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EY Employees Are Building a Better Working World One Colored Pencil At a Time

Posted on by Jason Bramwell

EY employees have had to endure a lot of crap in the past six months, most notably seeing many of their colleagues and friends lose their jobs and being told by management they have an “entitlement mentality” when it comes to vacation and then having unlimited PTO shoved down their throats.

But as a reward for sticking with the Black and Yellow through thick and thin, EYers have recently received care packages from their beloved management. The first “Reset” care package to EYers included, among other things, a blanket and the New York Times bestseller Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth.

The most recent “Recharge” care package consisted of … a coloring book and colored pencils:

Seniors: We need more staff to help out. EY: You guys want a coloring book? Seniors: No we asked for more help. EY: Sure, and we will even give you colored pencils.
byu/Stock_Dividend inAccounting

Many of the comments in this Reddit post are pretty funny, as is this satirical list a now-former EY client technology staffer (yes, he or she still got one) wrote in his or her coloring book:

We were told the box with the coloring book and colored pencils also came with some type of glasses, which according to our tipster looks very similar to the glasses worn by a certain EY Global Client Technology executive director who is not well-liked right now by many of his former employees.

So what’s going to be included in EY’s next care package for employees? Waffle and/or pancake mix? An EY logo Chia Pet?

Feel free to speculate in the comments section.

Related articles:

Layoff Watch ’20: Apparently It’s Doomsday for Some at EY
EY Changes Its Vacation Policy, Oh and BTW They’re Not Paying Out Accrued PTO If You “Leave”
Layoff Watch ’21: EY Gave Client Technology Staffers a Parting Gift As They Were Being Kicked to the Curb

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Ernst & Young Aware of This Sino-Forest Situation, Seems Content to Watch It Play Out

Jonathan Weil has a column today on the train wreck that is Sino-Forest, the Chinese-Canadian timber company. In case you need caught up, there have been some questions about the company’s ability to report accurate disclosures and accounting. This led the research firm Muddy Waters to issue a not-so-flattering analysis of the company. Things like “Ponzi scheme” and “investing for the 23rd Century” don’t exactly get people jumping up and down for your company. Ask John Paulson.

Of course Sino-Forest didn’t do this all by themselves. They had credit rating agencies and auditors telling them everything was hunky dory for years and that’s Weil’s point. He reports that Fitch pulled its rating on S-F back in July and S&P finally pulled their rating this week. That just leaves Moody’s but guess who else is still hanging in there? Ernst & Young, baby! They’re still standing behind their audit opinions and showing no sign of budging. And JW is really curious to know who’s going to jump out of this tree first.

One question lingers: Which of the company’s paid opinion merchants will be the last to step aside? Will it be a credit rater? Or will it be the company’s auditor, Ernst & Young LLP in Toronto, which has yet to rescind any of its reports on Sino-Forest’s finances?

So far Ernst looks like the favorite, with only one rating company left in the hunt. Think of it as a contest between giant tortoises to see which one is slower. This time-honored ritual — of market gatekeepers waiting to blow the whistle until long after a scam has been exposed — has become so familiar, we might as well revel in the spectacle.

So these “gatekeepers” Weil speaks of – obviously this includes the Big 4. And it’s true that we’re all used to them waving their arms, screaming “DANGER!” in front of the burning heap that everyone has been aware of for ages (I didn’t say Lehman Brothers. Did you say Lehman Brothers? Who said Lehman Brothers?).

ANYWAY, E&Y should know that they have choices:

Ernst does have options, aside from bracing for the inevitable years of litigation and investigations. It could resign, explain why it is doing so and face criticism for acting too late. It could withdraw its previous audit opinions. It could insist to Sino-Forest’s directors that it be permitted to answer questions from the public about the work it has performed, as a condition of remaining onboard. Or it could hang on in silence, as it’s doing now, and watch its reputation endure more damage.

Could be that this is just another part of E&Y’s strategy. Sit tight while things play out, wait until things get really serious (i.e. bankruptcy, severe economic turmoil, civil charges, etc. etc.) and then come out swinging.

Tree Falls on Sino-Forest, Auditor Can’t Hear It [Bloomberg]

Another Ernst & Young Employee Is Yearned for in Craigslist Missed Connections

This past summer, a comely E&Y auditor was the subject of a missed connection for “personal and professional” reasons. As disappointing as that is, we’re hopeful that we can make true Internet love happen, as another E&Y employee is the object of someone’s Craigslist Missed Connections post, which makes us wonder if the firm’s recruiting efforts have taken a turn for the superficial. Regardless, this particular encounter is of anonymous affections but is far less creepy.


I had to split up the post since our lady friend opted not to use the “Return” button. The rest of it is on the next page.

Since this was in Rutherford, we’ll go out on a limb and say that this is a Secaucus employee. If you’ve got some idea of who, what and where, help us figure out a way to get these two together. We’re trying to make some love happen, people.

[via Craigslist]

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3 thoughts on “EY Employees Are Building a Better Working World One Colored Pencil At a Time”

  1. Unfortunately, that blanket did not help me much in the Texas Energy Crisis. Neither did the newsletter about “what do do after a fire” that went out to help those in need during the energy crisis.

  2. As a POC, I am exhausted by Kelly Grier’s “great white savior” complex. We don’t need her to save us. We are strong, capable, and sufficient for our needs. Our community will sustain us, as it always has. As a multi-millionaire who enjoys her fluff pieces in business magazines, Kelly’s “savior” BS is offensive. Her non-stop missives are about her, not about the BIPOC members of EY.

  3. The illustrations in the coloring book looks like the work of Johanna Basford. Did they commission her to create the EY coloring book, or otherwise got permission from either her or her publisher to reproduce (or have someone copy) her drawings?

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