Author: GoingConcern

KPMG’s Risk Management Ad Jumps, Climbs and Flies but Misses the Point

Just as Washington is finally passing a bill that will reduce unnecessary risk-taking by financial institutions, here comes this commercial from KPMG in the UK doing the opposite. KPMG parties like it was 2005 and sub-prime was a bad cut of steaks. The commercial celebrates risk-taking in a manner that only a BP executive could rationalize deepwater offshore drilling.

Almost everything is wrong with this commercial:


Its heroes, a man and a woman, presumably KPMG employees, are living in a risky world. Risk is all around them, from the moment they get up. But don’t worry. These two nitwits know how to engage in risk management. Mostly in jingle and parkour, in fact.

Wikipedia tells us that Parkour “is where participants jump, vault, and climb over obstacles in a fluid manner. Skills such as jumping and climbing, or the more specific parkour moves are employed. The object of parkour is to get from one place to another using only the human body and the objects in the environment. The obstacles can be anything in one’s environment but parkour is often seen practiced in urban areas because of the many suitable public structures available such as buildings and rails.”

The two heroes run, jump, flip over and take maniacal risks along the way to the office. Along the way the tag line, “Turn Risk Into Advantage”, is reinforced by embedded messages, in case we did not get the main theme”: “Know Risk, Know Reward”, “Do You Have The Risk Appetite For Success?” “Always Be Ready For The Unexpected.”

I actually like the “Turn Risk Into Advantage.” It is clever, memorable, and summarizes nicely what corporations are seeking in risk management advice. Yet it is completely overshadowed by the flip execution and the manner that suggests that KPMG employees, and by extension KPMG, take risks haphazardly.

Besides being out of context and lacking a narrative, the commercial ends on a cheesy note: upon arriving into the KPMG office and performing obligatory back flips, the couple race up the stairs, looks over the rail, look at each other, smile, and decide not to jump and take the elevator instead. This is a sensible move, perhaps the first one in this commercial.

Risk management is an essential practice, and perhaps as this advertising suggests, more in need than ever. Yet, it is not clear to me why the issue cannot be addressed heads on and intelligently. The irrelevant “packaging” simply detracts from the appeal of the practice.

Avi Dan is President & CEO of Avidan Strategies, a New York based consultancy specialized in advising professional service companies on marketing and business development. Mr. Dan was previously a board member with two leading advertising agencies and managed another.

Ernst & Young Report: Most CFOs Aren’t Interested in Becoming CEOs

This story is republished from CFOZone, where you’ll find news, analysis and professional networking tools for finance executives.

A surprising new report from Ernst & Young makes the bold claim that only 10 percent of CFOs actually want to become CEO. The report – entitled ‘DNA of the CFO’ – was based around a survey of 699 CFOs in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia and included in depth interviews with CFOs of leading companies such as Heineken, Dubai Aerospace Enterpriser.

The accepted wisdom is that in times of trouble, boards turn to CFOs to become CEOs. CFOs are seen as having a good handle on the numbers, attention to which is seen as the cure to the company’s problems.

While CFOs are generally seen as detail focused but not necessarily strategically focused, the survey shows that some 35 percent of all CFOs are intimately involved in the strategic side of the business. This is in addition to their day to day duties of keeping on top of the numbers.


While only 10 percent say that they want to be CEO, 73 percent say that they would like to remain in their role while taking on more strategic responsibility. This suggests that CFOs are put off by the unwelcome levels of scrutiny that CEOs face, which as CFOs they can largely avoid. And if CFOs can undertake much of the interesting strategic work which CEOs do but without the glare of publicity, that would appear to be a good bargain.

The survey also laid out CFOs’ professional failings, with a majority saying that their biggest lay in communication with external stakeholders, especially the media. Any financial journalist can attest that CFOs are difficult people to communicate with. They might possess the keys to the kingdom, in terms of the juiciest details about what’s actually going on in a company, but they are generally woeful at crafting a positive message. Those few that can are usually the ones who make it to the top.

Even so, the survey shows that not many CFOs actually want this. Rather what is revealed is that the CFO position is the destination itself, not the staging post to a role any higher. To that end, the report crafted a list of the competencies that finance professionals need to reach the role of CFO. These competencies are listed below, in order of priority.

• Extremely strong financial professionalism
• A strong commercial sensibility
• Deep understanding of the business
• Skill with people
• Ability to think strategically
• Excellent communication skills – the ability to translate complex issues in a simple, straightforward way
• Ability to manage conflict
• Inclination to solve rather than create problems
• International experience
• Language skills
• Experience of running major projects
• Business analytical skills
• Ability to manage stress and complexity under pressure
• Good health
• Operational experience
• Ability to adapt to change
• Experience of adversity
• Passion

Many of these are the normal, boilerplate nonsense that headhunters come up with: it is difficult to do any job if you are not in good health, or even if you lack passion for the job in hand. Others seem bland enough to apply to any high level job such as the ability to adapt to change. Others might seem mutually exclusive: experience running major projects can often conflict with the task of managing the finances around those projects.

International experience and excellent communication are also skills that can be acquired. More challenging, perhaps, is the need to be a problem solver and not a creator while at the same time being excellent with numbers. Financial results are obviously not a day at the beach. If you can master them and don’t feel the need to be an excellent communicator, then like 90 percent of the respondents, becoming CFO is the end itself, not a path to the other corner office.

Job of the Day: Visa Needs a Senior Financial Analyst

Visa is looking for an experienced professional to a Senior Financial Analyst role in its Foster City, CA location.

Responsibilities include applying U.S. GAAP to business activities and documenting analysis and conclusions in HR accounting, with an emphasis on compensation and pension accounting.

Qualifications include a CPA and strong technical accounting skills (FASB statements: 87, 88, 106, 112, 123R, 146, and 158). Big 4 experience and exposure to IFRS is preferred.


Company: Visa

Title: Sr. Financial Analyst

Location: Foster City, CA

Description: The Sr. Financial Analyst will apply U.S. GAAP to business activities and documenting analysis and conclusions in all areas of Human Resources accounting, with an emphasis on compensation (stock-based compensation, deferred compensation arrangements, executive compensation) and pension accounting.

Responsibilities: Technical accounting expertise and operational application of the following specific pre-Codification FASB statements: 87, 88, 106, 112, 123R, 146, and 158; Drafting and maintaining global accounting policies for Visa Inc. in accordance with GAAP and SEC guidance; Providing non-U.S. geographies with technical accounting guidance and assisting them in solving Human Resources-related accounting issues; Preparing and reviewing journal entries, complex general ledger account reconciliations, and analyses to support accounting estimates and adjustments.

Qualifications: CPA license (active status); Strong technical accounting skills and experience in handling complex U.S. GAAP accounting matters, as well as the demonstrated ability to perform technical accounting research and use technical accounting research tools; Direct experience with the following specific pre-Codification FASB statements: 87, 88, 106, 112, 123R, 146, and 158; Strong communication skills, especially in writing technical accounting position papers and explaining and presenting technical accounting matters and positions to auditors and management.

Preferred qualifications: Familiarity with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), including the significant differences with U.S. GAAP, especially in the areas of stock-based compensation and pension; Expatriate accounting and tax experience; Big 4 and public company experience, including familiarity with Form 10-K and 10-Q disclosures and disclosure requirements; Operational experience in Human Resources accounting.

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

Job of the Day: AllianceBernstein Needs a Senior Auditor

AllianceBernstein is looking for an experienced auditor to join its internal department in New York.

Ideal candidates have a minimum of five years experience with exposure to alternative investment products. Advanced degree or certifications are preferred.


Company: AllianceBernstein

Title: Senior Audit Associate

Location: New York

Description: We are seeking a seeking a Senior Audit Associate with strong business and/or audit experience in Alternative Investments to join our Internal Audit Department. This position is an opportunity for experienced professionals to join a dynamic team to deliver value added audit services.

Responsibilities: Assist Audit Management in carrying out the annual audit plan; Assess the accuracy and adequacy of financial information and the Company’s internal control structure; Assist Audit Management in accomplishing certain administrative tasks; Supervise and work with junior auditors; Through continuous monitoring, keep current as to the development of relevant industry, regulatory and corporate matters that may affect the Internal Audit Department’s audit scope.

Skills: Our ideal candidate will have 5 to 10 years of broad capital markets experience with an emphasis in alternative investment products and services. College degree required. Advanced degree and/or certification preferred. Candidates should have demonstrated leadership capability, strong team work capabilities, solid written and oral communication skills and excellent, analytical skills. Candidates must have the ability to interact with all levels of management; Knowledge of the buy-side investment management business is a plus. Prior audit experience is preferred, but not required. Candidates should demonstrate a firm grasp and good working knowledge of the suite of Alternative Investment products and services including: Hedge Funds – direct investments and Fund of Hedge Funds.

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

Despite Big Name Supporters, SEC Self-funding Falls By the Wayside

This story is republished from CFOZone, where you’ll find news, analysis and professional networking tools for finance executives.

As President Obama gearsng financial regulatory bill, one little discussed but important potential provision that did not survive the final version would have provided for self-funding by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This is a policy advocated by people like New York Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Barney Frank as well as SEC chairman Mary Schapiro. It would enable the agency to use some or all of the fees and/or fines it collects to pay its bills.


In fact, other financial regulators are currently self-funded, including the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz points out that a proposal that the SEC should be able to fund itself based on the fees it collects was ultimately rejected. Instead, the conferees agreed that the SEC should continue to be subject to the Congressional appropriations process, and provided for certain baseline appropriations through 2015, according to the law firm. It adds that the proposed Act also requires the White House to submit unaltered to Congress the SEC’s annual budget, and establishes a $100 million reserve fund.

This is a controversial issue and current and past commissioners are divided over whether this is a good idea.

Opponents say self-funding would create a conflict of interest because it would increase the SEC’s incentive to seek the largest possible fines. Former commissioner Luis Aguilar, who supports self-funding, is sensitive to these concerns. So, he supported self funding, but only based on fees and registrations, not fines.

He had pointed out that the 2010 budget of slightly more than $1 billion is well below the $1.4 billion or so the SEC figures to bring in from those fee sources. Self-funding could also enable the SEC to attract better candidates by increasing the pay scale, something Representative Frank says he supports.

One former chairman told me last year he doubts Congress would go along with self-funding. He asserts the system of campaign finance has given the business community leverage over Congress, whose main lever of control over the SEC is its budget. “When big patrons come to see them and say stop the SEC, the power of the purse is critical to them,” the former chairman insists.

Back in June, 40 prominent securities lawyers fired off a letter asserting that a self-financed SEC “is one of the most important parts of the financial services reform legislation presently before you.”

They pointed out that from 2005 to 2009, the SEC collected about $7.4 billion from transaction and registration fees, which were turned over to the government, but Congress appropriated just $4.5 billion for the agency’s budget during that period. “The chronic under-funding of the SEC has severely impeded the SEC’s ability to keep pace with market and technology changes,” the lawyers stated. “After shrinking in size for a number of years, the SEC is only now beginning to grow again. Meanwhile, the securities industry and corporate activities it regulates have grown tremendously in size and sophistication over the last two decades.”

They noted that between 2004 and 2007 SEC enforcement and examination staff declined 10 percent and its information technology initiatives plunged 50 percent, while at the same time, trading volume doubled, the number of investment advisers jumped 50 percent and the funds they manage grew almost 60 percent.

In a speech in June, Schapiro insisted that self funding ensures independence, facilitates long-term planning, and closes the resource gap between the agency and the entities the SEC regulate. “In the process, it allows the SEC to better protect millions of investors whose savings are at stake,” she added.

Self funding also ensures an SEC that is more effective at identifying and addressing the kinds of risk that dealt a significant blow to the American economy, she told her audience.

Schapiro pointed out that in the immediate post-Enron era, the SEC saw significant increases in its budget. But funding dropped just as markets were growing in size and complexity. At the height of the pre-financial crisis frenzy, Schapiro added, the SEC was actually forced to reduce staff. “Only now can we afford to begin to develop the new technology that will allow us to evaluate, store and retrieve the kind of tip information that might stop the next major fraud,” she said.

Schapiro said self funding would have many benefits for investors: It would allow the SEC to increase its professional and technical capacity, to keep up with the financial industry’s rapid growth; It would enhance our long-term planning process, allowing the SEC to address the increasingly sophisticated technologies, products, and trading strategies adopted by the financial services industry; and, It would provide the flexibility to react to developing risks in the same way that our domestic and foreign counterparts did during the recent financial crisis, with rapid staffing and strategic responses that help control systemic damage.

She added: “To truly protect investors to the best of their abilities, they need the independence, planning ability and resources that self funding provides.”

Job of the Day: Morgan Stanley Needs a Legal Entity Accountant

Morgan Stanley is looking for an experienced professional to fill a Legal Entity Accounting role in New York.

Responsibilities include legal entity financial reporting including supporting analytics and support of financial audit, regulatory and compliance examinations.

Qualified candidates need a BS/BA in accounting and minimum of seven years experience.


Company: Morgan Stanley

Title: Legal Entity Accounting

Location: New York

Responsibilities: Legal Entity financial reporting, including supporting analytics; Preparation and filing of quarterly bank regulatory reports; Support for various banking committees, Board of Directors and compliance reports; Ownership of legal entity control environment and procedures. (Basel II, Reg. W, Reg. R); Coordination and support of Financial audit, Regulatory and Compliance examinations; Ad-hoc queries on financial information (internal and external)

Skills: Ability to communicate effectively and interact with various levels of management; Comprehensive knowledge of financial reporting and technical accounting; Ability to make creative and effective use of systems and technology (Proficient in MS Office Suite); Possess Leadership and project management skills; Strong organizational skills, including the ability to coordinate, prioritize and manage multiple activities; Self motivated – the ability to work independently and as an effective team member; B.A. / B.S. degree; Accounting; 7 to 10 years of related experience in Finance and banking industry.

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

Job of the Day: Citi Needs a Financial Accounting Analyst

Citi is looking for an experienced accountant to join its SEC Reporting Group as a Financial Accounting Analyst role in New York.

In addition to responsibilities within SEC Reporting, the position may involve income statement analysis, fair value reporting and investments portfolio analysis.

Qualifications include a bachelor’s degree with public accounting experience preferred.


Company: Citi

Title: Financial Accounting Analyst 3

Location: New York

Responsibilities: Position is part of the SEC Reporting Group which is responsible for Citigroup’s Earnings Releases, 10-Qs, Annual Report / 10-K. SEC Reporting is also responsible for Citibank N.A. Audited Financial Reporting and New Accounting Pronouncement analysis and implementations. The preferred qualifications for this role are a licensed CPA with public accounting experience. The candidate should have strong finance and analytic skills. The role requires flexibility with hours and assignments to accommodate the requirements of the SEC’s reporting calendar as well as the Company’s financial deliverables. This replacement position may likely work on income statement reporting and analysis and the related financial monthly closes, as well as, Fair Value Reporting and Investments portfolio analysis.

Skills: College degree in accounting or finance, CPA and Public Accounting experience strongly preferable. Experience in SEC financial analysis and reporting and /or financial services is beneficial. Strong quantitative and PC (Excel, Systems) skills are needed.

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

Five Major Differences Between Small Accounting Firms and the Big 4

Ed. note: The following was submitted by a reader of Going Concern who wished to remain nameless.

As a casual fan of Going Concern, and a senior auditor of a small to mid size local firm, I feel the site is quite comical and a vast insight into the world of “bigger and better” feelings. I read the site for humor, comparison, and overall knowledge on the country’s accounting bureaucracy. I would like to dive into some of the obvious�������������������� the big boys and us local mid-market droids.

Busy season – For most, January 5th is the start date and lets up by April 1st. Busy season is usually the hours of eight-thirty to seven-thirty. The midnight coffee runs are infrequent and somewhat discouraged. (That might be just our firm, so if yours is different, chime in). Busy season does not end with a celebration, spot bonus, or dinner; we get an e-mail saying thank you for making us (the Partners) rich.


The Rank and File – The caliber of employees is different. We get a few people that could of have gone Big 4 but primarily our employees are the ones who worked through college, made mostly B’s drizzled with some C’s, or they went to Big 4 and then realized it wasn’t a good fit. A fair amount of the staff obtain the CPA license but hardly ever do they walk in with it. With that, some might think the staff is seen as not equivalent. I differ from that viewpoint. This leads me to the next difference.

Responsibilites – The degree of responsibility of a Big 4 staff auditor and a mid-size staff auditor are drastically different. It appears the people we hire from the Big 4 know a specific section of the audit to a tee but when it comes to another section they are a lost puppy. For example, the small time auditor has to draft the engagement, complete ninety five percent of the fieldwork and finish with all the management representation letters, disclosure checklist, etc. It’s a complete engagement overview, not just the cash section. This might be because of the size of the engagements but regardless, when it comes to closing the deal, the small time auditor seems to perform like Jeter in October. You might argue this is because our niche is smaller but on the SEC engagements we tackle, the same criteria takes effect. Staff do the work, manager reviews, and partner signs. No middle ground to speak of.

Money – I constantly look at GC to see what the salaries in the rest of the country appear to be and honestly, we don’t come close. It’s very much a disappointment. We probably all start off close to the same (50k plus or minus 5k), but in all actuality, the bigger accounting firms bump people up a lot faster than us local guys. Again, this might parallel to the caliber of employees we hire, or it might not. I tend to think we follow a very specific old fashion business model. We pay our staff just enough so they are complacent, and the partners bring the money home to afford the private schools, three plus luxury cars, the farms, and the multi million dollars home. If someone doesn’t want to put in the fifteen to twenty plus years it takes to get there, then tough, we will find someone else. The door is a constant revolving machine. No emotion goes into it what so ever.

Pick up a tax return! – The last item is the close ties between audit and tax. It is very common for someone in my shoes to finish all my audit responsibilities by mid-March, and then pick up the married couple with two kids tax return. It’s merely done for enjoyment and to help out the overall firm. This also helps with keeping on your toes when talking to clients about what your firm can offer. We get an incentive for bringing in clients and since our niches are smaller, it’s easier than bringing in a 100k plus job.

Bottom line is that it’s a different culture. I guess it’s always up to the staff if they like the eleven o’clock coffee run, sleep deprivation, 65k salary, or if they like the 58k salary, have a life, and come home at seven-thirty careers. It really just depends on the person. Some people strive either way but nothing should be taken away or discouraged because of the decision. I would just know what you’re getting into when you walk in the door. If you go to a smaller firm out of college, don’t expect the huge pay increases, or the spot bonuses, just expect to work and not get much for it.

Good News Bosses: Lots of Employees Are Satisfied with Not Being Fired

This story is republished from CFOZone, where you’ll find news, analysis and professional networking tools for finance executives.

Here’s one thing you don’t have to worry about: whether your employees care a great deal about getting a raise. Looks like they’re not all that focused on their pay, as long as they can keep their job.

A recent study asking employees to rate contributors to job satisfaction conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management found that compensation dropped to number five for the first time since the organization started doing the survey eight years ago. It was number three on the list last year.

But top on the list of contributors was “job security”. That outranked such choices as “benefits,” “the work itself,” “opportunity to use skills,” and “feeling safe in the work environment.”


What’s more, a new contributor to job satisfaction, “organization’s financial security”, also outranked compensation, placing fourth on the list.


It wasn’t always thus. In 2006 and 2007, compensation was the winner. In fact, in 2006, 67 percent of respondents picked that as the most important factor in job satisfaction. In the most recent survey, just 53 percent chose pay.

Apparently, that attitude is not shared equally among all levels of the organization, however. Job security ranked at the top for non-management and middle management employees. But it didn’t make the top five for executives, who chose “the work itself” as the number one contributor.

Other data indicates that it’s probably a good thing employees are less focused on pay than they were in better times. According to a survey of small businesses by SurePayroll, a Chicago-based payroll processing company, the average paycheck dropped .4 percent year-to-date. June marked the first month this year with negative year-to-date paychecks. In fact, pay hasn’t been this low since October 2005.

The bottom line: Quite simply, for most employees, it’s the job, stupid. And that means wage pressure is unlikely to require employers to raise prices to maintain margins anytime soon.

Inflation? Where?

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

J.P. Morgan is looking for an experienced accounting to fill a fund accounting analyst position in its Dallas location.

Qualifications include a bachelors degree and five years experience


Company: J.P. Morgan

Title: Fund Accounting Analyst

Location: Dallas, TX

Qualifications: Bachelor degree required, degree preference is Finance, Accounting or Economics; 5 years experience in the banking industry, preferably in financial accounting operations 3 yrs securities industry knowledge including dividends, principal & interest, corporate actions and trading activity; Proven managerial experience – 1 – 3 years; Advanced knowledge of account reconciliation processes; Strong analytical, prioritization, organizational and time management skills; Strong multi-tasking and negotiation skills; Strong communication skills, both oral and written; Excellent customer service skills with attention to detail; PC literacy with proficiency in MS Word, Excel and MS AccessCapable of assisting others in research and reconciliation tasks; Team player with the ability to work productively within a group and maintain a high degree of independence.

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

Job of the Day: Morgan Stanley Needs a Financial Resources Controller

Morgan Stanley is looking for an experienced accountant to fill at Senior Manager/VP role in New York.

Responsibilities include managing liquidity risk reporting & analysis for DSP desk and orking with the BU management on Balance Sheet forecasting.

The position requires a minimum of eight years experience in accounting, preferably in the financial services industry.


Company: Morgan Stanley

Title: Senior Manager/VP – DSP (Equity Swaps) Financial Resources Controller

Location: New York, NY

Responsibilities: Working with manager to define operating model for Financial Resources Control and execute on the agenda; Managing liquidity risk reporting & analysis for DSP desk; Working with the BU management on Balance Sheet forecasting; Assisting in balance sheet and funding analysis, including those related to the Bank initiatives, impending OTC derivatives regulation, etc.; Managing collateral process including a) Phoenix booking model, b) Work with BRM controllers on migrating control to BRM, c) working with Collateral DB IT and CPM to enhance current allocation algorithms; Managing relationships with BRM and Treasury on various initiatives including CPM model, Collateral process, enhancement to current B/S reporting etc.; Leading adoption of firmwide Phoenix initiative aimed to renovate Balance Sheet & Funding model.

Work with Phoenix project team and DSP and EFP managers to: Liaise with Business Unit on implementation of Phoenix principles and adoption of enhanced Funding and B/S reporting and analytics; Contribute to requirements for creation of new strategic reporting; Work with other DSP controllers and Phoenix project team to validate funding booking models, create test plans, and track testing & implementation issues.

Qualifications/Skills: 8-10 years of accounting/finance experience in financial services industry; Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance. Solid accounting knowledge base is required; Equity product control experience; Experience with B/S and Funding reporting and analysis; Ability to work effectively across many functions including BU; Ability to work effectively with all levels of management; Strong oral and written communications; Candidate should have superior organizational skills with eye for details and proven ability to execute individually and as part of a team.

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