Author: Adrienne Gonzalez

Adrienne is a 15-year veteran of the accounting industry, if by "veteran" you mean "vulture prowling the periphery of the profession waiting for something exciting to happen." She has been spewing vitriol on Going Concern since the site was founded in 2009. A former CPA review employee, she has sat through more FAR classes than any CPA exam candidate ever could -- even one who has failed FAR seven times -- and can still recall most of the mnemonics all these years later.

Five Questions With Feed the Pig’s Benjamin Bankes

It’s been quite some time since we brought you Five Questions as we’ve already asked just about everyone worth asking to participate. But we’ve got a serious bacon fetish and a penchant for saving our pennies, so when we got the chance to interrogate Feed the Pig’s Benjamin Bankes, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity.


In case you aren’t familiar with his work, BB is th��������������������f the AICPA’s Feed the Pig campaign, inspiring saving across the country through PSAs, tweets and other similar awareness campaigns. His people got in touch with us and sent his official bio thusly:

Although he comes from a long line of investment piggy bankers, Benjamin once toyed with the idea of playing professional football (he wanted to be the ball in a Super Bowl game). Once he realized he would have no life with that career, the idea quickly boared him. Then, he discovered the alarming state of personal finances in this country and Benjamin realized his true life’s mission.

Bankes attended Sowthwestern University, where this little piggy went to marketing classes. Though he has never been known as a party animal, he does enjoy the occasional mudslide. In addition to his sharp business sense, Benjamin is also a very talented fiction writer who goes under the pig-pen name of H.W. Hogfellow. Other interests include: long trots on the beach, watching television (his favorite show is Squeel of Fortune), viewing movies (favorite movie is Martin Boarsese’s epic, The Hogfather), and listening to music (favorite song is “Pigs Don’t Lie” by Shoatkira). Benjamin currently resides in the minds of 25 – 34 year-olds everywhere who need proper financial guidance.

Feed the Pig’s hard work is definitely working. According to a survey conducted by The Advertising Council:

Respondents who recalled seeing or hearing the Feed the Pig PSAs were more likely to claim they always take certain actions to save money, such as:
o Keeping a budget of their expenses (33% vs. 19%)
o Saving for long-term financial goals such as education, a house or retirement (30 vs. 18%)
o Bringing a bagged lunch to work and/or eat leftover meals (29% vs. 21%)
o Comparison shopping for the purchase of most items (49% vs. 23%)
o Increasing savings when they receive a salary increase (27% vs. 16%)

Respondents who recalled seeing or hearing the Feed the Pig PSAs were more likely than those who had not to report that in the past six months, they have taken action to learn more about managing their finances. Reported activities include:
o Discussing ways to save money with friends and family (84% vs. 67%)
o Visiting a website to get more information about how to save money (62% vs. 34%)
o Calling a toll-free number to get more information (32% vs. 4%)

Side note: this interviewer slipped an extra $20 in her piggy bank after writing this piece.

We’d like to say we sat down with Benjamin but good bacon would have gotten hurt in the process, so instead we caught up with him via email and asked all the sizzling questions we could come up with.

AG: Does it hurt having that slot in your head?

BB: Only when it’s empty.

AG: When we think of financial literacy we think of you but what are some other resources for those interested in learning how and why to save?

BB: Of course I recommend my website, www.feedthepig.org as well as another financial literacy website from AICPA, www.360financialliteracy.org. In addition the state CPA societies have wonderful financial literacy sites and offer programs in their communities. Here’s a sampling:

Texas Society of CPAs: http://www.valueyourmoney.org/
California Society of CPAs: http://www.calcpa.org/Content/Financial_Literacy.aspx
Virginia Society of CPAs: http://www.vscpa.com/Content/financial_fitness/default.aspx

AG: Do you read any accounting blogs and if so, which do you like?

BB: Do I sense a leading question? You’ve got to get up pretty early in the morning to pull one over on Benjamin Bankes.

AG: Fine, we won’t send you a FREE I heart Jr Deputy Accountant bumper sticker then. Moving on, even though financial literacy is important, we all deserve a splurge every now and then, especially if we are being diligent about saving our money. How do you splurge?

BB: I put ice cubes in my tap water.

AG: Sounds like you missed your calling, you would make a great CPA. Lastly, are you going to be visiting Capitol Hill any time soon? Seems like America as a whole has really embraced your message but Washington could really use your help. You can stay at my house to save a few bucks on a hotel room.

BB: I don’t have any trips planned right now, high gas prices and all, but follow me on Twitter (@feedthepig) and I’ll let you know when I’m there.

Conquering the CPA Exam, One Step at a Time

One of our favorite sources of CPA exam info, This Way to CPA, has put together a very helpful list of suggestions for candidates trying to conquer the CPA exam. Just a few of the tips (many of which we have shared with you here previously):

Know your strengths. Confidence is good, but so is honesty. Know where you’re good – and where you need to improve. From there, you can design a study plan that works harder for you.

Write out a plan. What are you going to study, how are you going to study, and when? Maybe it’s all in your head, but it can’t hurt to write it all out to make sure you stick to the plan.

Use the free stuff. You can spend a lot of money getting ready for the exam. Which is perfectly fine. But don’t overlook the totally free tutorials, sample exams and other tools provided by the AICPA. After all, we make the test.

Our favorite was “get a lucky charm or something,” which shows us that the AICPA is not above superstition. That probably should be taken as an admission that the exam is part crapshoot, part dedication but we’ll save postulating on that for another day.

For where to find the “free stuff,” check out our previous comments on the topic and get to clicking.

Head to This Way to CPA for the rest of the tips but remember that all candidates are not created equal. Some can do better with a study buddy or the support of like-minded individuals while others prefer to isolate and be miserable (or make others miserable with their miserableness).

Some of these tips may or may not apply to your personal needs, which can only be determined by you and not any CPA Review Swamis out there or random folk on the Internet who have never stared into your bitter little 10-key-pounding heart. So my first suggestion would be to look long and hard at your own personal needs before you go looking for ways to improve your experience and succeed.

The AICPA’s Note to Pissed Off CPA Exam Candidates on Scoring

The AICPA shared a note on Facebook the other day that was also shared by NASBA and brought up an interesting conversation full of frustration, anger and misunderstanding. The comments by candidates show how important it is to take information at face value and be sure you are not reading too much into what is shared by those who don’t have all the answers.

Before we get to that, let’s get to the note:

Thanks again to everyone who has been asking about the score release timelines. It’s an important topic and we appreciate the feedback. As a reminder, for anyone who hasn’t had the chance to visit our website, over the past year we ��������������������to state boards, scoring timeline FAQs, and provided an in-depth white paper describing how the Exam is scored, all available at the CPA Exam website. And if you’re interested in a refresher about the eligibility requirements, including the 18 month timeline and instructions for scheduling your Exam, the updated Candidate Bulletin from NASBA contains the information you need.

It also appears that there is some confusion about what it means to administer a “high stakes” test. For those of you who don’t know, the Uniform CPA Examination is a high stakes test. That means that there is a direct consequence of passing (or failing) the Exam – in our case, that consequence is meeting one of the requirements to obtain your CPA license. Becoming a licensed CPA carries with it legal authority, and an obligation to protect the public interest. That’s why the Exam must make valid, accurate assessments of examinees. The outcomes are too important.

Making those valid, accurate assessments is what this scoring process is really about. In high-stakes testing, any time an exam undergoes a major revision (as with the introduction of CBT-e), best practices dictate that scoring must be revised as well. That means that sufficient data needs to be aggregated for the required additional analyses (of both test questions and candidate performance) that must take place. This data must be taken from actual, operational exam results.

To our candidates, like you, this means that we have to acquire a sufficient sample size of actual exam results in order to perform the required analyses and score the exams properly. This process takes time and that’s why we are only able to release scores at the end of each window, for the time being. After three windows, we will have aggregated enough data so that additional analyses won’t be necessary, and scores can be processed on a rolling basis, and hence more frequently.

We hope this information provides the clarity that many of you are looking for. Thanks again for engaging in this conversation.

The AICPA was very clear long before the beginning of 2011 that scoring would be changing this year and has let us all in on its plan to accelerate the scoring process for the last window of the year. This information is freely available on the AICPA’s website and is digested here on Going Concern for those of you “too busy” to check for yourselves. But for many, this simply isn’t enough. Candidates who cut the 18 month window too close feel cheated and some are even expecting some sort of accommodation by the AICPA. What they seem to be missing is that even if they get their scores at the end of this month, they are not getting them any earlier or later than they could have under the Wave 1/Wave 2 scoring rules.

While many of us are in the business of helping candidates make sense of the wealth of CPA exam information out there, it is imperative to remember that some of what we do involves making educated guesses. Case in point, earlier this month Jeff Elliott at Another71 predicted scores would be out March 17th. Up until now, he’s been pretty dead on about score release dates so while there is no reason to believe he’d be wrong this time, it’s important to keep in mind that his score predictions are just that, predictions. He isn’t privy to information the rest of us aren’t, he has simply been doing this long enough to have a good sense of what to expect.

When March 17th came and went, candidates were outraged that they still didn’t have their scores. Some even took to NASBA’s Facebook page to complain. Said one candidate “A piece of advice for next time, don’t come out with this statement and expect us CPA candidates not to be frustrated and angry when you yourselves stated ALL SCORES would be released March 17th when you obviously knew that was never going to happen!”

But the AICPA never said that.

As of this morning, scores still haven’t been released and candidates are likely still pissed off that they were told March 17th but that isn’t the AICPA’s fault and it isn’t Jeff’s fault either. Such is the nature of the beast and surely candidates know going into this that anything can and will happen.

Do You Want Your CPA Filing Tax Returns From an iPad?

Technology is a beautiful thing. It makes our lives easier, including work. It gives us supremacy over our late-to-adopt friends and colleagues who are still stuck with clunky old company laptops. And apparently it makes it easier to lug around several devices than just sit at our desk with one. Somehow this is more convenient, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

Check out this revolutionary, wielding his iPad as a weapon in the war against April 15th 18th:

With the 2011 tax season in full swing, accountants and CPAs are searching for ways to save time and service geographically separated clients. A popular solution, QuickBooks hosting, allows for CPAs to securely access QuickBooks and client data remotely from any computer, phone or tablet with an internet connection. Recently, NovelASPect’s client, Scott Sanders, CPA, took QuickBooks hosting to the next level. Scott added his tax software to his QuickBooks hosting account on a NovelASPect virtual server. Using the Citrix receiver, Scott can now access his tax software from anywhere with his iPad. He then paired his iPad with his iPhone via Bluetooth to use the iPhone as a mouse for the iPad.

“Accessing my tax software and QuickBooks via my iPad has been a tremendous time saver,” says Scott Sanders. “Clients can review and sign their tax documents at their location. I can then efile the return with the government and email a copy of the tax return immediately to the client. I also have access to client financial information in Quickbooks anytime / anywhere.”

Quick question: can’t a laptop do the same exact thing?

Remember last June when 114,000 iPad user accounts were exposed by rogue Internet security group Goatse Security? Not to mention the fact that the iPad is not only a target of hacktivists looking to prove a point but also thieves who would love to get their hands on that overpriced toy you insist on playing with on the subway.

Here’s the issue I see with on-the-run tax preparers MacGyvering their iPads to shoot the data off to the client and then to the government from just about anywhere: WiFi is not always secure. We assume Scott Sanders knows a thing or two about protecting sensitive data if he’s knowledgeable enough to figure out how to use his iPhone as a mouse for his iPad (and what’s wrong with using a laptop and a, oh I don’t know, mouse?) but I would not want my tax preparer sending me my 1040 to sign; he can barely wash his grungy white dress shirt separate from his red socks.

I’m all for convenience but there’s a point when the work required to make it safe for all involved parties becomes inconvenient.

Free CPA Exam Resources for Candidates from the AICPA

Note from AG: We know it’s busy season and the last thing you’re thinking about is the exam but just in case you’re one of the lucky ones who has nothing else to do but sit for BEC for the fourth time and have a question for us, get in touch. I’ll cover anything from how to prepare to what to do on test day but sorry, I am not available to take the exam for you.

If you are a CPA exam candidate and haven’t, at a minimum, tried a quick Google search to gather everything you need to know to conquer the exam, you probably deserve the 50 you’re going to get when you bomb research, do simulations wrong or blow off multiple choice because you don’t realize that the exam is on a plus point basis. But for those of you who have done your due diligence and are still feeling a bit lost, This Way to CPA has put together a decent list of items you must check out.


First, the CPA Candidate Bulletin. This handbook covers everything from scheduling to application and includes contact information for the state boards of accountancy so you know who to pester when your application takes 10 weeks. This is a good place to start and a must-read for anyone even considering taking the exam. Reading through this will help you put together a framework of what to expect when you start testing, and will help you ask better questions when you start looking for a review course or additional guidance.

Second, while the actual content of the CPA exam is proprietary and guarded closer than the gold bars that may or may not be in Fort Knox, the AICPA publishes a comprehensive list of topics covered, and also gives you an estimate of how many of those types of questions will appear on your exam. Check out the Content and Skill Specification Outlines, which have always been readily available on the AICPA’s website, for this information as well as a breakdown of skills tested in the CPA exam.

Third, while most review course software is good practice, since the exam is property of the AICPA, no review course is allowed to copy the exam environment exactly. That’s where the tutorial comes in. You can do 5 practice questions (including sims) for each section and familiarize yourself with the exact exam environment as it will look when you take it. This way you aren’t thrown by that weird pencil icon and can practice flagging the many multiple choice you will probably have to go back and guess on. The AICPA recommends all candidates use the tutorial before exam day, no exceptions.

Enjoy!

Sir David Tweedie’s Patience Is Wearing Thin

He may be on his way out the door but still IASB chair David “that’s Sir David to you” Tweedie is still sick of all our heel-dragging on IFRS in the U.S. He hasn’t gone so far as to say we’ll be left in the capital market dust if we don’t adopt tomorrow but he’s clearly fed up with our procrastination.


Via CFO.com:

If they put off a commitment to international financial reporting standards beyond 2011, U.S. accounting rulemakers and standard-setters would impose “unnecessary costs and risks on U.S. companies,” Sir David Tweedie, chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, said Wednesday at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce gathering on the future of financial reporting.

The major risks are competitive ones, said Tweedie. U.S.-based multinationals already must fill numerous sets of accounting books. Many must file their financials under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles even as they report on the activities of their overseas subsidiaries under IFRS or the standards crafted by individual nations, he pointed out. At the same time, their foreign competitors can use IFRS for all purposes, even for filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he added.

As is, the transition to IFRS is estimated to cost American companies $35 million per year (remember 3 years of restatements will be required). We’re not sure if he has access to different estimates that somehow make qualified IFRS monkey restatements more expensive in 2012 and beyond than they would be by the end of this year but it seems painfully clear that he means business.

I’m not sure if he missed the memo but we don’t seem as enthusiastic about convergence as we did when we delayed the release of a roadmap in 2008. Three years later, we don’t appear to be any more prepared for the transition than we were then and still have three (or make that four) more good years to drag our heels according to recent statements by the SEC.

How much clearer does Tweeds need it? We’re just not that into your standards.

AICPA Updates Their 2011 Score Release Timeline

A few months back, we got a few moments with the AICPA examinations unit for insight on CBT-e and, most notably, the updated score release plan for this year.

Now it looks like the AICPA has updated their 2011 score release timeline with more details on changes to scoring later in the year, specifically an improvement that will allow them to release scores earlier for the October/November testing window which we first told you about in January. At that time, we were forbidden from telling you how frequently the AICPA wanted this to be but now that they’ve updated the FAQ, this information is all yours to enjoy:

Q. When can I expect to receive my scores after October 2011?

A. During the 2006-2010 testing windows , candidate scores were released in two rounds: The first round approximately one week before the end of the testing window, and the second approximately two weeks after the end of the testing window. In addition, not all candidates who tested early in a window were eligible for the first round of score release. Candidates who took test forms with new test content that required additional analysis and review before scoring were not eligible for the first round of score release.

With CBT-e, improvements have been introduced into the process. Beginning with the October/November 2011 testing window, scores will be released faster and more frequently.

The first round of score release will be approximately one month after the beginning of the testing window. Subsequent score releases will be made every two weeks after the initial release.

In addition, with very few exceptions (see below), candidates who test early in a window will be eligible for the first round of score release.

What are those exceptions? Amazingly, those taking BEC should not expect to get their scores early. The AICPA states that candidates taking BEC will have to wait a little longer for their scores just in case their written communication problems need to be analyzed by the AICPA’s skilled team of robots and/or human beings. They have always been (purposely?) vague about how written communication is graded and we will have to wait for a later talk with their examinations unit to see if we can get more insight on this process, specifically whether or not it will be changing with CBT-e.

Q. Are there any differences in score release by Exam section (AUD, FAR, REG, BEC)?

A. Yes. Candidates who take the BEC section may get their scores in a subsequent release due to additional analyses that may be required for the written communication tasks. Also note that written communication tasks now appear in the BEC section only.

Don’t get disappointed; overall, changes to scoring will improve over previous years and this is a work in progress, meaning the AICPA is working to tweak the candidate experience for the better based on their analysis throughout the year and beyond.

How to Backup Your Gmail in Five Simple Steps

Note from AG: this is the second in a series of tech-related posts which we are providing by popular demand. Please feel free to let us know what sort of content you’d like to see related to technology and gadgets specifically for accountants so we can make your lives easier. We aren’t mind-readers, so tell us what you want to see here and we’ll send our team of loser interns to fetch it. Double note, “AG blows” is not considered feedback.

How many of you use Gmail exclusively? I have two accounts; one for publishing JDA and ignoring Caleb’s constant Instant Pestering and the other to filter my JDA email and endless email subscriptions. I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I woke up one morning to find everything gone and sympathize for anyone who knows what that kind of fear feels like after the Gmail fail that shocked us all earlier this month.

TechCrunch reminds us what went down:

While the initial reports had around .29 percent of Gmail users affected by the bug (about 600,000 users), those estimates were quickly revised to .08 percent (about 150,000 users). And today, those numbers were further revised to .02 percent. This means that only around 40,000 of Gmail’s 200 million (or so) users were affected.

Now, 40,000 pissed off people is still 40,000 pissed off people. But there was even better news out of Google today: all of their data is safe and sound. But it isn’t safe and sound in some remote server attached to the cloud. Instead, it’s safe on back-up data tapes somewhere in an undisclosed location.

Accountants know better than anyone that the cloud can make everyone’s lives easier, keep data secure and allow for freer exchange of information without obnoxious exchange of physical hard drives. They should also, therefore, know that the cloud allows for unforeseen snafus such as what just occurred when 150,000 Gmail users tried to log into their accounts and found nothing there.

Using POP, you can backup your Gmail account just in case. You’ll need a good email client like Outlook or, if you’re ancient like some firms we know (or our friends at the Federal Reserve), you can also elect to use LotusNotes or some other antiquated email client of your choosing.

From the Google folks:

Here’s how to download a copy of every message* in Gmail to an email client:

1. Sign in to Gmail.
2. Click Settings at the top of any Gmail page, and open the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
3. Select Enable POP for all mail (even mail that’s already been downloaded).
4. Click Save Changes.
5. Open the mail client you’ve configured for Gmail, and check for new messages.

Gmail messages are downloaded in batches, so it may take time for everything to appear in your mail client.

* Messages in Spam and Trash aren’t downloaded unless you move them to your inbox or All Mail.

And now you have a nice copy of every email you’ve sent and received going back as long as your email client can handle. You’ll probably want to save this as a clean copy in your personal folders to keep your personal Gmails from splicing themselves throughout your work email, just in case anyone happens to check what you’re doing during work hours on company PP&E. Even better, do this at home on your own computer so you don’t even have to bother with worrying about anyone scoping your embarrassing forwarded jokes.

Happy Gmailing, people!

CPA Exam Debuts Internationally in August

For those of you interested in taking the CPA exam in wild locales such as Bahrain or Kuwait, wait no longer, the CPA exam is officially international beginning August of 2011.

Initially announced along with CBT-e, international testing appeared to be slated to begin in January but security issues and further testing necessitated the delay.

So far Bahrain, Kuwait, Japan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the only countries in which the exam will be administered. After a long two year analysis, NASBA, AICPA and Prometric determined those areas to meet their stringent safety and security guidelines.


We know what you’re thinking. Bahrain?! According to the three agencies, candidate volume demand as demonstrated by candidates from those countries taking the exam in the United States was a huge factor in deciding where to administrate the exam. Sure, Japan seems like a no-brainer but up until now, international candidates have been forced to obtain a visa to physically appear in the United States for their exams, often for marathon sessions of more than one test in a two or three day period.

Other factors in deciding which countries included:

• The ability to deliver the Exam without legal obstacles.
• Security threat to the Exam (both physical security at test center and intellectual property security of Exam content) assessed at levels equivalent to those presented domestically.
• Existence of established Prometric test centers.

Other countries were analyzed ahead of this announcement but I know of at least a handful that were determined unfit for test administration based solely on security issues in those countries. Being proprietary and more heavily guarded than Colonel Sanders’ 11 herbs and spices, protecting CPA exam content was likely one of the largest concerns involved in taking the exam international.

While candidate volume and interest in the exam is also high in countries like India and Korea, security concerns are equally as high (if not higher), therefore excluding these areas for the time being. My understanding is that the AICPA is open to expanding international testing in the future and just with CBT-e, will be monitoring the situation closely after launch, ready to adjust based on results. International candidates will still have to apply with the state board of their choice and are invited to use NASBA’s Accounting Licensing Library to search for a jurisdiction in which to apply.

New Robert Half Survey Reveals CFOs Will Need You to Go Ahead and Come in on Saturday

We’re not very good at math or statistics so perhaps our numbers are off a bit, but how do 89% of CFOs expect their firms to grow in the second quarter of 2011 while 85% also do not expect to add any new full-time accounting and finance professionals? It doesn’t take a mathlete to figure out what that means for those of you lucky enough to work for these CFOs, so you better get to slacking off now before they come down to your cube and kindly inform you you’ll need to go ahead and come in on Saturday.

Robert Half interviewed 1400 CFOs across the country for their Robert Half Financial Hiring Index and here’s what they came up with:

Most (85 percent) chief financial officers (CFOs) interviewed for the Robert Half Financial Hiring Index said they expect to make no changes to their current staffing levels during the second quarter of 2011. Seven percent anticipate adding full-time accounting and finance professionals, while another 7 percent plan personnel reductions. The net 0 percent projection is down two points from the first-quarter 2011 forecast.

As businesses navigate the current economy, they remain optimistic about the outlook for their own companies. Eighty-nine percent of CFOs expressed confidence in their firms’ growth potential in the second quarter, up one point from the first-quarter survey.

Looking to relocate? Try the Pacific or Mid-Atlantic regions. Twelve percent of CFOs plan to add full-time accounting and finance professionals and 5 percent foresee cutbacks, a net 7 percent increase.

“Many Pacific-region companies, particularly those in the manufacturing and technology sectors, are rebuilding their teams to meet renewed demand for their products and services,” said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International. “In particular, firms are looking for skilled financial analysts to help them control costs and prepare for potential growth.”

In the end, a net 0 hiring projection is a lot better than previous recent surveys which were in the negative however we’d be remiss if we did not point out that the last time the survey showed a net 0 projection was for 3rd quarter 2008. And we all know how that particular period of time went.

What does this mean? New grads who are still waiting around for jobs can keep waiting, and more seasoned professionals who have been out of work for quite some time should probably just give up. Thanks for the great news, RH!

Why Did Prometric Get Fined $300,000 by NASBA in 2010?

David A. Costello, CPA, President & CEO and Michael R. Bryant, CPA, CFO of NASBA jointly and severally stated that NASBA’s 2010 financial statements did not contain any untrue material statements and their auditors, Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC seconded that so obviously the following is all accurate. We looked ourselves. Not being professional financial statement ninjas, however, we invite you to take a peek for yourself here.

The good news for NASBA is that total consolidated revenue in Fiscal 2010 was $33.7 million compared to $31.4 million in Fiscal 2009, an increase of 7.3%. There were more CPA exam candidates as well as a new state added to NASBA’s CPAES program, which does the work of state boards of accountancy by processing CPA exam applications.


Interestingly, though my grandparents have been eating Alpo for the last two years thanks to Ben Bernanke and I’m earning a little under half a percent on my savings, NASBA must have a good investment banker because they did pretty well for themselves in FY 10. The annual report states that revenue from escrow management fees related to the CPA exam increased over the prior year and that higher interest rates, on average, during FY 10 were earned on these funds which are held in fully-insured securities or interest-bearing accounts. Can someone please let me know where these accounts are?! I want in.

But the most interesting part of NASBA’s mostly dull financial statements is the $300,000 “fine” Prometric paid them for violating its CPA exam agreement. Yes, the same agreement that was just renewed through 2024 with much fanfare last year.

The item is reported as “Income from Contract Issue” on NASBA’s consolidated financial statements and buried in note 12 thusly:

Note 12. Income from Contract Issue
As a part of the initial CBT Services Agreement effective May 31, 2002, Prometric was required to obtain and maintain insurance policies for certain specific perils, coverage amounts, terms and conditions naming the Association and its member boards as additional insureds. During fiscal 2010, the Association asserted that Prometric failed to comply with certain applicable insurance requirements. Prometric denied the assertions but, in resolution of the matter, provided evidence that it had come into compliance, agreed to indemnify, hold harmless and defend for any coverage lapses, and paid $300,000 to the Association. In addition, Prometric reimbursed the Association for certain legal and administrative expenses related to the resolution.

It doesn’t appear that NASBA declared the legal and admin expenses it also received so we’re assuming they were either immaterial or just embarrassing. Any financial statement detectives are welcome to come to their own conclusions.

Intel’s Thunderbolt Makes FireWire Look Like Your Grandma on the Freeway

Sick of staring at your computer screen watching the data crawl by? Stare no longer, the future of data transfer is here with Intel’s new Thunderbolt™ technology:

From the company with the fastest processors comes the fastest way to get information in and out of your PC and peripheral devices. At 10 Gbps, Thunderbolt™ technology gives you great responsiveness with high-speed data and display transfers in each direction—at the same time. With a single cable, connecting a PC to multiple devices is simple, making it easy to get and see what you want, when you want it. Thunderbolt technology gives you incredible flexibility; high performance expansion is just a cable away for new and novel uses, now and in the future.

Intel boasts that you can transfer a full HD movie in less than 30 seconds or backup an entire year of continuous mp3 playback in around 10 minutes using this technology.

Thunderbolt is bi-directional and allows for daisy-chaining, making that tangle of USB cords hanging off your desk obsolete, as soon as hard drive storage size necessitates lightning-fast data transfer, that is.

New MacBook Pros come equipped with Thunderbolt ports but for the rest of us, it’ll be USB for the foreseeable future until PC technology catches up and new laptops begin shipping with bolts emblazoned on the side.

Just think how many years of SOX-compliant data you can transfer away from prying eyes no sooner than the front desk says “the PCAOB is here!”