“Rather than demanding that Senate conservatives violate their consciences and support distortions in the tax code that increase spending and maintain Washington’s power over taxpayer’s lives, your organization should assist our efforts. Calling for the elimination of tax earmarks without qualifications would be a good start,” Coburn wrote. “Continuing to issue blanket defenses of all tax expenditures is a profoundly misguided embrace of progressive, activist government and a strategy for tax complexity, tax deferment, excessive spending and unsustainable deficits.” [The Hill]
Author: Caleb Newquist
Founding editor, Going Concern.
Johnson Jacobson Wilcox Ups the Bar on Good Times to Be Had During Tax Season
During tax season, many accounting firms attempt to provide their employees with “fun” things to do. Ordinarily a boss would rather you just qwitcherbitchin and do your job than take you to Dave & Busters or splurge for pizza but when employees are suffering from exhaustion, Excel-induced eyestrain and pants that grow tighter with each passing day, sometimes violence has ensued (or, at very least, passive-aggressiveness so frightening that it borders on assault). While we applaud the effort by firms to make things more pleasant, many of them suck at “fun.”
Las Vegas-based Johnson Jacobson Wilcox, for one, is trying to not suck in the fun department and it appears that they’ve been successful since they were named Best Accounting Firm to Work For in 2010 (15-49 employees) by Accounting Today.
JJW’s managing partner Gary Johnson realizes that most people are still hung up on the old accountant stereotypes and he’d like to debunk those (after rehashing them, of course), “Most people think of accounting firms and accountants as dull, without much of a personality — people with their heads down and green eyeshades on, who work all day long and don’t talk to too many people unless the phone rings. We’re just not like that. We like to have fun once in a while.”
In this particular case, fun includes a $500 clothing allowance for new hires, free lunch during tax season and a Wii bowling tournament.
Johnson Jacobson Wilcox runs a stress-busting Wii bowling tournament every tax season — 2011’s edition kicked off Monday — complete with a trophy. During the 24-employee firm’s busy season from mid-January to April 15, the company brings in free lunch for employees every day. The company also sends new hires an orientation binder complete with business cards two weeks before they start, and a $500 clothing allowance awaits them as soon as they walk through the door.
Obviously the $500 clothing allowance would come in handy for most of you (especially the fashion-handicapped types) but this bowling tournament – and the trophy – is what really got our attention. Of course the Wii hasn’t been around forever and prior to such technological miracles, JJW had actual bowling tournament every tax season. And fortunately for you all, we were able to obtain some footage of two JJW partners from the late 80s in an especially competitive match:
Trade journal chooses Las Vegas accountant best place to work in U.S. [LVRJ]
EU Official Gives IASB a Paternal Driving Lecture on Accounting Standards
Did this Jeroen Hooijer character forget that he’s addressing a knight?
[Hooijer] said world leaders have extended the deadline for convergence from June to the end of this year and likened the IASB to a sports car driving at 160 kilometres an hour to the south of France. “We would like to slow down to 120. We don’t want to stop it. If you drive to the south of France and you only arrive half an hour later, the risk of an accident is 70 percent lower,” Hooijer said.
Tax Cheater Profile: That Young Single Guy Who Lies About the Fly in His Soup
Sound like anyone you know?
While only 15% of Americans surveyed fessed up to fudging their tax returns, 64% of those people were men, according to the survey of consumer attitudes and behavior. Thirty-five percent were single (47% when including people who have been divorced or widowed), and 55% were under the age of 45.
As if cheating on your taxes wasn’t deplorable enough, this person will most likely to pocket money that isn’t theirs, gets a friend to pose as a former boss and would cook up a finger-in-the-chili story:
While 73% of cheaters admitted to working a job under the table, only 20% of non-cheaters did. Self-proclaimed cheaters are also much more likely to keep the wrong change given to them by a cashier, to ask a friend to pretend to be a former boss for a reference check and to lie about their income to qualify for government aid.
Many of them also said they would wear an outfit once and return it, file false insurance claims, keep money they see someone drop on the floor, or lie about finding something inappropriate in their food just to get a free meal.
If you know a scumbag like this, at least you can report your suspicions safely now.
Tax cheats: Single, young and male [CNN via DB]
Jon Stewart Reacts to GE’s Tax Savviness
Aka “The world’s best tax law firm.”
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| I Give Up – Pay Anything… | ||||
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Accounting News Roundup: Another Chinese Company’s Auditor Resigns; IFRS Blamestorming; Calpers Names Acting CFO | 03.29.11
China Century’s Accounting Firm Resigns; Says Co Faces Delisting [Dow Jones]
China Century Dragon Media Inc. (CDM) said MaloneBailey LLP formally resigned as the company’s independent accounting firm, alleging it believed irregularities in the company’s bank records suggested the documents may have been falsified. The Chinese television advertising company said the firm noted in its resignation letter that it couldn’t directly verify the company’s bank records and wasn’t able to rely on management’s representations of China Century’s financial statements. The company said it intends to seek and retain a new auditor.
‘Fatally flawed’ accounting standards inflated [Telegraph]
The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which have been described as “fatally flawed”, let RBS report a core tier one ratio for 2010 more than 4pc higher than it would have been under the UK’s old accounting rules that were replaced in 2005. The analysis comes ahead of the publication of a House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee report into UK accounting practices expected to be highly critical of the IFRS system.
BP Managers Said to Face U.S. Manslaughter Charges Review [Bloomberg]
Federal prosecutors are considering whether to pursue manslaughter charges against BP Plc (BP/) managers for decisions made before the Gulf of Mexico oil well explosion last year that killed 11 workers and caused the biggest offshore spill in U.S. history, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Government Shutdown Grows Likelier [WSJ]
Talks between congressional leaders and the White House on a deal to fund the government for the rest of the year appear to have slowed, with Democrats and Republicans loudly bickering over the fate of their negotiations. Failure to reach a deal by April 8, a milestone that appears increasingly difficult to achieve, would result in a government shutdown. In the absence of any visible signs of progress on negotiations, Democrats and Republicans on Monday ratcheted up criticism of each other.
Why Doesn’t Your Firm Have a Website? [CPA Trendlines]
Chances are this isn’t your firm but one-third of CPA firms don’t have a page on the tubes.
Monday Map: State Beer Excise Tax Rates [Tax Foundation]
Alaska, Alabama, Georgia, Washington [?}, South Carolina lead the way.
Despite pressure to reduce national debt, few in Congress use payback program [WaPo]
Try to act surprised.
Calpers Names Fong To Newly Created Acting CFO Post [Dow Jones]
The country’s largest public pension fund, California Public Employees’ Retirement System, appointed Russell G. Fong to its acting chief financial officer post effective April 4, a newly created role to coordinate financial and risk-related activities. Fong will be responsible for managing the financial progress of Calpers, including budgeting, accounting, cash management and financial planning and analysis. He will also oversee the fund’s enterprise risk management projects.
New Website Allows You to Rat Out That Tax Cheater in Your Life Without Fear of Being Identified
Do you happen to know for an absolute fact that a former co-worker was taking their threadbare clothes to the Salvation Army and claiming them as being in “good condition”? Does your ex-girlfriend/boyfriend exaggerate the expenses they incur from their side business? Does your neighbor’s six-year old underreport their lemonade stand profits? Are you looking for a way to get back at them without the fear of a confrontation? Good news! Taxsqueal.com will let you snitch on them anonymously and you don’t have to deal with any scary IRS forms.
Al Drucker – a former IRS agent – founded Taxsqueal because he thought there was lots of opportunity for Joe or Jane Whistleblower to do their part in closing the tax gap but were maybe hesitant because the idea of being on hold was too much to bear (that and the Big Brother thing):
He said the IRS once manned a toll-free telephone number, but callers to that number now are met with an automated message that directs them to the IRS website. Other potential callers are uneasy about contacting the government and worry they won’t stay anonymous.
Drucker’s idea: Develop a website in which informants can fill out an easy-to-use form written in plain English. TaxSqueal.com then forwards the information to the IRS and erases from its computer system information about the person making the allegation.
The catch is you have to be willing to do it as an act of patriotic duty or hateful spite as opposed to landing a tidy reward for narking out a tax scofflaw:
Whistleblowers would miss their chance to collect. But Drucker figures most people aren’t eligible for a reward anyway, because most of the cases that come into TaxSqueal.com are for less than $2 million.
What’s in it for whistleblowers? Not much. “This site is not designed for people seeking rewards,” Drucker said.
Sweet revenge awaits.
People can report tax cheats on new website [Daily Record via AT]
Berkshire Hathaway CFO Would Like to Make a Bet with the SEC
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB) took an accounting charge to reflect the declines of three stocks in its investment portfolio after regulators asked about the company’s policy for writing down investment losses. But Berkshire Chief Financial Officer Marc Hamburg complained that the current stock prices don’t reflect the worth of the shares, and predicted in a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that “each security’s market price will grow to at least the intrinsic value that existed” when Berkshire made the investments. [Dow Jones]
Corporate Tax Jockey Wants Some Details on Life in Public Accounting
Welcome to the Rock-Chalk-Deadhawk edition of Accounting Career Emergencies. In today’s edition, a young tax accountant working for a Fortune 100 company wants to jump over to public accounting and wants to know what expect (other than the long hours, of course).
Looking for some average to above-average career advice that doesn’t come from your breathlessly judgmental friends? Wondering if a co-worker or client is annoyed with you but can’t seem to pick up any hints? Short on family time and need some solutions? =”mailto:advice@goingconcern.com”>advice@goingconcern.com and we’ll make you “Parent of the Year” in no time.
Turning back to tax trouble du jour:
Dear Going Concern,
I am interested in hearing your thoughts about how to make the move from the private tax world and into a public accounting firm. I just completed a Macc degree and have spent nearly one year working in the tax department of a Fortune 100 company. During the college recruiting frenzy I had an opportunity with a regional firm but opted for the large company instead because I felt it would provide more opportunity. After working on the private side for awhile I have realized that I want to pursue an opportunity in public accounting.
As I research firms to determine what they are looking for in an experienced hire I frequently see “1-2 years public accounting experience”, “MST and/or JD/LLM”, and “CPA or enrolled agent”. These qualifications have prompted me to contact you in order to receive your uncensored comments and answers to the following questions:
• Are a lot of Tax Senior positions filled by law school graduates?
• What is the difference between 1-2 years in public tax compared to 1-2 years at a Fortune 100 corporate tax department?
Dear Tax MAcc,
You kept it simple, so much so that we can barely find an angle to mock anything that you wrote. With that, I’m guessing you’re not working at GE (aka “best tax law firm“) otherwise you wouldn’t have tapped out your inquiry.
As a general rule, I’d say that the answer is no. It may depend on your definition of “a lot” and also what tax group you’re referring to but most of the SAs in tax practices are accountants with law school grads sprinkled in here and there. A public accounting firm is a choice of last resort for most (if not all) law school grads but in these desperate times they may be more common than in years past. Public accounting firms advertising for a JD/LLM simply don’t want to narrow their candidates to the MSTs/CPAs/EAs out there as anyone with a JD/LLM is clearly qualified to perform several aspects of the job.
Secondly, the main difference between 1-2 years working in public accounting versus 1-2 years at F100 tax department will be the diversity of tax issues as it relates to various clients and transactions. The tax department of a Fortune 100 company works for one client and should be well staffed with competent professionals that know the tax issues inside and out with very few surprises (unless you run your tax department like WFT). During the first two years in a public accounting firm your superiors will throw everything they can at you, including new clients and all the work they don’t want to do. This smorgasbord of clients will pose different issues and transactions that wouldn’t necessarily see at your Fortune 100 company.
Anyone made the jump from private to public? Give our hero some of your thoughts. I’m going to try and get my ears to quit bleeding.
Man Who Found $9 Million Lotto Ticket While Preparing His Tax Return Thinks Everyone Should Get Some Perspective
Last Irvin Przyborski found a year-old lotto ticket while he was preparing his tax return and wouldn’t you know, it just so happened to be winner worth $9 million. As if winning the lotto wasn’t lucky enough, Irv managed to cash it in just a few days before it expired. Now you might think to yourself, “$9 million! What a lucky guy! He must be feeling extremely lucky and grateful!” but then you wouldn’t know Irv Przyborski.
Przyborski, reached Thursday afternoon and weary from the day’s constant media attention, was unimpressed with the development. “What’s the big deal? It’s not even worth putting in your paper,” Przyborski said outside his East Side home. “It’s like watching paint dry.” Despite his nonchalance, the 61-year-old retired truck driver admitted he would have been upset had he missed the deadline. Nevertheless, he said the prize was hardly life-changing and he had no grand plans for the money. “Look at the people who are out of work,” he said. “People with Ph.D.s can’t find work. There’s nothing joyful about winning money in a situation like this.”
This seems appropriate.
Under the wire and into the money — $9 million winner: ‘What’s the big deal?’ [CT]
PwC Boy Band Demonstrates That Tax-related Lyrics Don’t Come Easy (VIDEO)
This video appears to be from last summer but since we’ve just been made aware of it, we’re brining it to you now. Why there are multiple videos playing off the Backstreet Boys’s “I Want It That Way” is quite baffling in of itself but this particular group decided it would be best to use their own non-studio produced singing voices AND to come up with lyrics that include “351,” “Like-Kind Exchange” and “STD.”
There are a lot of directions to go with this so feel free. Make haste however, I’m sure it won’t be up for long.
Going Concern March Madness: The Coolest Accounting Firm – The Final 4 Sans Big 4
Now that we’ve reached the Final 4 without any Big 4 firms (all bounced in the first round), some of you may have lost interest in Going Concern March Madness: Coolest Accounting Firm. Well, that would make you a loser and anyway, we must press on! Face it, you’ll go for anything to distract you from the fact that you’re stuck inside whispering sweet nothings to Microsoft Excel while spring is slowly emerging outside. And it’s a pretty compelling Final Four anyway. Let’s take a look shall we?
So you’ll notice that we have the very interesting match-up between Moss Adams and Grant Thornton, the two firms that have subject of merger rumors (unfounded!) since January. Obviously the winner here will enjoy the upper hand in any future negotiations between the two firms, so anyone from either firm wishing to upset the leverage here would be wise to take a page from the Reznick Group strategy book.
Speaking of Reznick, we briefly mentioned the fact that their first round magic was nowhere to be found in round two. A tipster filled us in as to why:
I think the higher-ups were embarrassed by the public calling out and subsequent mockery in the comments, not a single other email went out about it – reminders about the competition or the beatdown they suffered at the hands of the commenters 🙂 Serious loss of billable hours that day too, everyone kept checking the site all day long for more comments, emailing and IMing each other about it.
So make a mental note – if your firm’s leadership has a thin skin and isn’t down with wasting a number of billable hours, the Reznick strategy may not be the way to go after all.
Moving on to the second match-up we have the perennial dark horse Rothstein Kass against McGladrey. Rothstein continues their hot streak in GCMMTCAF after their impressive performance in this year’s Vault rankings and McGladrey is…well, we’re pretty surprised to see McGladrey in the semi-finals, to be honest. Perhaps there are sweet incentives being offered internally but right now we haven’t been made aware of any such temptations. Anyway, McG has quietly made a run, so it makes for a decent showdown.
All right, enough with pleasantries. Let’s get to the voting. Polls close tomorrow night at 11:59 PT.
First up – GranMA
Cinderella vs. Mickey G’s.