• Taking Tiger By the Tax Tale – Two things are for sure, Elin will come out of this thing just fine and Uncle Sam will certainly be looking for his cut. [Tax Girl]
• Fresh Pay Skirmish Erupts at AIG – Pseudo-government employees continue to threaten to jump ship if their civic-duty comp is cut too much by the pay master. [WSJ]
• Going to School on Revenue Recognition – Tom Selling digs into Apollo Group, Inc.’s (parent of University of Phoenix) SEC filings to try and figure out what the Commish might be interested in. [The Accounting Onion]
• Bloomberg eyes more acquisitions – In its quest for world domination of financial information, the ‘Berg is “planning a further year of aggressive investment and may make more acquisitions”. [FT]
Author: Caleb Newquist
Founding editor, Going Concern.
Review Comments | 12.04.09
• IRS & California Slap $1.9m Tax Liens Against Pamela Anderson – And her two friends. [TaxProf Blog]
• How to Keep Your Firm Out of Trouble in this Holiday Party Season – Not listed: Don’t let interns attend. [CPA Trendlines]
• Superstar Finance Blogger Week 3: Francine McKenna at re: The Auditors – Hey, we’ve heard of her! [Blogging Suits]
• House Approves 45 Percent Estate Tax Extension – So much for dying in 2010. [Web CPA]
• OTB Enters Bankruptcy Protection – Speaking of death. Will you miss the plight? [City Room/NYT]
Layoff Watch ’09: Crowe Horwath
We just received word that Crowe’s CEO, Chuck Allen left a firm-wide voicemail announcing that the firm was having layoffs.
According to our tip, CH had “a lot of forced time off during the summer” and that “Oakbrook assurance has seen some movement.” Also, our source indicated that “Firm isn’t announcing specifics besides that its happening.”
So far, our calls and emails to Crowe Horwath have gone unreturned. We’ll update you with any comment or further information they may provide. If you have details on Crowe Horwath layoffs from any office, send the details to tips@goingconcern.com and discuss in the comments.
PwC’s Moritz: ‘We Will Have Base Increases Next Year’
Now we’re talking! Nothing like calling your shot.
Moritz did his best Joe Namath today on PwC’s firm wide webcast today (is it over?) so all that speculation of P. Dubs phoning in 2010 can be put to rest. WRITE. IT. DOWN.
If you’ve got other thoughts or details on the web cast, get in touch and discuss in the comments.
E&Y Columbus Layoffs Update
Just a little more context on the latest E&Y layoffs that we reported on this morning.
A new source has indicated to us the cuts were absolutely based on utilization:
The staff confirmed that no counselor was addressed.
The staff confirmed that no personnel with whom the individual worked within the past 6-8 months was consulted, including manager and above.
The staff confirmed that no performance reviews since April 2009 were referenced.
You better have a strong anchor client that keeps you going year round, and good luck if you lose them. So much for people.
We don’t feel further comment is necessary but if you have any thoughts, please share them in the comments.
Is Charlie Rangel a Closet NASCAR Fan?
Maybe! Joe Kristan tells us that the Ways and Means chair is “[proposing] to ‘pay for’ the extension of forty five tax provisions that expire every year or so with an increase on the taxes on hedge funds and private equity funds.”
At the expense of the PE and hedge fund industry no less! Rangs is screwing people in his own back yard to give tax provisions to race car fans? Does this seem especially bassackwards to anyone else?
Tax Update Blog:
Among the 45 provisions are special depreciation rules for “motorsports entertainment complexes” and an “alternative motor vehicle credit for heavy hybrids.” Because heaven knows we need NASCAR and heavy hybrids more than we need private equity investment.
Being the dapper gent that he is, Rangs no doubt has several of his favorite drivers’ jackets hanging up at all of his rent-controlled apartments. You cannot deny the fashion genius of the bow tie/Snickers jacket combo.
Beating on Private Equity to Save NASCAR [Tax Update Blog]
See also: Rangel Identifies $30b of Tax Increases to Pay for 45 Tax Extenders [TaxProf Blog]
Job of the Week: Is Visa Where You Want to Be?
Why not? They’re not going anywhere for awhile. Slowly dying dollar and all. Get the details for a Senior Financial Analyst position in the Bay Area, after the jump.
Company: Visa
Location: Foster City, CA
Title: Sr. Financial Analyst – Controller Business Operations
Responsibilities: Responsible for analyzing, interpreting, and recording financial transactions, as well as and reporting this information and proactively research and document conclusions on accounting issues with appropriate references to relevant GAAP pronouncements.
Qualifications: Must have a BS in Accounting or related field, CPA, at least five to seven years of progressive professional accounting experience in a medium to large international company or public accounting firm, and proficiency in Microsoft applications. In-depth knowledge and recent experience with application of SOP 98-1.
Check out the entire description over at the GC Career Center and jump over to the main page for all your job search needs.
Layoff Watch ’09: Update on Ernst & Young’s November Round
It’s been a couple of weeks since we last heard any details from last month’s layoffs at E&Y, so we just assumed this particular story had run its course.
Well now, we have received word of (and confirmed) layoffs in the Columbus, Ohio office. One source indicates it was 2 – 3 staff and possibly one manager in the assurance practice. This would put the number of layoffs in the North Central region in the nabe of 25. Our source indicated that it seemed that Columbus had been spared for the round last month, so this may be their attempt to catch up.
Annnnnnd it’s our understanding that the cuts happened the day before the holiday party in Columbus. So there’s that.
If you have additional details, continue to pass them along and continue to keep us updated on any layoffs you hear for your office.
Rumor Mill: KPMG Debunking ‘Six Year Manager’ Rumors?
While many Klynveldians are getting amped to cobble together some bears for the kids this morning we’ll pass along a little rumor about a rumor.
The rumor that the KPMG bigwigs have been considering a six year timeline to make manager in the audit practice has been kicked around for at least a couple years. Naturally, there were two schools of thought:
• Managers thought it was good idea
• SAs thought it was a terrible idea
According to a tip we received, apparently there is an email floating around that says the rumors about a “six year program are not true and that the firm will continue with existing promotion timing.”
A friend of GC told us that while it’s entirely possible that such an email exists, it’s definitely not coming down from 345 Park and could be some local office trying to calm down those SAs that are considered flight risks.
Regardless of the rumored debunking, the path to partner is certainly becoming longer as we reported earlier this week, and early promotions will still happen based on need or political maneuvering.
If you’ve been notified that your promotion timing is still on track, by email or otherwise, pass the info along or discuss in the comments.
Preliminary Analytics | 12.04.09
• Be fair to Bernanke – Steve Rattner, former car czar, makes the case for the Beard. [WP]
• New Jersey Losing $22,000-a-Day With Swap for Bonds Never Sold – The Garden State owes the Bank of Montreal $23.5 million: “The sum, about the same as the salaries for 113 teachers over three years, will allow it to avoid a $50 million penalty for canceling the contract, which was tied to planned sales of school-construction bonds.” [Bloomberg]
• Chávez Spurs Bank Fears – The next big mess? ‘It’s going to blow…It’s just a matter of time.’ [WSJ]
• Petters Plans Appeal of $3.5B Fraud Conviction – “Efforts to recover money to compensate victims will likely net only pennies on the dollar, and prosecutors have not ruled out new charges against others.” [AP via NYT]
• The PCAOB Wants an Increase in Its Allowance – JDA, always wanting to be helpful, has some suggestions for the PCAOB. [JDA]
Review Comments | 12.03.09
• JDA rolls in with >75 tomorrow so if you’ve got any questions on the CPA Exam, send them to our tips mailbox.
• International Accounting Standards Board has “disgraced itself,” says critic – Can you say that about a knight? [CFOZone]
• Its Future in Limbo, the PCAOB Asks for More Money – Gotta pay those board members. [CFO]
• Hairy Issues: Are You Flaunting Your Heavage? – The Journal does it again. [DB]
• Judge ends Enron shareholder lawsuit against banks – Eight years after the E went down, investors have recovered approximately 30 cents on the dollar. [Reuters]
• Tax Court Allows Nurse to Deduct Cost of University of Phoenix MBA – ‘An MBA degree is different from a degree that serves as foundational qualification to attain a professional license. For instance, this Court had denied deductions for law school expenses, because a law degree qualifies a taxpayer for the new trade or business of being a lawyer.’ [TaxProf Blog]
PwC Doesn’t Want Anyone That Isn’t Special
Denny keeps it pretty vague but we’re guessing he’s not talking about serving as captain of the Delta Chi beer pong team. If you’ve got other ideas on “special,” discuss in the comments.
[WSJ via FINS]