Category: News

Going Concern at the ACFE Fraud and Conference Exhibit

Next week I’ll be attending the ACFE Fraud and Conference Exhibit in San Diego where many forensic and fraud sleuths will be enjoying each other’s company and one-upping each other with stories on how many criminals they’ve busted over the years. It looks like you can still register so if my presence is the dealmaker for you, then I suggest you get on this.

John Walsh, the host of America’s Most Wanted will be giving a keynote although I’m a little confused as to what he’ll share with people that comb through ledgers for a living. Anyway, if you want to get in touch with me at the conference or while I’m in San Diego, you can email me, DM or @ me on Twitter or shoot me a message on LinkedIn or Facebook. I promise I’ll respond at some point especially if you offer to drive me to the beach or buy me an old fashioned in the Gaslamp Quarter.

And if you’re not in San Diego or attending the conference, don’t worry, I’ll be on a regular posting schedule so there will be the regular dose of inflammatory nonsense coming your way.

Michigan CPAs, Welcome the Newest Member of the Club

Since we are totally above making disparaging remarks about strangers on the Internet, we present the following without comment from mlive.com:

Jessica A. Rolfe, of Yeo & Yeo P.C., 3023 Davenport in Saginaw, has received a Certified Public Accountant license and was promoted to senior accountant, providing auditing services in the firm’s Saginaw office.

Rolfe holds a bachelor’s degree from Saginaw Valley State University, and is a member of the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Now the last time we shared one of these cheesy, free publicity “news” items, it also happened to be a Michigan CPA except that guy allegedly passed all four parts in one sitting, which the newspaper told us only happens with a lucky 4% of individuals. We’re not sure where they got that number (we suspect somewhere between their legs, towards the back end of things) but are glad to see no such claims made in this particular announcement.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: if you have an announcement like this to make for the star intern in your life, please feel free to send it to us. We require at least 100 words, fact-checked claims and, of course, a Photoshopped headshot. Might I suggest Glamor Shots?

UK Whitepaper Seeks to Reconcile Mother Nature’s Books

When do you recognize maple syrup, when it is earned (sucked from the tree) or realized (when it goes down your big fat gap)? How much goodwill does a forest have?

The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published its first white paper on the natural environment in 20 years hoping to answer some of these questions. The natural choice: securing the value of nature suggests the UK should set up an independent Natural Capital Committee (sort of like FASB for forests) to advise the government on when, where and how natural assets are being used unsustainably.

This would create “green accounts” which give an idea how the country’s natural assets are being used.

The authors of the paper suggest that economic growth and the natural environment are mutually compatible, implying that “nature’s bank balance” should not be ignored when looking at the country’s overall economic growth.

“Past action has often taken place on too small a scale. We want to promote an ambitious, integrated approach, creating a resilient ecological network across England. We will move from net biodiversity loss to net gain, by supporting healthy, well-functioning ecosystems and coherent ecological networks. We will publish a new Biodiversity Strategy for England, responding to our international commitments and setting a new direction for policy over the next decade,” the paper says, proving that someone obviously read their accounting textbooks before they tried to write a framework for valuing nature’s assets.

[Insert bad money doesn’t grow on trees joke here]

Presidential Candidate Tim Pawlenty Doesn’t Want to Bore You with the Gory Details About How He’ll Pay for His Proposed Tax Cuts

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty wants to cut taxes. He’s a Republican after all and Grover Norquist probably has lewd photos and several sternly-worded letters waiting in the wings should TP give the impression that he’ll do anything but slash rates.

Pawlenty’s plan calls for two rates, 10% for on the first $50k/$100k (single, married) earned and 25% for anything above that. He’s also proposing a flat 15% corporate tax rate. He would eliminate the capital gains, dividends, interest and estate taxes.

Pretty expensive proposition so it’s got to be paid for, right? Pawlenty’s got a plan for that too:

To pay for the tax cuts, Pawlenty said he would eliminate unspecified tax loopholes and subsidies. “The Tax Code is littered with special interest handouts, carve-outs, subsidies and loopholes,” he said. “That should be eliminated.”

This is one of those instances where a reporter may ask the follow-up question, “Governor, which tax credits would you eliminate?” To which Pawlenty answers, “Yes.”

[via AT]

Accountant Reaches New Heights of Stupid Behavior After Drinking and Driving

Where I come from, some of my friends had a saying, “There’s only one way to drive drunk…FAST!” Obviously this is dumb. Forget the fact that drinking and driving is dumb but exceeding the speed limit while drinking and driving is exponentially dumber. Inevitably this type of behavior will get you pulled over, at which point the opportunity for more dumb behavior presents itself. On the one hand you could simply jump out of the car, flee the scene, losing your shirt in the process because it will probably slow you down, only to be tackled, cuffed and babbling the Branded theme song in the back of a police cruiser. Another option would be to literally manifest the phrase “cop-slugging drunk.” And yet another option is to do what Alison Brookes did and opt for a more affectionate approach:

A driver who kissed a cop in a bid to avoid a parking ticket ended up losing her licence – after he smelled booze on her breath. Chartered accountant Alison Brookes, 51, planted the smacker on the police officer’s cheek after he spotted her parked on double yellow lines in Didsbury. But the officer got a whiff of alcohol – and arrested her. Brookes, of Fenwick Drive, Heaton Mersey, admitted drink driving and was banned for 14 months at Manchester Magistrates’ Court. Court chairman Stephen Terry told her: “Perhaps kissing the officer was a bit of a giveaway, but that’s by the by.”

Have you been drinking madam? Accountant failed breath test after she gave traffic cop a kiss on the cheek [MEN]

McGladrey Announces Contest Where the Grand Prize Is Caddying for a Golfer That Isn’t Natalie Gulbis

The cakehole fillers at McGladrey announced a contest last week where the winner will caddy for Davis Love III at the McGladrey Classic Pro-am. All you have to do is submit “a creative photo and short essay explaining why you should be Davis’ caddie.”

Of course you’ll have to know DL3 inside-out and upside down, just like the folks at Mickey G’s [Someone who] understands my needs, my game, and my love and passion for the game of golf.” Right. Needs like making sure that there is a fresh pair of pants available for photos should Dave win the tournament, keeping John Daly’s hillbilly ass out of earshot and verifying that the McGladrey people put “Davis Love III” on the checks.

At Least Lenny Dykstra’s Accountant Managed to Avoid Drug Charges

The grand theft auto allegations stuck though.

Dykstra, 48, was charged with 25 misdemeanor and felony counts of grand theft auto, attempted grand theft auto, identity theft and other crimes, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. He faces up to 12 years in state prison if convicted.

His accountant and a friend were charged in connection with the alleged auto theft but not with drug crimes, Robison said.

Prosecutors contend that the three men tried to lease high-end cars from dealers this year by providing phony information and claiming credit through a phony business called Home Free Systems.

Two dealerships rejected the lease applications but a third allowed the men to drive off with three cars, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office.

Lenny Dykstra charged with drug possession, GTA [AP]

So You Think Your CPA Can Dance?

One thing I’ve always loved about the Maryland Association of CPAs is that they aren’t afraid to shake things up, do what everyone else isn’t doing and, uh, break out into a dance routine in the middle of a dinner reception.

Remember the “big surprise” they were planning for the 2011 CPA Summit? Here it is, enjoy:

CPAs Aren’t As Optimistic As They Used to Be on the Economy

Straight from the horse’s mouth, or, in this case, the CPAs:

According to the latest AICPA Economic Outlook Survey, chief financial officers, controllers and CPAs in executive and senior management accounting roles are far less optimistic now about the direction of the U.S. economy than they were in the first quarter of 2011.

The CPA Outlook Index, a broad-based composite index that captures the expectations of CPA financial executives and management accountants, declined three points to 66 this quarter, from 69 in the prior period.

“The flush of optimism we experienced earlier this year has given way to more moderate expectations for the U.S. economy,” said Carol Scott, AICPA vice president for business, industry and government. “While the CPA Outlook Index is still positive relative to the dark days of the recession, our members are concerned about rising energy costs and inflation, health care costs and continuing weakness in demand.”

The pullback in optimism follows an upbeat assessment in the prior quarter and signals the two-year-old U.S. economic recovery has lost momentum, Scott said. The survey shows that expectations for corporate expansion and hiring have moderated and the outlook for revenues and profits declined. Concerns about inflation continued to rise, driven by higher energy costs. The outlook for capital spending remained largely flat with information technology the only sector enjoying improvement.

It’s worth noting that while optimism for the US economy declined sharply this quarter, it is still higher than it was for the 4th quarter of 2010. Slightly more than one quarter of respondents (27%) expressed a pessimistic outlook for the US economy, driven by concerns about unemployment, government debt and rising prices.

Check out the full survey here, Valium not included.

Department of Justice Would Treat Goldman Sachs Slightly Better Than Arthur Andersen

That is, the DOJ wouldn’t indict Goldman on criminal charges like they did Andersen. Which, you may recall, didn’t turn out so well for A^2.

DealBook reports the musings of Sanford Bernstein analyst Brad Hintz:

If an alleged violation is identified during a Goldman investigation, we expect a reasoned response from the Justice Department. In a worst case environment, we would expect a “too big to fail” bank such as Goldman to be offered a Deferred Prosecution Agreement, pay a significant fine and submit to a Federal monitor in lieu of a criminal charge. Consequently, we do not believe that Goldman investors face an “Arthur Andersen” risk.

No ‘Arthur Andersen’ Risk to Goldman, Analyst Says [DealBook]

Study: Analysts Just as Illiterate as Investors When Reading Financial Reports

Convoluted corporate financial reports are just as unreadable for professional stock analysts as they are for the average investor, according to a new study.

The study, published in the current issue of the American Accounting Association journal Accounting Review, tested the readability of tens of thousands of company filings over 12 years and found that analysts’ earnings forecasts for firms with less readable reports “have greater dispersion, are less accurate, and are associated with greater overall analyst uncertainty.” Ironically, however, the syntactic and linguistic complexity of these reports generated greater demand from investors for analysts’ commentary and greater reliance on their forecasts. [AT]

Turns Out I Wasn’t the Only One Under 40 at AICPA Governing Council After All

When I wrote Why Am I the Only Person Under 40 at AICPA Spring Council? last week, I knew that my tongue-in-cheek exaggeration would get people talking, which was mostly the point of saying something like that. As I think we all know, whenever someone implies that the profession is still represented mostly by middle-aged men in suits, everyone gets worked into a lather. My goal wasn’t to offend said middle-aged men in suits, most of whom I admire for their leadership, but to bring the issue of under-representation of the younger demographic to the table for discussion.

I didn’t actually believe I was the only one under 40 there (creative license people, dealtand that there is a hierarchy that young CPAs have to work their way up, starting on the state level. As a reporter, I had to do exactly the same, first covering MACPA’s CPA Day in Annapolis to get a feel for how visits with legislators work before being sent to cover Council. Cruising through the Maryland State House was a lot like attacking the Hill except on a smaller scale, and certainly prepared me for what to expect at Council.

As it turns out, I really wasn’t the only one under 40 there (as suspected). Evidenced by the following email I received from a young Washington State CPA shortly after Council wrapped:

Hi Adrienne,

I’m sorry I missed you! Thank you for your article. I am 2 years fresh out of college (work for an international firm), and was fortunate enough to be sponsored by the Washington (State) Society of CPAs to attend the AICPA governing council. I had a chance to meet with my representative, another representative’s office and my senator’s office today to discuss these issues with them and/or their staff. Tomorrow I’ll be meeting with the other senator from my state. The state society had the same view as you, in that it is important to start including accountants of my generation in the advocacy role, because these issues that are being introduced today will transform the profession for years, potentially decades, to come. The AICPA Governing Council has exposed me to numerous leaders in the accounting profession that serve as a great resource for the younger crowd to learn from. All it takes is the interest of young CPAs to become involved. It’s important now more than ever to have young CPAs step up to the challenge. Thank you for urging all young CPAs to contact their state society or nearest member on the governing council for more information.

“I found that for whatever reason, most state societies use their Council seats as ‘rewards’ for their (usually senior–both in experience and often age) members–so the ‘free’ attendance that Council members receive are not generally available to people our age. So I don’t blame most of the young CPAs, since without this free ticket, I wouldn’t be able to afford to attend this meeting either,” said Donny Shimamoto, CPA, CITP, founder and director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies and the only young CPA we were able to track down at Council. Does that tell me that the system is rigged to keep middle-aged men in suits at the top of the food chain? No, it tells me that perks like comped trips to DC for Council are earned through demonstrated leadership, which is a commitment of both time and energy toward advancing the greater good of the profession.

As I said last week, if you are interested in legislative issues and want to get involved, you can start by contacting your state society of CPAs and checking out the AICPA Leadership Academy, which will be meeting in October in Durham, NC.

Here’s the bottom line: no one is going to approach you and ask if you want a free trip to our nation’s capital just because you have a pretty face (sorry, Joe Carey). You can position yourself as a leader by staying on top of important legislation that impacts the profession and even if you couldn’t make it to Council, there’s nothing keeping you from writing your Congressmen to share your feelings on this year’s key issues.