Author: Caleb Newquist

Founding editor, Going Concern.

Busy Season Outlook: Open Thread

overwhelmed.jpgYou may have noticed that the posting schedule here at GC has ran a bit longer the past few days. This is no accident. We were given a friendly reminder on Monday:

Caleb, this is busy season, I expect review comments an hour later for the next few months. That is all.

Well! Since we’re always with you in spirit, we’ll be happy to oblige this request.
We failed to mention it in our outlook on Tuesday since we figured it was understood that the new year marks the beginning of the end of your lives for the next 3ish months.
Then we remembered that it has been prophesied by many of you that this particular busy season will be the worst in recent memory due to layoffs and the ongoing (?) exodus.
So we present you with our busy season open thread. Discuss whatever you like. Will it indeed be the worst ever or will you dominate as usual? For some of you, it’s your first busy season. Are you soiling yourself from all the horror stories or have you found the right drug cocktail to keep you both focused on your work and oblivious to time passing? Go.

Preliminary Analytics | 01.07.10

Thumbnail image for Tim_geithner.jpg• Geithner’s New York Fed Told AIG to Limit Swaps Disclosure – “AIG said in a draft of a regulatory filing that the insurer paid banks, which included Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Societe Generale SA, 100 cents on the dollar for credit-default swaps they bought from the firm. The New York Fed crossed out the reference, according to the e-mails, and AIG excluded the language when the filing was made public on Dec. 24, 2008.” [Bloomberg]
• Climbing the Finance Ladder: Landing a Promotion [FINS]
• Canadian Police Seek Man Accused of Ponzi Scheme – According to the SEC, the self-dubbed, “Chinese Warren Buffet” sent a letter to investors admitting that he was running a Ponzi scheme. That was easy. [AP via NYT]
• Economic Consequences and the Political Nature of Accounting Standard Setting – “For decades it has been taught in every graduate accounting program in the country that accounting standards have economic consequences. As a result, I contend it is natural and predictable that competing economic interest attempt a political solution to proposed accounting standards.” [The Summa]
• Accounting rules over M&A spread confusion – IFRS 3 is disappointing many. [FT]

Review Comments | 01.06.10

empticketmaster.jpg• U.S. regulators undecided on Ticketmaster deal: sources – Maybe because they’ve been turned to the Dark Side. [Reuters]
• Yes, that morale problem is as bad as you think – Snap out of it people. [CFOZone]
• New Clarity on Contingent Liabilities – Crystal. [CFO]
• Kansas May Need 16 Weeks to Refund Paper Tax Filings – Remember what we said about expectations. [Web CPA]
• Schwarzenegger Asks for More Funding – Arnie is blaming the Feds for the state’s $20 billion budget shortfall. [WSJ]

For the Last Time: We Don’t Expect Much Out of the IRS

Thumbnail image for IRS_logo-thumb-150x140.jpgWe’ve mentioned this before but it’s worth stating again: are everyone’s expectations for the IRS unreasonable?
The National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson, has released her annual report to Congress and it points out (among other shortcomings) that the IRS provides “unacceptable” customer service.
Sigh. Need we remind everyone that we’re talking about the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? This is not Nordstrom’s where you can snap your fingers and another pair of gabardines appear.
Oh sure, maybe the Service is lowering its expectations: “[T]he agency’s goal is to connect 71 percent of callers to a real person, down from a recent high of 87 percent in 2004,” but doesn’t that seem reasonable for the IRS? Are we missing something? Is there some other dimension where the IRS is revered for its efficiency?
IRS Too Busy to Talk to 3 in 10 Who Call for Help [AP via ABC]
National Taxpayer Advocate Report.pdf

Nightmare Client of the Day: Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga.jpgAs you are all aware, there are some hella-suck clients out there for accountants. Demanding clients, unorganized clients, asshole clients, etc.
Then there are the clients that just don’t give a damn about how much money they may be throwing around.
Today’s example is none other than Lady Gaga and the nightly extravaganzas she puts on.
For some reason LG strikes as the sort of client that would show up with all her receipts in shoeboxes but in her case, there would be hundreds of shoeboxes and they’d all be fabulous.

The ‘Bad Romance’ singer – who describes her stage show as “ostentatious and over-the-top” – is making a heavy loss every night she performs on the North American leg of her ‘Monster Ball Tour , which has so far overspent by £2m (€2.2m) even though every concert is sold out.
The massive costs have been run up by her elaborate stage design, costumes and props, including the giant bath she used while making a promotional appearance on UK TV talent show ‘The X Factor’.
A source said: “The concerts are losing money hand over fist because they’ve spent a fortune on pricey costumes, technical equipment and elaborate set designs. She spent £500,000 (€550,000) on one stage alone.
“But Lady Gaga gets what Lady Gaga wants. Her wardrobe is huge and she wants to shock – and that costs serious money.”

There are many — including our friends at Fashionista — that say the woman is an “utter genius” and that genius simply cannot be denied.
Fair enough but accountants, being the practical creatures that they are, would not stand for such irresponsible behavior. From the sounds of it however LG’s accountant seems to accept the notion that the woman is an artist, bottom line be damned.
If you’ve got ideas on how to keep her spending under control, we’re all ears but personally, if she walked up to us (sans pants naturally) we’d have a helluva time saying no.

Job of the Day: The OC Is Calling

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for hire me2.jpgIf we knew anything about reality TV maybe we would throw in a quip about Laguna Beach/The Hills/whatever the hell those shows are called nowadays but we don’t. The allure of weather that isn’t Biblical should be enough pique your interest.
Check out the details for a Pricing Manager position at PIMCO in Newport Beach, CA after the jump.


Company: PIMCO
Title: Pricing Manager
Location: Newport Beach, CA
Minimum experience: 2 – 5 years
Description: PIMCO Pricing is primarily responsible for oversight of security valuation of PIMCO’s mutual funds and private trusts advised and administered by PIMCO. The group works closely with third-party vendors (fund accountants/administrators, custodians, auditors and security pricing vendors) that provide services to the funds/trusts.
Responsibilities: Interact with the pricing vendors in order to price additional securities PIMCO owns; Communicate daily inquiries to appropriate internal departments; Manage various projects related to process improvements, procedures and systems development; Maintains current knowledge of domestic and foreign securities markets and monitors effects on funds and pricing and valuation procedures; Develop reports for PIMCO funds, the Boards, Legal, and Portfolio Management
Required Skills: Candidate will have two to five years of professional work experience in mutual fund operations, broker/dealer back-office or mutual fund auditor. Solid understanding of operational controls, processes, procedures.
See the entire description over at the GC Career Center and visit the main page for all your job search needs.

What Are You Prepared to Do to Make Your Dream Wedding Happen?

love-money.jpgOkay ladies, we’re aware that some of you have the wedding fever. You want the string quartet, doves flying out of the house of worship, driving away in a Bentley while you leave your new hubby’s ex on her knees sobbing her stupid little head off. We get it.
What we don’t get is the lengths that a few of you are willing to go to make this super magical day happen.
Enter Joanne Kent, a 26 year old accountant who embezzled £470,000 from her employer. £50,000 went to bankroll her wedding, including £37,134 for the cliff-top hotel. That didn’t include the cost of the flowers, cars, and fireworks on the beach (all crucial).
And she would have gotten away with it had she not produced an American invoice that was in pounds rather than dollars. The poor girl was sentenced to two years for her little stunt and will likely have to pay the loot back. What’s not clear is if the guests will be demanding their gifts back.
Accountant stole £470,000 for wedding and luxury life [Telegraph]
More Theft for Necessities:
Accountant Steals from Toys ‘R’ Us, Buys Hookers Bentleys

Big 4 Performance Analysis Will Probably Come as a Huge Shock to CNN

You may remember a little rant we (and others) went on not so long ago about CNN buying what the Big 4 were selling re: growing business in shrinking economy.
Well! The gang over The Big Four Blog have put out a performance analysis (PDF can for download: big4_media_kit.pdf) for the firms’ 2009 revenue and their conclusions tell a different story.
From the Execkquote>2009 was a difficult year overall for the Big Four accounting firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young (E&Y), KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), as their financial performance was affected by tough external conditions, slow global economic growth, cost-conscious clients and sluggish merger and acquisition activity.


After an extraordinary period of continuous revenue growth from the early 2000s to 2008, combined revenue for the four firms in fiscal 2009 did fall by 7% from fiscal 2008 in US dollar terms. Revenue decreases in US dollar percentage terms ranged from negative 5% for Deloitte to negative 7% each for Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers to negative 11% for KPMG.

One of the more interesting tidbits was presented in the chart below:
Picture 1.png
After a growth in employment of over 10% in 2008, the rate dropped to 2% for 2009 and judging by the firms’ expectation to offer less internships this year we’d expect that trend to continue.
It’s worth noting that even in the rebuilding year, the firms’ combined revenue was $94 billion so no one is starving but, as BFB pointed out, the firms near decade long run of growth has now come to a screeching halt.
With all the new information, CNN might consider a follow-up story. We’d be happy to take a look at it. Or they may just leave it there:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
CNN Leaves It There
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes		 Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Preliminary Analytics | 01.06.10

Thumbnail image for Raj.jpg• Galleon’s Rajaratnam Paid Tipster, Filing Says – Raj’s total haul is now $36 mil with the new allegations. [WSJ]
• Buffett Hits Kraft on Cadbury – You know it’s serious when the WB manages to avoid any metaphors that mention hookers, ED meds, or just copulation in general. [WSJ]
• Bad Tax Prep Is A Symptom, Not the Disease – “[C]racking down on those seasonal shysters who abuse the system is only attacking a symptom of the real disease, which is our insanely complex tax code.” [Tax Vox]
• The shortlist for worst takeover of the century – The Telegraph isn’t going to let Gerald Levin just claim this without throwing a few more options out there. [Telegraph]
• Global Financial Regulation Overhaul Seen In 2010 – Got show some results, it’s an election year and all. [Reuters via NYT]
• UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld deserves statue on Wall Street, not prison sentence – The man is a national treasure. [NYDN]
• Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd won’t seek reelection, will retire at end of term – New blood! [WaPo]

Review Comments | 01.05.10

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for thumbs down col.gif• GMAC sees $5 billion Q4 loss after latest bailout – Nice work guys. [Reuters]
• Deloitte Wins Major Round Re: Alleged Inside Trader Flanagan – “This litigation has forced them to reveal their woefully inadequate policies and procedures regarding independence compliance.” [Re: The Auditors]
• CPA Poll: Are You Securities Licensed? – TPTB have not been appeased. Vote before we’re held against our will. [GC]
• Is Preventing Tax Evasion The Same As Raising Taxes? – Yes? [The Atlantic]

How Does Seeing 5 Times Square on New Year’s Eve Make You Feel?

EYa.jpgWe’ve noticed a lot of chatter in the Twitterverse from soldiers in Uncle Ernie’s army regarding the E&Y sign in Times Square. As you might imagine, the reaction is mixed.
Wanting some reader input we asked around to some of our E&Y sources for their thoughts on seeing the sign on the tube while ringing in the New Year or their reaction if they saw it. So far, we’ve only heard back from one source (are people working too hard already?):

Hmmmm EY on a TV…..I’d flip the eff out!!!!!! No raises this year. I’d probably drag the TV out by its power cord. Then I would taunt it, kick it, give it cigarette burn marks and finally bury the tv alive by strapping it to a gas generator and dumping it in to a smelly landfill. I would then go home, feel bad for the tv for about 5 seconds and eat some apple pie.

For the non-E&Yers the sign may not provoke such shockingly violent images. However, if you did have any thoughts, any thoughts at all, when you saw the sign on NYE, feel free to share them here. We don’t want you to scare your therapist.

H&R Block Is Up for the Challenge

Thumbnail image for GOVT.jpgAfter yesterday’s news of brand spanking new requirements for paid tax preparers, we mused about the plans of tax prep shops like H&R Block to fall in line with Doug Shulman’s demands.
It was then suggested to us that maybe we should just ask them. Novel idea! So being nosy we did just that.
We got in touch with very helpful H&R Block spokesperson who provided us with the following statement:

H&R Block is pleased to support IRS Commissioner Shulman’s efforts to improve the regulation of tax preparers. We believe the requirements announced by the IRS today are a great first step in delivering on the promise of providing all taxpayers an ethical and accurate tax preparation experience.
We welcome the spotlight that the IRS has cast on our industry and are committed to maintaining the highest possible training and testing standards in the tax preparation industry. H&R Block tax professionals already are required to complete hundreds of hours of training and undergo additional testing each year. Our minimum training standards exceed those the IRS will require.

So there you have it. Challenge accepted. In fact, H&RB will see your IRS standards and raise you. See you in 2011.