudged the interest of theatre-goers on this side of the Atlantic. Enron was a huge success in Britain where accountants get red carpets and trophies.

In the States they get on look at porn, support terrorism (allegedly!) and create awkward videos. There’s a disparity there.

Enron on Broadway to Close Sunday, May 9TH, 2010 [Broadway’s Best Shows]

Accountant Sets Bar for Idiotic Embezzlement Schemes

The snatch and grab and burn technique isn’t the most sophisticated plan we’ve read about but we are talking about a man who is an accountant first (we’re guessing a very bad one) and an extremely dimwitted criminal second:

An accountant faces seven years in jail after a court convicted him yesterday of deliberately setting fire to Dh250,000 in cash and stealing a similar amount from the taxi company where he worked.


Why this particular accountant-cum-thief decided half the money wasn’t worth his trouble is unclear but what is CRYSTAL is that setting the remainder on fire was the equivalent of writing “I’M EMBEZZLING FUNDS” with a Sharpie™ across the cash ledger.

According to the arraignment sheet, prosecutors said [the accused] deliberately set fire to the money bag which contained Dh500,000. He burned Dh250,000 and stole the rest.

He was also charged with causing intentional damage and financial loss to the company. The company’s Indian manager testified that one of the employees informed him over the phone that the accounting office was on fire.

“I rushed to the company’s premises to check what happened. We had left nearly half a million dirhams in a money bag which we kept inside a wooden cupboard. The money was our drivers’ daily revenues. I discovered that half of the money got stolen and the remaining half was burned,” the manager told prosecutors.

But to be fair to our asshat accountant du jour, “a money bag which we kept inside a wooden cupboard” isn’t the most secure internal control procedure we’ve ever heard of. Let this be a lesson.

Another Top Ten Diversity Ranking for the Big 4; This Time for a Price

Diversity Inc. ran a post this week highlighting Ernst & Young’s recruiting efforts with regards to increasing its diversity numbers. Specifically touching on EY’s Discover Tax Program, the essence behind Diversity’s article revolved around how EY (like its competitors) have established programs in place to both actively recruit Black and Latino students as well as break the stigma oftentimes placed on accountants by the media and society (i.e. nerdy white guys). What it ignored was the money these programs are costing firms.

It’s no secret that the Big 4 are out to recruit the best and brightest. Caleb has hit home the fact that the same firms are ranking whores as well. But why do the firms have separate programs aimed directly at minority-represented societal cross sections?

Because the numbers are abysmal.


Latino in America cut through recent U.S. Census data to realize that, although roughly one in three Americans is a minority, only 8% of the CPA profession is represented by minorities:

• 4% Asian/Pacific Islander
• 3% Latino
• 1% African American

Increasing diversity from the campus level is an uphill battle. Internal programs and recruitment efforts can can only reach so far (and they’re expensive). For the sake of not sacrificing quality workmanship, the reality is there are simply not enough minority accounting students in the market. Supply and demand, people.

In steps INROADS.

INROADS is, for all intents and purposes, a global internship placement company for minority students. Companies pay a premium for an opportunity to hire the candidates that the INROADS organization hand selects. Their website states the following:

There are three keys to success for INROADS students: Selection, Education & Training, and Performance. For over three decades, INROADS has helped businesses gain greater access to diverse talent through continuous leadership development of outstanding ethnically diverse students and placement of those students in internships at many of North America’s top corporations, firms and organizations.

A quick glance at their top ten client listing and four very familiar names will jump out to you. According to the website, the Big 4 are the current employers of more than 375 INROADS interns. These are not staggering numbers by any means, but it is clear that the firms are in fact shelling out money to make the workplace more diverse.

You might even be asking yourself, “What’s a few thousand dollars to recruit two additional minority students to my office?” Well, after an increase in an office’s diversity percentage, it most likely results in someone’s personal payday come performance review season. Oh, and the firm looks great on paper.