~ That’s it for us team. Have a great Thanksgiving! We’ll be back on Monday. That is, unless we get the locale for the PwC NYC feast tomorrow (pictures too).
Man Up When Called for Your Junk Pat-Down [Bloomberg]
You want your genitals left untouched or terrorists on your plane? You can’t have both.
Ireland Ushers In four Years Of Brutal Cuts, Tax Hikes [Dow Jones]
Will Irish eyes ever smile again?
UBS, Others Sued for $2 Billion Over Madoff Fraud [ABC News]
Irving Picard still has the most thankless job in the world.
CFOs Cool Their Heels [CFO]
Turnover is down for the second straight year.
Compliance costs rise for small business [CFOZone]
Sayeth the SBA.
Convicted felon hired to teach accounting at university in Missouri [AccountingWEB]
Lawmakers want IRS to make breastfeeding a medical expense [Healthwatch/The Hill]
Doug Shulman is being asked to reconsider the IRS’s anti-boobs stance.
Al-Qaeda Marching Band To Join Macy’s Parade After Incredible Audition [TO]
FYI – for those attending.
A CPA Outlook Index put together by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the University of North Carolina rose to its highest level since the third quarter of 2007 — before the recession took hold. That was largely due to a big jump in optimism over the U.S. economy, but the 1168 accountants surveyed were also felt better about their own firms and expect stronger sales, profits, spending and hiring. The survey was conducted between Feb. 9 and 24 — a period that captures the resignation of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, growing unrest in Libya and rising energy prices. That offers evidence that, thus far, the tremors in the Middle East and North Africa haven’t seriously unsettled U.S. businesses.
Possibly related – CBS had just suspended Two and a Half Men on February 24th, thus, this survey may not accurately reflect the effect this loss has had on our nation.
Seems like logical conclusion, right? Okay, it’s not the post office but yeesh, have you noticed the bitter Bob in the cubicle next to you? Is he approaching the breaking point? Busy season sucks after all and who knows when he’ll eventually crack:
Is our suggestion that accountants might be more likely to snap a little overblown? Maybe. But read this description from AccountingWEB before you blow us off:
You are sitting at your desk on a sunny Thursday afternoon. Your company is experiencing some hard times, and there have been layoffs company wide. A co-worker has been part of the layoffs, and is very distraught. The co-worker may have known layoffs were eminent, and thought it would never happen to them. All of a sudden, the co-worker pulls out a gun and starts shooting up the office!
Sound familiar? Of course! We imagine that someone throwing their 10-key at your head is more likely scenario but violence is violence. The article cites OSHA stating that 2 million people are victims of workplace violence every year but what’s even more exciting/troubling is the BLS survey that “70% of workplaces don’t have any type of violence prevention program in place.”
The solution? Training of course! AccountingWEB breaks it down like this:
• “Train managers and supervisors on how to detect the early warning signs of potential violence” – In other words, you know that guy who says ALOUD he’s thinking about punching the next person that asks him a stupid question? You should probably should have a word with him.
• “Tell employees that the firm wants to know about any threats or incidences, and that they are extremely serious about handling these problems.” – Naturally it helps if your company follows through on “serious about handling these problems” part. In other words, the guy swinging the sledge around should be tarred and feathered and then fired in front of the entire company. The proceedings should be broadcast internally for those that can’t attend in person. It’s simply not enough to fire the person. Public humiliation is imperative so people get the picture that this shit won’t be tolerated.
• “Implement a zero tolerance policy in the handbook relating to workplace violence” – And by zero tolerance, we’re talking no noogies, wedgies, open handed slaps, arm slugs, bloody knuckle contests or even berating someone to the point that they develop an eating disorder.
~ That’s it for us team. Have a great Thanksgiving! We’ll be back on Monday. That is, unless we get the locale for the PwC NYC feast tomorrow (pictures too).