Employees from 'Big Four' accounting firms disown anti-Occupy Central ad [SCMP]
This probably isn't what the firms had in mind when they say they encourage open and honest communication: "Employees of the 'Big Four' accounting firms have responded to an anti-Occupy Central advertisement published by their bosses last week – with an ad of their own saying last week’s announcement does not represent their views. A quarter-page ad in Monday’s Apple Daily reads: 'Boss, your statement doesn’t represent our stance.' The Chinese characters for the first two words are in a much larger font – as they can also be used as an almost vulgar expression of anger in Cantonese, hinting at the strength of feeling behind the unusual public response. The ad’s creators called themselves a 'group of Big Four employees who love Hong Kong'."
The C.E.O. Is My Friend. So Back Off. [NYT]
Yeah! If they've disclosed the fact that we hobnob on the weekends, what more do you want? "The conventional wisdom holds that when you disclose personal ties, you create transparency and better governance. The experiment found that when social relationships were disclosed as part of director-independence regulations, board members didn’t toughen their oversight of their chief-executive pals. Rather, the directors went easier on the C.E.O., perhaps believing that they had done their duty by disclosing the relationship."
Accountants have itchy feet despite 5% pay rise [Accountancy Age]
Meanwhile, in the UK, pay increases haven't satisfied the accounting workforce: "Salaries increased by 4.3%, to £66,795 in 2013/14, while the average bonus was 17.5% (up from 17.2%). In addition, 53% of accountants received a bonus compared to 47% a year earlier. However, only 46% were satisfied with the pay, and 39% of respondents stating they would actively look for a new job in the coming 12 months."
Michigan Accountant Accused of Killing Boss Over Embezzlement [ABC]
If you're not up to speed on this one: Andy Brown is accused of murdering his boss, David Locey, after Locey confronted Brown about embezzling money from his firm.
Other than complaining that it is, "not cooperating and continues to not cooperate."
Well, this is awkward: "Although U.S. public companies were required to file their first conflict minerals disclosures earlier this month, a new government report shows that the U.S. Department of Commerce has not met its obligations with regard to new conflict minerals regulations. The department failed to meet a January 2013 deadline to compile a list of all smelters and refiners of conflict minerals known worldwide, according to a report to congressional committees published Thursday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)."
For the interns.
Singing about Wendy's pretzel buns.