eBay Beats the Numbers Thanks to Lehman Schwag

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Caleb Newquist

At least that’s what we’re guessing.
Bloomberg:
“EBay Inc., owner of the most visited U.S. e-commerce Web site, reported second-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates, a sign that Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe’s turnaround efforts are working.”
Whatevs. We’d argue beauties like this are the reason for the good Q.
EBay Profit Beats Estimates in Sign That Turnaround Is Working [Bloomberg]

Uncategorized

$500k Will Not Satisfy One CPA’s Quest for Vindication

Caleb Newquist
October 21, 2009

A CPA in Redmond, Washington is receiving $500,000 from the state’s board of accountancy after battling with them for nearly five years over a disciplinary action that probably should have been NBD.

D. Edson Clark had claimed that the state Board of Accountancy was improperly pursuing unwarranted charges against him in retaliation for complaints he had made about the handling of another case. He requested tens of thousands of pages of public records and launched seven lawsuits against board employees over the past two years.

Clark was very determined to clear his good name. So much so that the Board of Accountancy claimed, “it has been disrupted by Clark’s requests, and that his demands for public records are burning up its budget and limiting its ability to function.” Apparently, the Board was so overwhelmed that it threatened Clark with an anti-harassment complaint because the volume of emails he was sending was disruptive.
This brings up some questions: A) How many emails does it take to disrupt an office? B) Did they try hiring a temp? C) Was Clark spending his entire day copying and pasting the same email over and over or was he drafting individually scathing rants? D) At what point does a person cross the line of crazy-ass obsession?
Despite the metric asston of emails received by the Board, a judge in one of Clark’s lawsuits was not impressed with the Board’s handling of the situation:

In an oral hearing in June, Judge Thomas McPhee, a judge in Thurston County Superior Court, said that the board had “developed a pattern of incompetence in answering these discovery requests that is just difficult to believe for a state agency.”

We’re all familiar with governments’ inability to do much of anything but for a judge to put the situation in this context might be a new low for bureaucratic inefficiency.
Don’t worry though, the saga isn’t over as Mr. Clark has indicated that he plans further litigation in order to FULLY EXONERATE himself. Nevermind that the $500,000 is over a third of the Board’s budget. This is obviously personal. We admire the gusto.
Redmond CPA to get $500K settlement from state board [Puget Sound Business Journal]
Redmond accountant, Washington regulator at odds [Puget Sound Business Journal]

Uncategorized

Moss Adams Values ‘A Balanced Life’ over ‘Accountability’

Caleb Newquist
October 31, 2009

It’s pretty much a given that all “serious” accounting firms have “values” that they pitch to their rank and file and other interested parties.

Rumor has it that Moss Adams has recently changed the ‘A’ in their PILLAR of values from “Accountability” to “A Balanced Life”. This may or may not be a completely arbitrary change but it does put the firm out there as a work/life horn-blower.
While we applaud the attempt of accounting firms to provide a balanced life, it is certainly a debatable reality. Besides, shouldn’t a public accounting firm be accountable before it provides a balanced life? Many will make the argument that if you don’t want to work overtime for very little gratitude you should GTFO of public accounting. Can’t say we disagree.
While the thought of accounting firms having actual values is nice, sometimes brutal honesty would be really refreshing. One would think that smaller firms would have the luxury of leveling with their employees about what the culture is like.

However, judging by the switcheroo by MA, they like to do the work/life song and dance just like the big boys.

If anyone from the Moss Adams family would care to chime in on the latest switch in values, please do so. Also, for those of you at the other smaller-ish firms, let us know about your firm’s open commitment to balanced life (or lack thereof). If you work at a big firm, just complain away about your work/life balance.