Category: Big 4

If it happens at a Big 4 accounting firm, we’re talking about it here.

Crooked CFO: “KPMG knows nothing about the character traits of criminals.”

Earlier this week we shared with you the latest analysis from KPMG that listed “key fraudster traits” and some of them seemed to describe a lot of the people you have worked or are currently working for. Things like “volatile,” “unreliability,” “unhappy,” and “self-interested” describes everyone I’ve ever been in around in the corporate world to one extent or another.

Since I was skeptical of this list, I asked Sam Antar what he thought of it. If you’ve been reading us for awhile, you’re familiar with Sam. If you’re new, I’ll do a quick refresher. Sam was the CFO of Crazy Eddie’s and was one of the masterminds behind one of the biggest financial frauds of the 1980s. While you (and I) were eating cereal in front of the TV on Saturday morning, Sam and his cousin Eddie were selling electronics and home appliances to our parents for rock bottom prices, while ripping off the government and investors for untold millions of dollars. In other words, the guy is a crook and knew/knows lots of crooks and knows their hopes (read: money), their dreams (read: money) all that crap (read: more money) and what they’ll do to get them. With that, Sam told me what he thought of KPMG’s analysis:

I was both a friendly and likable crook who treated my enablers real well as I took advantage of them. I treated my victims even better than my enablers, as I emptied their pockets. Old saying, “You can steal more with a smile, than a gun.” KPMG knows nothing about the character traits of criminals. They couldn’t even catch me as Crazy Eddie’s auditors. They trusted me!

So maybe – JUST MAYBE – you should also be wary of the client or co-worker that you really like because he/she takes you to lunch every day, gets you laid, takes you for rides in a fancy car or invites you to coke-fueled weekend ragers with seemingly no strings attached. Plus any client that has a viral marketing campaign should get an extra look:

Here Are the (Unconfirmed) Details on the Milestone Award for Newly Promoted PwC Senior Associates

As you may remember, we detailed PwC’s new compensation structure back in spring to much fanfare. There were lots of details but one that sounded especially interesting were the “Milestone Awards.” These are awards given to newly promoted Senior Associates, Managers and Senior Managers/Directors. Specifically for SAs, a “highly specialized individualized offsite training that will help the new seniors make decisions about their careers. This will last for 12-18 months as they adjust to their new roles and held in an offsite, marquis location.”

We now have a few unconfirmed (due to circumstances beyond our control) details for you for this “training” including the “offsite, marquis location”:

• Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes, CA (near Long Beach/LA)
• 4 days long
• For New Senior Associates promoted July 2011
• Not a training/all about fun and celebration
• Gift to new senior associates (all lines of service)
• Monday huge celebration dinner
• Small groups of 10 people
• External experts on personal finance, wellness, nutrition, etc
• Nightly fireside chats with partners
• Adventure-style activities

Weeks
1) Nov 14, 2011
2) Dec 5, 2011
3) Dec 12, 2011
4) May TBD 2012
5) June TBD 2012

Fireside chats? Like the kind with FDR? For your sake I hope Bob Moritz and/or Dennis Nally drop by for the fun, although don’t forget that Nally is done with hot yoga, so DON’T BOTHER ASKING.

And doesn’t the Terranea Resort look pleasant? It’s in California not surprisingly, since P. Dubs has had NOTHING BUT TROUBLE from the clowns in Florida. There is golf, a spa, ocean view dining, etc. etc. Here’s the photo and video gallery if you need more visuals. Of course this kind of romantic setting is perfect for romantic interludes that will allow PwC to perpetuate any incestuous master race of capital market servants they might have.

ANYWAY, it’s our understanding that these details are to be released later this month but we thought you’d like a sneak peak. Discuss your thoughts and/or envy in the comments.

Engineer Curious to Know if an Advisory Role with PwC or Deloitte Would Be a Good Opportunity

Ed. note: Looking for career guidance from a couple of Big 4 expats or our resident permanently ink-stained wench? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com.

Hello,

I have become an avid reader of your website and need your help regarding an opportunity. I have an engineering background and 5 years of experience in the heavy construction industry specifically oil & gas. In hopes to moving on to something different and possibly working as a consultant I have got a chance to work at PWC and Deloitte in a senior associate advisory role. I do know that these companies are primarily in audit but the sales pitch they gave me was that they were trying to build the Capital Projects Advisory division. Do you all think it is good opportunity?

Sincerely,
Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

Dear Chugs,

As a self-proclaimed avid reader, I hope you caught the post I did in June about the engineering consultant in a similar situation as yours. Check it out for feedback focused on what to do once you start at your new gig in a Big 4’s advisory practice.

That said, you’re asking if the chance to work at the #1 or #2 public accounting firms in the world are “good” opportunities. I follow up your question with one of my own:

If working for #1 or #2 is not a good opportunity, what more are you looking for?

So yes, they are great opportunities to jump start your career into the “consulting” slash advisory biz. Sure, they crank out audits and tax returns, but those are very different revenue generating streams than their advisory practices. To put things in more engineering terms – wary of working in the advisory group of PwC or DT because they perform assurance services is like turning down an aerospace engineering job at GE because they also make light bulbs.

Assuming the offer details are similar, look at each firm’s Capital Projects practices. Which group is more established? Have they made other external hires recently? What is each group’s current market share/focus, and what are long term plans?

Good luck with whichever role you pursue, and welcome to the Big 4 community.

Cheers,
DWB

Tara Reid’s New Husband Is a Deloitte Consultant

The lucky new Mr. Tara Reid is none other than Zack (aka Zach, aka Zachary) Kehayov and he works out of Deloitte Consulting’s Washington, D.C. office, according to this LinkedIn profile. Frankly, the profile could use some work but now that he’s got access to American Pie residuals, it probably doesn’t make any difference.

We were tipped off to this information by reader who wrote, “For anyone who thought their aspirations of being in TMZ would be on hold while at Deloitte, think again.” Indeed.


For those not up to speed on their partygirl-suddenly-gets-married news, Reid and Kehayov got married an hour after being engaged on the Greek Isle of Santorini. Reid first announced their engagement on Twitter and then two tweets later she announced “Love in Greece…I am now a wife.”

She then tweeted several pictures including her ring and two portraits of the newlyweds. Her most recent tweet was simply “Bulgaria we love u!” Bulgaria being the home country of the Kehayov.

Anyway, more about Zach – like we said, his LinkedIn profile says he’s in the DC Metro area but on his D Street (that’s Deloitte’s internal Facebook) profile that you can see on the next page, it says he’s in Pittsburgh. His profile also says that he’s a Marymount University graduate, majoring in Financial Economics. He lists Georgetown Private Cliente (now part of DC-based Manna Capital Management) as a previous employer and as co-founder of Semper Sports, LLC (Google search turns up empty).

Gawker called a Kehayov a “a random giant-ring-buying rich guy who works in finance” but a Deloitte consultant hardly qualifies as a “rich guy.” Maybe his father is some captain-of-industry type in Bulgaria who gave his son boatloads of money to study/live/spread seed in the States but even if that’s the case, why would he go to school at Marymount? Perhaps the female to male ratio? But more importantly, why would he work at Deloitte? In Pittsburgh? Anyway, it appears he’s back in DC and is obviously doing all right for himself.

Although judging by this picture from the Daily Mail, Zach looks as though he needed some time away from the Green Dot. The man looks like he was ready for a vacation. We left messages for the numbers we could get for Mr. Kehayov but so far have heard nothing and considering he’s abroad, that’s understandable. Don’t rush back, Zach. You’ve got co-workers that have found peace while on vacation, you can do it too!

KPMG Analysis Finds That a Fraudster’s Traits Mirror Those of Pretty Much Every Boss You’ve Ever Worked For

Of course not all of your bosses are crooks…or are…nah. But just to be on the safe side, make sure you’re giving the stinkeye to anybody with the following characteristics:

• Volatility and being melodramatic, arrogant and confrontational, threatening or aggressive, when challenged.

• Performance or skills of new employees in their unit do not reflect past experiences detailed on resumes.

• Unreliability and prone to mistakes and poor performance, with a tendency to cut corners and/or bend the rules, but makes attempts to shift blame and responsibility for errors.

• Unhappy, apparently stressed and under pressure, while bullying and intimidating colleagues.

• Being surrounded by “favorites,” or people who do not challenge the fraudster, and micromanaging some employees, while keeping others at arm’s length.

• Vendors/suppliers will only deal with this individual, who also may accept generous gestures that are excessive or contrary to corporate rules.

• Persistent rumors or indications of personal bad habits, addictions or vices, possibly with a lifestyle that seems excessive for their income, or apparently personally over-extended in their finances.

• Self-interested and concerned with their own agenda, and who has opportunities to manipulate personal pay and rewards

But as we all know, the ex-stripper wife is the clincher.

[via KPMG]

Who Has Thoughts on Mandatory Auditor Rotation?

Because the PCAOB is giving you until December 14th to make your views known.

“One cannot talk about audit quality without discussing independence, skepticism and objectivity. Any serious discussion of these qualities must take into account the fundamental conflict of the audit client paying the auditor,” said PCAOB Chairman James R. Doty.

“The reason to consider auditor term limits is that they may reduce the pressure auditors face to develop and protect long-term client relationships to the detriment of investors and our capital markets,” Chairman Doty added.

Don’t fret anti-rotaters, the Board did invite everyone to weigh in on the idea that they “should consider a rotation requirement only for audit tenures of more than 10 years or only for the largest issuer audits.”

[PCAOB]

Ernst & Young Serving Simpler Businesses After the Sour Taste Left by Lehman Brothers

Actually, it’s just for the kids.

Ernst & Young LLP, a global professional services firm, will be the Presenting Sponsor of a Guinness World Records attempt by local area elementary school students to make history with the “Longest Lemonade Stand.”

The record-setting attempt will be made Saturday, August 20, National Lemonade Day, in Beverly Park in Beverly Hills, Michigan, with proceeds going to support local school initiatives. The Longest Lemonade Stand record attempt includes an age-appropriate curriculum specifically designed to use the lemonade stand concept to teach kids basic business principles.

The students have already sold nearly 300 individual stand “kits” to families representing 16 area public, private and parochial schools. Participating families will bring their individually decorated stand sections to the park on event day to create the 1,200-foot-long stand required for the Guinness World Record!

Considering the fact that it’s not uncommon for local authorities to take a no tolerance stance on non-compliant stands, I hope Ernst & Young has informed participants that attention to detail is very important in business.

[via LLS]

Deloitte Consultant Inadvertently Finds Peace on Vacation

Barbara Adachi, a principal in Deloitte Consulting’s human capital practice, started creating a stricter separation between vacation and work when she was in Patagonia on vacation several years ago. Her BlackBerry didn’t get reception there, she said, “and I had no choice but not to check it — it was very freeing.” [NYT]

Comp Watch ’11: Individual Results Coming in at Deloitte and More Details on Bonuses

Following up on our previous post that addressed the high level discussions at the firm, some people started getting calls on Friday and more are having meetings today:


Our first tipster was a recently promoted to Senior Associate in ERS Tech Risk in the Northeast:

Year end rating of 2, 18% [raise].

And the latest from Houston for an 5th year Senior Associate in audit:

Audit 4th year senior going into my 5th year from the Houston Office (Mid-America Region).

As a 1-rated senior my numbers were:

9.9% raise
10.4% AIP bonus

In addition, we received a couple of slides that could be of interest to you on the following two pages.

Here are details for “Rewards and Recognition” which spells out the awards in the program and last year’s stats:

Sixty-nine percent of SMs receiving a bonus seems impressive and the Outstanding Performance award could pay out nicely if you’re lucky enough to get one on the high end. The Service Anniversary award, on the other hand, is not impressive at all.


If this slide looks familiar, it’s because it is very similar to one we posted back in July that showed Deloitte’s efforts to revamp their comp structure. The previous slide showed the AIP pool for Senior Consultants while this one is for Senior Managers (although :

So share your details as they roll in and feel free to comment on the results, the slides and anything else that tickles your fancy (as it relates to Green Dot Comp).

Military Man Needs Help Transitioning into Public Accounting

Ed. note: Have a question for one of our Big 4 refugees or the perma-ink stained wench that has never passed the CPA exam? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com.

Thank you for taking the tide to address my concern. I am a 10 year veteran looking to transition out of the military and into public accounting. I have a BSAcc from a private school and am looking at potentials for a Grad degree. My enlistment expires in the next few years, and I am really lost on the direction I should go with a Master’s degree. I have heard some say that I should do MBA with a finance interest so that I am more marketable. I have also heard others mention that I should specialize. I have some marketable qualitiSCI clearance, 3.9 GPA in undergrad), but I feel like I have lacked in networking due to my military service. I do have several contacts in the space business, specifically with Lockheed Martin, Aerospace and Boeing, but nothing on the accounting and finance sides (my current job is in military space communications). My undergrad school is in Colorado Springs and the networking events do not have any real attraction from accounting firms. Because of my military commitment, getting accounting experience is not possible (short of small things like running finance for my local HOA and VITA tax stuff for my base).

My dream is to work for a large accounting firm (doesn’t have to be Big 4, as I am not nearly as marketable as a 22 year old), but I am finding Internet research and local conversation to not hold enough for me. I am a student member of my local IMA, but management accounting is not the direction I want to go. I prefer audit, and would even consider tax (or if I am desperate I would even consider compliance), but I feel stuck in a hole about how to get my foot in the door. It seems until my military commitment is up I don’t have any place to start. I am in my early 30s, but my military career has taught me how to work long hours, so I am not opposed to Big 4-like treatment. I really want to make this change in my life, and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Given that you have a few years left in your enlistment, I commend you for planning ahead. Your situation could lend itself to being a difficult one, but with some patience and enduring networking, I don’t see a reason that shouldn’t be able to break into a career within public accounting. For the reason you mentioned above (young blood), you might not be able to start out at a Big 4, but regional/midsized firms should definitely be on your radar.

Couple of things to consider:

Education: You have a great foundation with your BS in accounting and high GPA; however, you will be removed from the classroom by almost 15 years when you’re applying for accounting positions. Consider a Masters in Accounting program, as it will compliment your undergraduate work well, refresh your memory and skillset, and look attractive to HR reps at the public firms. I suggest staying away from the Masters in Finance because it won’t be the strong refresher you need to impress the hiring managers.

Network: Definitely check in with your contacts at Lockheed Martin, Boeing, etc. Sure, they may not be in the finance/accounting departments you’re interested in, but they should have access to the internal job boards. Have your contacts formally introduce you to the HR hiring rep responsible for the accounting positions now, just to initiate contact. Stay in touch in the coming years, seeking advice and providing feedback about your situation. Keep these doors open even though they are not direct links to the public accounting career you seek.

Spread out: Make a list of the geographic areas that you’d considering move to when you return to the States, then do your due diligence on what accounting firms are in the area. Reach out now to their HR/hiring managers (if not listed on company’s website, search LinkedIn) to establish contact now, and ask them straight up what they think of your candidacy.

Feel free to email me your résumé or any follow up questions should you have them. Stay in touch.

Bonus Watch ’11: Deloitte Gives Up PowerPoint Presentations After Stellar Going Concern Reporting UPDATE: Audit Practice Didn’t Get the Memo

This just in from the Deloitte FAS comp call that is apparently going down circa now:

7% AIP pool. No slides with details b/c it ends up on GC. Talking about PwC right now.


What, exactly, is being said about P. Dubs is not immediately known but I’m guessing it has something to do with the fact that they’re obviously vulnerable in the Tampa market but actually it’s more like simple trash talk, according to our source:

[PwC] made draconian cuts during the recession. They are making up for it now. They suck, D&T rules. [FAS CEO] David Williams is stressing total comp., not just base salary throughout the call. Base comp is targeted at 50% of the comp survey range.

[PS -] He loves to use the word “granular” as much as possible.

Unrelated sidenote: David Williams’ favorite hobby, according to his firm profile, is yoga.

Of course you’re on the call and have other details you wish to share, you can elaborate below.

Earlier:
Comp Watch ‘11: Deloitte’s New Structure Is Taking Shape

UPDATE:
A little comparison for AIP and merit increases for the opiners appears on the following pages.

KPMG Wants to Help College Students Find Jobs (Presumably, Even the English Majors)

KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, announced today the release of the KPMG GO app for iPhone® and iPad®, designed to provide tips and information to help college students in every major launch their job search in today’s competitive employment environment.

Available for download in the Apple iTunes Store, KPMG’s new application delivers fresh videos, articles, blog posts, Q&As, and branding tips from its partners as well as its professionals in HR and campus recruiting. “Today’s students face a very competitive market and need every advantage to make a good impression and secure that first job,” said Blane Ruschak, KPMG’s executive director of university relations and recruiting. “We are excited to offer a resource that provides helpful and practical advice to young adults entering the job market.” [KPMG]