America should make life easier, not harder, for activist investors Mary Jo White believes that shareholder activism has lost its “distinctly negative connotation”. That is partly because rule changes have made activism easier and therefore more commonplace. Nor is it restricted to America: shareholder activism is gaining in popularity around the world, in places such as Japan and continental Europe, where it was once unknown. Not everybody is pleased. Managers, who seldom like investors trying to push them around, mutter about dirty tricks, to do with short-selling and rumour-mongering: those must be proved in court [Economist]
Failure to detect theft and fraud: It's not just an audit issue [Journal of Accountancy]
From the GC archives, Greg writes about Valentine's Day last year: "Today is Valentine's Day, and there are a lot of pissed off accountants because of it. Every year busy season robs us of all of the most random American holidays: Groundhog Day, April Fools' Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Valentine's Day, to name a few. Today, on top of the pressure to not disappoint the partner at work, we have the pressure to not disappoint the partner at home. Every morning we debate taking the time to bathe, but today we're expected to take the time to plan and execute a thoughtful Valentine's Day experience." [GC]
Hey banks! You can take marijuana money now, it's totally cool, bro [Fox News]
The IRS is off to a great tax season start, per the IRS [AT]
Our contributions for #ComplianceValentines:
I want to ask you to be mine but the PCAOB will need an engagement letter first #ComplianceValentines
— Going Concern (@going_concern) February 14, 2014
All I wanna do is test your internal controls #ComplianceValentines
— Going Concern (@going_concern) February 14, 2014
Listen up, you chino-loving freaks: Jos. A. Bank and Eddie Bauer Combine to Form Khaki Pants Powerhouse [Bloomberg View]
Today on Open Items: can someone please explain to me how senior managers add value to their jobs?, What are the best career paths for a "2 and done" CPA?, and Small Market vs. Big Market Big 4 just to name a few. If you have some wisdom to drop, please do. Be just as free to post your own issues over there should you have something you need the GC faithful's help figuring out. [Open Items]
And from the Tip Box: "Today's status update (PwCers should get this one): EGAs are complete, Aura balls are blue. Fieldwork resulted in no exceptions, Have fun with your review!" [GC Tip Box]
Finally, we leave you with a little love poem from @stuffpubacctsay: Roses are red, Violets are blue, It's the middle of February, And I don't have time for you [Twitter]
