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Accounting News Roundup: Tyco CFO Feels Entitled; Tax Cheat Trolls; Munch’s Tax Rants | 05.08.12

Yahoo Employees Are 'LIVID' Over Thompson's Resume Scandal [BI]
Exhibit A: "This douchebag comes in, brings with him his useless cronies from PayPal (btw, *not* a single good word about his tenure at PayPal from anyone who touched him there), sets up shop with Boston Consulting Group, lays off 2,000 people, but worst of all, gets rid of all QA and Product Mgmt people — doesn't lay them off, but puts them on various transition plans, ranging from 3 to 12 mos.  Why? Because he's a cheap scumbag, and if they bolt before their transition is over, they lose all severance.   Now, it turns out he's a lying motherf***er???  I say build a guillotine in the courtyard of Blgds A and D and chop his head off."  

Inquiry Ordered of SEC Watchdog [WSJ]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered an independent inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct by current and former staff working for its office of the inspector general, according to a person familiar with the matter. The complaint includes allegations that the misconduct compromised certain investigations of the SEC, according to the person familiar with the situation. John Nester, an SEC spokesman, said that "an individual has raised allegations of misconduct by former and current employees in the Office of Inspector General." The matter was "promptly referred" to the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, which deals with noncriminal complaints against agency watchdogs, Mr. Nester added in a statement.
 
Science Reveals Why We Brag So Much [WSJ]
About 40% of everyday speech is devoted to telling others about what we feel or think. Now, through five brain imaging and behavioral experiments, Harvard University neuroscientists have uncovered the reason: It feels so rewarding, at the level of brain cells and synapses, that we can't help sharing our thoughts. "Self-disclosure is extra rewarding," said Harvard neuroscientist Diana Tamir, who conducted the experiments with Harvard colleague Jason Mitchell. Their findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "People were even willing to forgo money in order to talk about themselves," Ms. Tamir said.
 
Convicted former CFO seeks $60 million from Tyco [Reuters]
Former Tyco International Chief Financial Officer Mark Swartz, who is serving a prison sentence for looting the company, has sued for $60 million in retirement and other money he says he is owed. The lawsuit, which was made public on Monday, accuses Tyco of breach of contract and unjust enrichment for not paying him some $48 million from an executive retirement agreement, $9 million in reimbursement for New York taxes, and other money. "We know of no basis on which Swartz could recover from the company," Tyco spokesman Paul Fitzhenry said in an email, although the company had not yet been served with the complaint.

Tax Cheats Troll Public List for Dead Kids’ Identities [Bloomberg]
Benny Watters, 5, died of a brain tumor in September 2010. Ten months later, when his parents sought to file their taxes and claim him as a dependent, they found that an identity thief already had done so, using government data about Benny’s death on a fraudulent return. “It was almost like somebody had stolen him from us,” said his mother, Lisa Watters of Lake Forest, Illinois, who described in an interview how she quickly found the data needed to co-opt her dead son’s identity on the Internet. “It’s just so easy, and I don’t know what purpose it serves.”

 
Don't Gag on Zagg [GOA]
The Grumpies appear to have hit a nerve with this one.
 
On Becoming a Big 4 Audit Partner [FraudFiles]
And yet another opinion.
 
Was ‘The Scream’ Inspired by Munch’s Tax Return? [WSJ]
No. But it doesn't sound like he cared much for taxes.

 

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