Author: Caleb Newquist

Founding editor, Going Concern.

Job of the Day: Fund Accounting Analyst at J.P. Morgan

Who wouldn’t want to get into Jamie Dimon’s house? JPM is looking for an AVP/Fund Accounting Analyst in Boston.

Check the details for this position after the jump.


Company: J.P. Morgan

Title: Fund Accounting Analyst – Supervisor

Location: Boston, MA

Description: As an Assistant Vice President in the Global Support Unit, you will be responsible for establishing and reviewing the controls of the daily operation, ensuring adherence to procedures and policies, and for providing necessary data to senior management and clients.

Responsibilities: Manage up to four supervisors, each with a staff of four to six fund accountants, senior fund accountants and support positions; Your core responsibilities include: interviewing, hiring and coordinating the training of new employees; performing salary and performance reviews of the staff; reviewing key areas of daily operations in order to ensure accuracy and compliance with procedures and controls; ensuring the completeness and timeliness of reporting to clients, outside parties, and other internal departments; assigning responsibilities and ensuring an efficient work environment; reviewing accounting related issues including posting corporate actions, interpreting tax rulings

See the entire description over at the GC Career Center and visit the main page for all your job search needs.

Ernst & Young Gives Going Concern Warning to Allen Stanford Liquidator

If you’re given the task of running down assets that are left over from a Ponzi scheme, you’d think somone would throw in a little something for the effort. That stolen money is going to find itself after all.

Well! Apparently this is not so, especially as it relates to UK recovery firm Vantis. Vantis has been scouring the Earth for any of the plunder left over from the Allen Stanford hide the $7 billion game.

Six months into it, Vantis can’t get paid for its treasure hunt services and now Ernst & Young has said that the firm’s very life is at stake if they can’t start convincing some people to pay up.


Among the excuses that Vantis is claiming are the fact that most of the assets in the U.S. have been frozen and that the U.S. liquidator Ralph Janvey doesn’t play nice.

But hey! They’re still confident everything will be hunk-dory, “The UK recovery firm said it remained ‘confident’ that it would be able to recover its fees ‘in due course’ but said the timing remained uncertain.”

So more or less you’re day-to-day, right? Welcome to the prestigious Club of Those Ripped off by Allen Stanford.

Vantis faces going concern threat over liquidation of Allen Stanford’s bank [Telegraph]

Accounting Salaries Mapped by Region

Back again to decipher more of the data that you so graciously shared with us on our salary thread from December.

After noting that average Big 4 salaries and non-Big 4 salaries were essentially even, we now present the average regional salaries for you enjoyment or dismay:

• Mid-Atlantic– $88,831

• Northeast– $72,024

• Southeast– $56,000

• Midwest– $65,124

• Southwest– $73,185

• West – $64,706

Some analysis and the map, after the jump.


Surprisingly the Mid-Atlantic boasted the highest average salary based on the data collected. This was due primarily to two salaries that were reported from “JDs” working in “Washington National Tax.” The Mid-Atlantic average also included an Associate Director that reported a considerably higher salary than the average. If these three salaries are removed, the average salary is $76,254. which may be more in line with your expectations.

Another surprise that we saw was the higher than expected Southwest average salary. Again in this case, a brave Senior Manager in an advisory practice reported a much higher salary than most submitted. When this is removed the Southwest average comes down to $68,134, again, probably closer to what you would expect.

The Northeast, Southeast, and West all seem about right to us although we might have expected the West salaries to be a bit higher but then again we’re going with what we’ve got.

The map below shows how we grouped the states in the respective regions, with a few additional details on the regions.

Dennis Nally: Satyam Scandal Has Damaged PwC Brand

While kicking it in Davos, Dennis Nally had to have known that eventually he was going to have to answer questions about his mother of all nightmares, Satyam. Having just passed the one year anniversary of the cat being let out of the bag about, you know, totally bogus numbers, everyone is talking about it. In India.

CNBC India caught up with Nalls and considering everything that’s going down, DN doesn’t seem worried. He’s leading P. Dubs full steam ahead into India; there’s no crying over failed audits, “Without question the firm has had real challenges in India but that has not changed my outlook and view on the importance of India economy to global economic picture.”


Stoic; as he should be. Not that the firm hasn’t had to do a little damage control. But no worries; Dennis is a man with a plan, “We just need to continue to deliver, service our clients, respond to their needs, help them deal with their issues and challenges. If we do that and we do that consistently over a period of time the PwC brand in India will be as strong and as good as it has been in the past and where we want it to be into the future.”

Plus, this is a blip, an outlier, a rare occurrence, “Any one-off instance can do harm to your brand and that is the reality. Our job is to make sure we are doing everything and we have done a number of things in India to ensure that this would not happen again,” so there’s no cause for concern.

This isn’t Tiger Woods brand damage we’re talking about. It will all be a distant memory before you know it.

Satyam scam has hurt PwC brand: Global Chairman [Money Control]

Accounting News Roundup: SEC Budget Gets a Boost; PwC Wants More Audit Committee Disclosure; Madoff Ex-CFO to Sell New Jersey Home | 02.02.10

• Obama Seeks 12 Percent Budget Increase for SEC [AP via NYT]
Figuring the troops could use some help, PBO’s new budget will increase the Commission’s budget to $1.3 billion, including $419 million for new enforcement personnel.

In addition to the feds generous appropriation, the Commission is also budgeting for $1.7 bil in fees from new stock registration for 2011. Mary Schapiro seemed pleased saying that the truckloads of budget dollars will “do a great deal to help us keep pace with the continuing growth of the markets and provide necessary resources to support important regulatory initiatives in 2011.”

Whether or not $3 billion is going to save the sinking ship will remain to be seen although the “throwing money at the problem” solution seems to be in full effect.


• We need more disclosure from audit committees: PwC [Accountancy Age]
Someone had to say it! PwC seems to have had enough of the give, give, give action they’ve been doing and would like a little transparency sent their way courtesy of the audit committee.

In a submission to the UK’s Auditing Practices Board P. Dubs “believes there should be new disclosures which articulate the principles that audit committees apply in deciding whether the auditor should provide non-audit services.”

It’s not good enough that you won’t engage us for non-audit services, we want to know why! It’s important that we know. And for those of you that feel that non-audit services undermine independence, you simply don’t have all the facts, and therefore should BTFO.

• Madoff’s Ex-Finance Chief to Give Up NJ Home [NYT]
Frank DiPascali, not so much a CFO as he was a really good liar, has agreed to sell his home in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The feds will being doing the honors and it will come with all the appliances, furniture, etc. which probably makes for a decent deal. This is possibly where one would insert a Jersey Shore reference but we don’t know anything about the show other than most people on it aren’t from New Jersey. Happy hunting.

The Government Accountability Office Does a Great Job, Says the Government Accountability Office

We don’t envy anyone working at the GAO. Telling Congress how badly they spend money and then telling the whole world about it (even though no one listens) sounds like a pretty thankless job.

So the fact that the GAO gave itself an “A” on its performance review shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Who else was going to the give them the performance review? Plus if you’re regularly known as the “Taxpayer’s Best Friend” then we think you can be trusted with the honor system.

In fiscal year 2009, GAO met or exceeded all of its performance targets by, for example, identifying $43 billion in financial benefits–a return of $80 for every dollar GAO spent–and over 1,300 improvements in laws and government programs and operations. The rate at which GAO’s recommendations were implemented by federal agencies or the Congress was 80 percent, and over two-thirds of the products issued contained recommendations. During fiscal year 2009, the GAO met or exceeded all of its performance targets and made recommendations that resulted in “over 1,300 improvements in laws and government programs and operations.

To be perfectly honest, that does sound pretty damn impressive. Trying to make any sense of the ins and outs of the federal government isn’t something that we would wish upon our worst enemy.

If you’re still skeptical of the GAO stellarness, you’ll be happy to know that it was recently ranked #2 in the best places to work in the federal government. Now before you dismiss this silver medal, this isn’t some hack job put out by Fortune; this is something that is only issued every two years, by the Partnership for Public Service. We’re not saying that it would be difficult to rank so high on such a list but it’s got to be worth something.

Summary of GAO’s Performance and Financial Information Fiscal Year 2009 [GAO.gov]
Best_Places_to_Work_2009

Who Has Advice on Picking a Subgroup in a Big 4 Tax Practice?

We received a request from a young reader who got an email for their start date this summer and now needs some help picking a subgroup.

“ I am trying to decide between pass-throughs, C-Corps, and Consulting/research/writing.“

Personally, our take is to remember some of the people that recruited you. If you felt like you would enjoy working with a particular person that you met during that process, start there. Shoot them an email asking them about the practice that they work in, what the work is like, what are the pros, cons, etc. Chances are they’ve spent time in other practices, so you ask for their opinion on those as well.

Since there are plenty of seasoned Big 4 tax gurus out there, help the soon-to-be new associate out. Advice along the lines of, “You’re screwed, they all suck,” and “Stay in school as long as you can, the real world is a bitch,” while grounded in some truth, is not what your future associates are requesting.

Grant Thornton to Close Greensboro, NC Office

We’ve received multiple tips informing us that Grant Thornton’s Greensboro, North Carolina office will be closing in the spring after busy season has ended.

Greensboro has approximately 35 professionals in all three service lines although our sources indicate that many tax professionals were laid off late last year in anticipation of the closure. Greensboro currently functions as a satellite of the Charlotte office which houses the support professionals.

What’s not known at this time is whether the office will become virtual, similar to the setup that Ernst & Young arranged for its Greensboro office other whether it will be an outright closure.

We contacted Grant Thornton for comment and had not heard back from them at the time of this posting.

If you’re familiar with the situation in Greensboro and have more information, get in touch with us. We’ll continue to keep you updated as we learn more.

Job of the Day: Moody’s Needs a Senior Internal Auditor

Moody’s needs a senior internal auditor to help keep their internal controls tip-top.

The position requires 3 to 5 years of experience and requires some both domestic and international. Check out more details for this position after the jump.


Company: Moody’s

Title: Senior Internal Auditor

Location: New York

Minimum experience: 3 years

Responsibilities: Plan and execute financial, operational and SOX audits of Moody’s ratings and analytics businesses in accordance with the internal audit plan and departmental & the Institute of Internal Auditors standards; Develop a complete understanding of Moody’s ratings and analytics business, current accounting, compliance and operating policies; Assist Internal Audit management with defining and updating the annual and long-range internal audit programs based on associated financial, operating and compliance risks;

Execute internal audits with the following responsibilities: Plan and communicate the detailed audit scope; Supervise & develop staff auditors; Oversee 3rd party internal audit professionals; Ensure timely completion of audits; Communicate all aspects of audit results / findings timely from the closing meeting to the final audit report; Assist with updating Internal Audit policies and procedures based on changes within the profession.

Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting with approximately 3-5 years experience; A combination of Big 4 Accounting firm and private industry experience is preferred; CPA required; Ideal candidate will have an understanding and experience of a global organization and a strong knowledge of GAAP; Ability to travel 20% (domestic & international); Proficiency in financial system is a must – PeopleSoft Financials highly desirable.

See the entire description over at the GC Career Center and visit the main page for all your job search needs.

Florida CFO: Office Supply Czar will Oversee Paper Clip Exchange

Of course! It didn’t even occur to us that Florida CFO Alex Sink would be far too busy running for Governor to oversee the new CFO Depot. Accordingly, as is the rage in politics these days, there will be a Office Supply Czar to overlook this little treasure of savings.

Not only does the video below inform us of this new critical position in the Florida government, the exact number of paper clips that were counted is made known: 402,419.


When you think about it, the appointment of a czar is a natural progression in the bureaucracy. If there is a specific problem (e.g. an overabundance of paper clips) appointing one individua to get on the problem like stink on a monkey is the best way to address said problem. The creation of a committee, while tempting, has run its course. Why appoint a team of 10 – 12 individuals to talk about a problem when you can get one person (with the appropriate qualifications) to make the solving of the problem their sole purpose for being on Earth?

PwC Accepts Responsibility for Losing Personal Records of Alaska Public Employees

In Alaska news that doesn’t involve Sarah Palin, it emerged late last week that PwC lost the personal records of 77,000 public employees and retirees who participated in the State’s Public Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Retirement System in 2003 – 2004.

Alaska had engaged P. Dubs as expert witnesses in a lawsuit against its former actuary Mercer and turned the data over to the firm for analysis during the discovery process. PwC discovered that the data vanished in December and PwC notified the state last week (nobody wants to share bad news during the holidays).


PwC has accepted responsibility for the whole mess and has agreed to pay for identity theft protection, credit monitoring, and security freezes (if necessary) for the 77,000 employees affected. The firm will also reimburse any losses suffered by any of the participants.

The firm must have realized that there was little upside to disclaiming responsibility, as this would inevitably lead to a sentence in a Sarah Palin speech that involved PwC opposing God, guns, and regular Americans. Populist rancor would ensue and the firm would be run out of Alaska within a week (give or take).

This is the second SNAFU for PwC in the last month. The firm issued a press release on January 15th announcing that someone was sending bogus PwC checks to random people advising them that they had been selected to be secret shoppers. It’s not clear as to whether this is a sign of the wheels coming off or simply bad luck. We’ll keep you informed of any additional slip-ups.

State Acts Promptly to Safeguard Alaskans Against Potential Identity Theft [State of Alaska Department of Law]