Belated #TBT: Thanks to Ibanez v. Florida Board of Accountancy You Can Proudly Advertise Your CPA *and* CGMA

Posted on by Caleb Newquist
 
For those of you that can't bear the thought of only having three letters behind your name:
This June marked the 20th anniversary of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that remains of interest to the accounting profession because the litigants included a state board of accountancy and a dually credentialed attorney advertising that she was both a CPA and an attorney. In Ibanez v. Florida Board of Accountancy, 512 U.S. 136 (1994), the Supreme Court limited states’ ability to regulate truthful commercial speech by professionals. Twenty years later, the decision’s impact is a well-established precedent protecting the right of professionals to advertise their dual credentials.
Jeanette Franzel is grateful.
 

Related Posts

Do The Big 4 Use Intermediate Accounting as a ‘Weed-Out’ Course?

Back from the meat sweat-infused Labor(less?) Day Weekend with the latest edition of “help me get my career out of the crapper,” a young accounting student is concerned that their “C” in Intermediate Accounting will derail their Big 4 dreams of fame and fortune.

Have a question about your career? Need advice on how to handle the client contact who just happens to be a complete lunatic? Undecided on whether or not you should eat the frozen pizza that isn’t yours when you’re working at 1 am? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and we’ll get you back on the crooked and wide.

Back to our latest grade–obsessed recruit:

I’m currently a Senior at ASU, graduating in May 2011 and plan on enrolling in the MTAX program at ASU that Fall. I currently have a 3.52 G.P.A., but ended up with a C in Intermediate Financial Accounting (For the record, I took an accelerated 5-week course and was also working full-time). I have heard that many firms (mostly Big 4) use this course as a “weed out” of candidates. I have maintained all A’s in my other accounting courses but am worried that this C will turn off recruiters. If I plan on going into Tax, will this pose a problem? Any recommendations to counter potential problems?


Here’s the deal with grades people – they shouldn’t be a dealbreaker. There are tons of fine candidates out there who weren’t as naturally talented in the academic sense of double-entry accounting but have a lot more intangibles to offer.

Unfortunately, the current reality is that most Big 4 partners and those in recruiting are of the mindset that looking at a candidate’s grades is most efficient way to identify the best candidates. Is that bullshit? In the editor’s opinion, yes. Do you have to deal with it, anyway? Yes. Is impossible to have a low-ish GPA (between 3.0 – 3.5) and still land a gig with Big 4? No, but be prepared to sell hard why your lower GPA isn’t an issue.

In this case, while the “C” in Intermediate Accounting may rise an eyebrow or a brief mention from someone on the recruiting team, it is not the ‘weed out’ course that you are picturing in your head. Your 3.52 GPA is good enough that the Big 4 will give you a serious look and if you received “A” grades in your other classes, the “C” will look like an outlier that a partner may ask you about briefly, “What happened there?” in an attempt to be funny. You’ll give him/her the story and that will likely be the end of it.

Plus, since it sounds like you’re most interested in joining a Tax Practice, this shouldn’t be an issue at all. They’ll look at your Grad School grades and the classes you took in the program to decide where you’ll best fit into their practice. They likely won’t give your “C” in Intermediate a second look.

Job of the Day: Asset Management Company Needs a Controller

An asset management company is looking for an experienced accountant to fill a controller position that will oversee its accounting department and report directly to the CFO.

The position requires a CPA with a minimum of seven years experience, including partnerships and foreign currency. This position is located in Kirkland, Washington.


Title: Controller

Compensation: $140,000

Location: Kirkland, WA

Description: The firm manages $1.8 billion of long-only funds invested in Japanese publicly-traded companies through three separate funds each having a focus area of large-cap, mid-cap or small-cap companies in Japan. The firm is planning expansion into other Asian markets in the near-term for which substantive discussions are underway. Currently located in Monterey, CA, the firm is relocating to Kirkland, Washington in July 2010. The firm is seeking a Controller based in their Washington Offices. The position will report to the CFO and work closely with the CFO on all matters.

Responsibilities: Responsible for the integrity and accuracy of the general ledgers of each fund and the fund management companies; Directly manage the Fund Accountant position, reviewing all work performed by the Fund Accountant; Oversee certain aspects of the Accounting Manager’s work with regards to payables and other general accounting matters; Manage the month-end closing and reporting for each fund, reviewing all journal entries prepared by the Fund Accountant ensuring that fund financials are prepared and submitted timely to CFO; Review all journal entries prepared by Accounting Manager for the fund management companies; Review and help prepare the computation of partner allocations; Oversee the Fund Accountant’s daily computation of NAV and daily trade reconciliation process, including the internal reporting of daily performance for all funds; Step in as a back-up for the Fund Accountant to complete Fund Accountant responsibilities as required; Prepare the annual financial statements and all supporting documentation for the auditors; Prepare tax supporting documentation for the fund tax returns; Monitor tax filing deadlines and FBAR filings and coordinate with tax firm; Coordinate and interface with auditors on year-end audits SAS 70 Type I (and possibly Type II in the future) engagement, and annual GIPS verification; Assist on special projects for internal or external reporting, as requested by the CFO.

Qualifications/Skills: CPA with 7-10 years of experience in investment management industry with strong preference for experience in public equities (including Asian public equities).; Experience in all aspects of partnership accounting for funds, including foreign currency experience; Strong experience in various financial reporting systems required. The firm currently uses Axys (Advent), Moxy and Peachtree. The firm is evaluating the potential for a technology platform for its accounting area which would integrate general ledger, investments, trade recording under a single solution. To this end, strong knowledge of financial reporting systems is a requirement; Experience in budgeting, payroll, general HR and accounting matters as they relate to fund management company; Experience supervising accounting team staff; Working knowledge of Advent Axys and Moxy software systems preferred.

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