Author: Caleb Newquist

Founding editor, Going Concern.

New York State Comptroller Candidate Harry Wilson Gets an Above Average Endorsement

Namely Third Point boss Dan Loeb. Sure it’s nice if the Times, Journal, Daily News and the Post all give you the thumbs up but if Dan Loeb goes to the trouble of telling his own investors that you need to be the Empire State’s next top accountant, that’s probably a little better than you could hope for.


So if you would like to see the NYS public pension problem fixed, Loeb implores you to vote for Harry Wilson tomorrow. If you’re okay with “New York [going] the way of Greece” then you should vote for the other guy (his name is Frank DiNapoli).

Courtesy of our former sister from another mister site, Dealbreaker:

Dear Friends,

I have chosen only one candidate to bring to your attention, that is Harry Wilson for Comptroller of NY State. He has recently tied incumbent Democratic candidate Thomas DiNapoli in the polls. For those of you who are Democrats, this is not a matter of party politics but literally one of whether we want New York the go the way of Greece and go bankrupt because, trust me, that is the course we are headed towards without sound fiscal leadership.

Daniel Heninger’s WSJ article lays it all out: “New York, like California and many other once-important states, is sitting on a public- pension debt bomb. If it blows, it will take great swaths of the productive American economy with it for years. Harry Wilson thinks he can defuse the New York bomb. If Harry Wilson can get the public-pension death spiral under control in New York—and he just might have the professional and intellectual tools to do it—it should be possible to reform pensions in any state. That matters. The United States needs a growth rate well above the 2%-something that the Obama years have allowed. That means the people in all 50 states have to be pulling on the oars. They won’t be able to do that if their productive energies are being siphoned into more and yet more taxes that will be demanded— indeed virtually mandated—to pay off these pension obligations. It’s Harry Wilson or the deluge.”

Harry and DiNapoli are neck at 44% and which is why it is vital for you and to vote and to please pass this onto anyone else who is registered to vote in New York.

Dan

Since most New Yorkers have no idea who is running for NYS Comptroller this should at least put a memorable name in your head.

Georgia-Pacific Accountant Found Shot to Death; Husband Charged with Murder

Unfortunate story from the Atlanta Journal Constitution today who reports that 25 year-old Madison McLester was shot to death over the weekend. Ms McLester worked at Georgia Pacific in the financial reporting group and was active in the company’s recruiting at Georgia State University.

Police say McLester, 25, who got married last month, was shot to death by her husband early Sunday.

The 2007 GSU grad was found in her southwest Atlanta home; she had been shot several times.

Around 4:40 a.m, authorities responded to a call about a woman being shot, Atlanta police spokeswoman Officer Kim Jones said. They found her husband, Minchillo McLester, walking nude in a nearby park, where he was arrested, police said.

The couple had apparently just returned from a Halloween party.

Michillo McLester, who turned 29 Saturday, was later charged with his wife’s murder. There is currently no motive. We’ll keep you updated.

Bonus Watch ’10: PwC Announces Across the Board Mid-year Bonuses

We reported last week about a rumor that PwC would be paying bonuses and making salary adjustments this December and we now confirmation of the bonuses, courtesy of an email from PwC’s Bob Moritz.

BoMot that thanks to a solid first quarter, the firm would like spread a little wealth around in the form of $1,000 bonuses for “client service and IFS” employees who were with the firm prior to June 30, 2010 and $500 bonuses for those hired after June 30.


The firm is letting employees choose their “recognition payment” from one of the four following options:

• Net payment of $1,000/$500 included in the December 15 pay cycle.

• iPad

• Visa gift card

• $1,000/$500 charitable contribution to the PwC Foundation in your name – Aka the PwC Human Fund

In addition, Roberto informed everyone that the spot and bonus pools are being increased across the firm. There was also the standard words of encouragement, repeated “thank yous” and whatnot. The email appears in its entirety below.

So, P. Dubbers – doesn’t look like a mid-year salary adjustment but it beats a sharp stick in the eye. Discuss your contentment or your undying resentment in the comments.

Recognizing your contributions
Thanks to your efforts in providing quality service to our clients, our first quarter results are showing a strong revenue increase year over year. We all should be proud of these results. We’ve supported one another, served existing clients and stakeholders at the highest levels of quality in an extremely competitive environment, and won new work–all achieved through delivering the PwC experience and the new brand promise!

Rewarding your efforts
Because your efforts helped us drive our results, we want you to share in the rewards. Last month I told you that we have taken the results of our top-line growth and have begun reinvesting in you through our holiday time off and celebrations, in-person training events, and more. To further acknowledge the role you have played in our success to date, every staff member–both client service and IFS–will receive an after-tax “recognition award.” Those hired prior to June 30, 2010, will receive $1,000. Those hired on or after June 30, 2010, will receive $500. We debated whether the recognition payment should be in the form of cash or a gift, and concluded that you should decide. So, every staff member can choose from one of the following:

An additional net payment of $1,000/$500 to be included in your December 15 pay period.

Order from several versions of the iPad (total value of iPad and gift card will depend on whether you’re eligible for the $1,000 or $500 gift award).

A Visa gift card valued at $1,000/$500 to use for the holiday season, vacationing , technology gadgets or anything you’d like to purchase for yourself or others.

We will make a $1,000/$500 charitable contribution to the PwC Foundation in your name.

More details to come shortly on each of the options above, as well as how to choose your recognition via a special website.

Increased bonus pools
In addition to the benefits we announced previously and the recognition award mentioned above, we have also decided to increase our spot and bonus pools across the firm, enabling us to better recognize and reward those individuals who are truly delivering for our clients and driving our results. As our top and bottom line continue to improve, we are committed to sharing those results with you. Shortly, you will be hearing from your LOS on how these increased bonus pools will be earned and rewarded over the remainder of FY11.

Increased hiring to help your workload
You’ve been working hard, and we recognize that monetary rewards and compensation are only part of the value you look for from your PwC experience. You have told us that personal and professional development, career advancement potential, peer and team relationships, and even having a little bit of fun along the way, are also important to you. We want you to know that we are also working hard to relieve some of your workload through our increased hiring efforts. In fact, to help lighten your load, we’ve hired more than 1,400 new experienced people in the first quarter alone (for comparison, we hired a total of 1,725 in all of FY10), increased our campus recruiting from last year and are bringing resources to our practice from around the world. Many of you played a key role in bringing in that new talent, whether referring people, interviewing potential candidates, or on-boarding new people. Again, we thank you for those efforts and encourage you to keep them up. We will continue hiring resources to support our current and future needs as we look ahead towards achieving our long term goals, while also providing appropriate work-life flexibility for you.

Thanks for all you do
Again, on behalf of the partners, I want to recognize you for all you do for your teams, our clients and other stakeholders. To me, this demonstrates the power of 30,000 people coming together to build relationships and add value for our clients and one another–delivering on that new PwC brand promise! The fact is, you are making a difference, and our collective efforts are paying off.

Join me on Wednesday!
I look forward to speaking with you on Wednesday at 3pm ET during our third firmwide Town Hall webcast. If you haven’t already, check out the blog and help your colleagues get ready to put me and the LOS leaders on the hotseat with your questions.

In the meantime, I look forward to continuing this journey of success together!

Regards,

Bob

BDO Officially Resides in the First State

By all accounts, BDO as a firm, has had a decent 2010. There were the typical raises and promotions that were met with a giant “meh” by the BDO faithful.

The firm celebrated its 100th birthday last month, with offices marking the occasion in various ways. And probably most importantly, the Florida Appeals Court ordered a new trial in the Banco Espirito Santo case.


The decision in this case allowed the firm to jump off its deathbed reenergized, allowing Jack Weisbaum to continuing to moonlight as a TV commercial star as well as open a Raleigh, North Carolina office.

The good times continue with the addition of McBride Shopa & Co. including a message from Tom Shopa with a pleasant piano accompaniment in the background.

Jack W. was able to sneak away from a busy commercial shoot to share his feelings on the matter:

“The addition of the partners, professionals and staff formerly with McBride Shopa adds the important Delaware market to BDO’s existing presence in the Philadelphia and the greater Washington, DC area. We are excited about the many growth opportunities that this combination will bring to our clients and our future clients,” said Jack Weisbaum, CEO of BDO USA.

The bright side for BDO is that since the Taxman is likely coming to Delaware, there will be plenty of new business opportunities.

Latest Survey of CFOs Confirms That Surveys of CFOs are Bunk

Less than two weeks ago, we shared with you the latest results from Grant Thornton’s National CFO Survey.

What we learned is what we already knew, which is that the job market sucks and will continue sucking if we are to believe the 516 CFOs surveyed from October 5th to October 15th:

In a national survey of U.S. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and senior comptrollers conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, only 29% plan to increase hiring in the next six months, while 21% plan to decrease hiring.

Not so good, huh? Well fortunately for all of you looking for a job out there, the GT methodology is severely flawed for two reasons: 1) It included the extra-super-tragic days of October 5th and October 15th when CFOs were feeling especially negative and 2) They survey far too many CFOs.

Had they performed their survey on October 6th through the 14th like FEI and Baruch College and kept cut their population by roughly half (FEI/Baruch interviewed 249 CFOs), they would have discovered that things aren’t really that bad at all:

While CFOs this quarter continue to forecast high unemployment nationwide (on average predicting at least nine percent through October 2011), hiring prospects at their own companies paint a rosier picture. More than half (56%) plan to hire additional employees within the next six months, and overall they anticipate a four percent increase in hiring over the next six months.

So obviously Grant Thornton just needs to tweak their methodology a bit and then we’ll all be on the same page.

Until that happens, feel free to get some of your hapless friends together and start asking CFOs for their broad-based economic outlook. It appears that as long as you have a shell of a methodology and manage to get at least 250 responses, it’s perfectly acceptable to share the findings with everyone and claim that things are turning around.

Big 4 Tax Associate Feels Pigeonholed; Is an Ultimatum Necessary?

Welcome to the All Saints/Election Day Eve edition of Accounting Career Couch. Today a Big 4 tax associate is concerned that their career experience has been too narrow and has been begging TPTB to rotate to a different group. Will a fist-pounding ultimatum finally get the point across?

Have a question about your next career move? Wondering if you should wear your Benjamin Bankes costume all week in order to get your money’s worth? Is your unpatriotic boss refusing to let you leave work tomorrow to vote and you’re thinking of emailing Glenn Beck? Stop! Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and we’ll give you a sane solution.

Back to our trapped tax guru:

I’m currently a 1st year senior at a Big 4 company and I have specialized in the R&D Tax Credit since I started here. Ever since passing my CPA I have been requesting a rotation in other parts of tax such as provision work and FAS109. I keep on getting the ring around from both my Partner and HR who say a rotation is coming but that I just need to be patient.

Since the R&D Tax Credit is such a specialized area I understand that they don’t want to just give me up because they have invested 3 years in me to learn the Credit but it is not fair to my career development to be stuck in one of the many areas of tax. From talking to recruiters and searching the Internet it does not seem like there is really a secondary market for R&D Tax Credit Specialist such as myself and I believe not being able to earn experience in other areas of tax with negatively effect me when I start looking for a private job in the next year or so. What do you recommend that I do? Should I put my foot down and let my partner and HR know I am going to start looking for another job if I don’t get a rotation in the near future or should I start interviewing with other Big 4 firms to find the kind of experience I am looking for? Please help!

Dear R&DTC Associate,

It’s true that some partners/managers will hold on to some SAs or associates like grim death the moment they express interest in doing something different. The concern is typically they don’t want to lose a talented staff person to a more provocative practice or they’re simply too lazy to train someone new. So your concern is valid and it sounds as though you’ve been proactive but you’ve still have some options before going the “take this job” route.

First, go back to both HR and your partner and ask if the rotation is a realistic possibility and requestthe specifics behind the delay. It sounds as though you’ve taken the Job approach and it has gotten you nowhere. Reiterate your patience and express your concerns about your narrow experience.

If that stalls, try reaching out to some partners and managers in the division where you would like to work. Maybe you were recruited by one of them or you have a friend in that group. Explain the situation and perhaps they can broker a solution for you. Going behind your partner and HR probably won’t feel so great but seeing as though you’ve exhausted every other possibility, you have little choice.

If that fails, then it’s time to have the Come to Jesus meeting to get things moving. You don’t sound like you’ve got issues with your firm other than the snail’s pace of the rotation process. Explain your position (again) and this time state that you have little choice but to go somewhere else to get the work experience you desire. Keep it cordial but definitely make your frustration known. Hysterics rarely work. This should get you some answers one way or another. But we don’t think it should have to come to this.

Good luck.

Accounting News Roundup: Looming Estate Tax Has Some Weighing Their Options; BDO to Question Forensic Accountant in Bankest Retrial; Continuing Troubles at Overstock | 11.01.10

US rep.: Estate tax rise has some planning death [AP]
U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis says some of her Wyoming constituents are so worried about the reinstatement of federal estate taxes that they plan to discontinue dialysis and other life-extending medical treatments so they can die before Dec. 31.

Did Obama Really Cut Small-Business Taxes 16 Times? [You’re the Boss/NYT]
A little fact checking of the President’s tax cut rhetoric.

BDO to question Freeman about fraud in E.S. Bankest retrf=”http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/print-edition/2010/10/29/bdo-to-question-freeman-about-fraud-in.html”>SFBJ]
Former court-appointed receiver and convicted fraudster Lewis B. Freeman can be questioned under oath about how his crimes may have influenced his testimony in a 2007 court case against Miami-based accounting firm BDO Seidman.

First congressional face-off of new year could be over tax cuts [On the Money/The Hill]
A day before the midterm elections and two weeks before lawmakers return to Washington for a lame-duck session, two leading theories have emerged on what will happen on tax cuts — either all of them will be extended for at least a year, or nothing will happen.

Finance hiring heads into the black for first time since 2009 [SJBJ]
The increase in demand for accounting jobs could be a sign that the job market there may be improving.

Bosses Overestimate Their Managing Skills [WSJ]
A new survey of 1,100 front-line managers suggests many are over-estimating their skills, with surprisingly little self-doubt. Seventy-two percent said they never questioned their ability to lead others in their first year as a manager.


More Trouble for Overstock.com and Patrick Byrne after Dismal Third Quarter Report [White Collar Fraud]
Not to mention a lawsuit related to the bankruptcy related to Petters Company, Inc.

‘Alcohol most dangerous drug to society’ – Prof Nutt [BBC]
FYI

SEC Intends to Take All the Time It Needs to Make Up Its Mind on IFRS

So any retiring knights out there feeling anxious can just cool it. And rubbing elbows with Deloitte talking about how great things will be isn’t going to make the Commission work faster.

That being said, Jim Kroeker will have you know that things are going along swimmingly, per the Commission’s press release:

“The staff has invested significant time and effort in executing the Work Plan, and we’ve made great progress to date,” said SEC Chief Accountant Jim Kroeker. “This progress report emphasizes the importance of transparency in the staff’s activities, and can help the public’s understanding of the magnitude of this project and the staff’s progress.”

So make no mistake; the SEC is on this. However, they do have some concerns, “[W]hether the international accounting rule maker is truly independent and whether IFRS is high quality.”

So if you could address those two things, that would be appreciated. Sir David.

Former KPMG Chairman Walter Hanson Passes Away

Walt was elected chairman of Peat Marwick at 39 and served in that role until he retired in 1980.

We weren’t aware of this but the firm actually has a “Walter E. Hanson Award” that recognizes “a KPMG partner for delivering exemplary client service, providing visionary leadership and displaying the highest standards of integrity.”

So while Walt’s name isn’t in the lobby (and thus, no Warhol treatment) this award sounds pretty good. The firm’s press release is after the jump.

WALTER E. HANSON, FORMER KPMG CHAIRMAN, DIES AT 84
First Chairman of Peat Marwick International

NEW YORK, Oct. 28 – Walter Edward Hanson, former Chairman of KPMG, died after a long illness at his home in Newport Beach, Calif., his family has disclosed. He was 84.

During a career at KPMG that spanned more than 23 years, Mr. Hanson, who died Sept. 24, was widely regarded and admired for his business insight and determination by both his colleagues and clients. He became the first Chairman of Peat Marwick International in 1978.

Mr. Hanson joined KPMG in 1957 as a partner in charge of its transportation practice, later as partner in charge of the New York office, and was elected Chairman of the U.S. firm at the age of 39, serving in that role from 1965 until his retirement in 1980.

He was born on Oct. 17, 1925, in Adelphia, N.J. After serving with the U.S. Naval Air Corps, he graduated from Lafayette College in 1949. He became a certified public accountant and joined the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway Co., where he rose to the position of Vice President and Comptroller.

Numerous academic and civic honors were conferred upon Mr. Hanson. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees at Lafayette College for 18 years, nine of those as Chairman. In 1984, the firm established the Walter E. Hanson/KPMG Peat Marwick Professorship of Business and Finance endowed chair at Lafayette. In June 1977, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Lafayette. In 1979, the Citizens Union of New York City presented him their Distinguished Service Award.

Mr. Hanson served for 15 years as a member of the Board of Governors of the United Nations Association of the USA. He was a member of the Advisory Council of both the Harvard Business School and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He also served as a member of the Board of Visitors of the Graduate School of Management-UCLA and Duke University Business School.

Following his retirement in 1980 from KPMG, he served as a member of the Boards of Directors of many companies, including CIGNA Corp, Fidelity Investments, Chesebrough-Ponds, and Insurance Company of North America. Mr. Hanson was founding Chairman of the Maritime Center in Norwalk, Conn. In 1983, Mr. Hanson was awarded the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the profession’s highest honor.

Commemorating Walter Hanson’s contributions, KPMG created the Walter E. Hanson Award in 2003 to recognize and honor a KPMG partner for delivering exemplary client service, providing visionary leadership and displaying the highest standards of integrity.

Mr. Hanson was one of America’s top sailboat racers. He raced for many years on Long Island Sound and along the East Coast. He twice won the Marblehead-Halifax Race and was the Northern Ocean Racing Circuit winner. In addition, he was a member of the New York Yacht Club and served for many years on its Board of Trustees.

Mr. Hanson is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, children Katharine (Greg Hurray), Elizabeth (Edward) Lawlor, and Barbara (Samuel) Maropis; grandchildren Jeffrey Hurray and Matthew, Abigail, and Casey Lawlor; a sister, Emma Freeman and brother, Irwin.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association and/or Lafayette College.

About KPMG LLP
KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm (www.us.kpmg.com), is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International.”) KPMG International’s member firms have 140,000 professionals, including more than 7,900 partners, in 146 countries.

iPad’s Versatility Make It an Essential Tool for Some Accountants

The following post is republished from AccountingWEB, a source of accounting news, information, tips, tools, resources and insight — everything you need to help you prosper and enjoy the accounting profession.

With Apple generating much of the buzz, global tablet sales could reach nearly 20 million units by the end of the year, and nearly 55 million units by the end of 2012, according to Gartner Inc., an information technology research and advisory firm. In addition to Apple’s iPad, other manufacturers have developed f the tablet, such as BlackBerry’s PlayBook, Dell’s Streak, and Toshiba’s Journe Touch.

Not without its limitations, the iPad, which is larger than a mobile phone but smaller than laptop and netbook computers, has become rather indispensible for some accountants.


Apple adulation

“I got it because I work here in Arizona but I have 50 percent or more of my business on the East Coast back in Maryland where I originally came from,” said N. Mark Freedman, who has been a CPA for nearly four decades. “I had a netbook but it was too slow. Then the iPad came out and I started looking into it. For travel purposes, it’s phenomenal. It works faster than any computer I have worked with in the past.”

Freedman works off of a Citrix server that stores all of his programs; nothing is stored on any of his computers. He knew a Citrix application was available for the iPad and tested it before purchasing the device.

“By loading in that application, [the iPad] became a PC. I can open up my Citrix server [in Maryland] and use it to get to all my programs. I just couldn’t believe I could get my desktop on my iPad,” he said.

What’s more, Freedman recently purchased the latest generation iPhone, which he is able to use as a mouse when working his iPad.

“I am able to use this thing when I travel. It’s so light,” Freedman said. “When I see clients, I pick up my iPad and everything is there. It works wonderfully.”

Initially intrigued by the iPhone and how Apple devices manage data and information, Kathleen A. Carolin, CPA, of Scottsdale, AZ-based Kaiser & Carolin, P.C., purchased an iPad the day they went on sale.

“I just got done with tax season and had extra money in my bank account so I bought a toy I hoped I could justify buying,” Carolin told AccountingWEB. “I love that little toy.”

What she affectionately refers to as a toy, however, became much more.

“I am using my iPad to take notes at client meetings. It certainly beats walking into a client’s office and trying to hook up a laptop, wait for it to boot up, and then have it block my view of my clients. The iPad is much more unobtrusive,” Carolin said.

“I am able to get my e-mail on the iPad. So, unlike my BlackBerry, I can see attachments in full and living color,” she said. “I use [my BlackBerry] as a phone, but that’s all I use it for now. The screen is so small. Opening attachments on a BlackBerry is nuts. It’s barely worth doing.”

Carolin took her iPad to a recent American Institute of Certified Public Accountants conference in Las Vegas, using it with a wireless keyboard to take notes during three days of seminars. “It’s better than dragging a laptop with you.”

Using an app called LogMeIn, Carolin connects to her office computer with the iPad. “I was talking to an investment advisor and I said, ‘Oh yes I got a copy of that tax return today.’ He asked what that entity owns, so I was able to [access] my office computer and say, ‘Here’s the property that’s in that LLC.'”

Not only is the iPad useful for accounting tasks and handy for reading books and news publications, it also is quite the conversation starter.

“I have met so many people by carrying it with me and reading it at lunch,” Carolin said. “I went to the doctor and the nurse said ‘Oh, I have one of those,’ and we talked about the apps we have.”

Sour Apple

Despite what Apple idolaters might say, the iPad has its drawbacks – at least for accountants.

“I wouldn’t want to use it on a day-to-day basis as a regular computer. It’s a little more cumbersome to work [the iPad] with the mouse,” Freedman told AccountingWEB. “I fully recommend it as a backup, as a secondary computer, as a travel piece of equipment. For travel and going out to clients on a regular basis, it becomes your computer. I would imagine that if someone got skilled enough at it they could use it to perform audits out in the field.”

Freedman added that using the iPad’s virtual keyboard can be a bit problematic as it takes up nearly half of the device’s screen.

Although, the iPad has relegated Carolin’s BlackBerry to just-a-phone status, she said the Apple device isn’t ready to supplant her computer.

“It won’t replace my laptop yet, probably due to the size of it. I do audits and tax returns. If I go out to do an audit, I don’t think it will feel right to me just yet to use it to do Excel spreadsheets,” Carolin said. “I’m not there yet, but I’m not ruling it out, either.”