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Footnotes: PCAOB Sanctions Five Auditors; Work/Life Is a Joke; Soft Sexism at the Office | 04.02.15

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

That's it for us this week. Enjoy a long weekend if you can and we'll see you back here on Monday. The lights are always on over at Open Items if you need to get something off your chest and if you bump into any chatty accounting firm CFOs, email us.

FASB Plans Further Accounting Simplification Projects [AT]

PCAOB Sanctions Five Auditors for Independence and Other Violations [PCAOB]

Republicans have a new plan to cut taxes for the top 0.2 percent Ending the estate tax. [Wonkblog]

Merger expands Boise accounting firm Jitasa They acquired Maryland-based Dynamic Shared Services. [IS]

Tesla Stockholders Can't Take a Joke [BloombergView]

Biglaw Firm Makes Big Joke Out Of Work/Life Balance [ATL]

Cuba opens its doors to Airbnb [BBC]

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Carves Out Own Niche Inside GOP The former CPA did not sign Grover Norquist's Taxpayer Protection Pledge. [WSJ]

Ex-TPG executive alleges partner said he wanted to 'smack' him against a wall: lawsuit The suit alleges that in response to some of Levine's concerns, TPG partner and senior counsel, Clive Bode, said if San Francisco-based Levine were in the same room as him, he would "smack" Levine's head into a wall and "knock some fucking sense" into him. Bode also told Levine he would have "hunted" him down and "gutted [him] like a carp" if Levine had sent one particular email to Bode, according to the lawsuit. That email detailing some of Levine's concerns had gone to other executives. Bode allegedly also told Levine that he would "fucking kill you" if Levine brought "Bonderman into it". [Reuters]

The 7 Characters You Can’t Use in Excel Worksheet Tab Names [AWEB]

Tell Us About All the Maddening Soft Sexism in Your Life [Jezebel]

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Some Behind the Scenes Details on the Ernst & Young “We Are Las Vegas” Video

On Tuesday we briefly shared a video that was put together by the E&Y Las Vegas office that involved a large pair of headphones (Koss perhaps?) an Elvis impersonator, plenty of off-key singing and out-of-sync choreography.

Unfortunately, the video didn’t last and AG piped in only to replace the singalong with another video that had – ugh – subtitles but at least it was a little better rehearsed.

Anyway, we did some poking around and we found out a little back story on this whole “We are Las Vegas” production.


Apparently, the video had its non-GC debut at a townhall meeting in LV last night that was relatively uneventful, according to an accountant close to the sitch:

It was basically a loyalty pep rally. They told us that we would be getting raises, but of course said we would “follow the market.” That’s ironic from a firm that strives to be the “market leader.”

Sounds like the typical yarn but it sounds like it was followed by mucho boozing so that made up for it… Anyway, what about that video?!?

What’s with the ginormous headphones?

Headphones guy was just asked to wear them as a prop. Stevie Wonder did, why not somebody else???

Was the whole office in on this thing? Were accountants forced to participate against their will?

There were people from all service lines. I would say tax and audit were both represented equally. Amazingly, there WERE people who were excited about singing the song.

How was the video received?

I was amazed how the upper level management at the town hall (from various west coast cities) was impressed with the song. The overwhelming response at town hall was “that was a good video.” I think a training at our Times Square office might be in place.

Why on Earth did someone decide to put this on YouTube?

The world may never know.

Former Bucknell Accounting Student Accused of Serial Flashing Had a MO That Would Make Most Women Suspicious

Jay Patrick Knaub, the former accounting major from Bucknell University accused of flashing four girls between the ages of 12 and 16, was back in court yesterday with his victims present. CBS21 reports that a few of the charges have been dropped and other charges consolidated but the most surprising thing we learned was that Mr. Knaub’s modus operandi was something that would have most women backing away slowly from the car with their hands in the air.

Each time the Middletown resident and former Bucknell University student would reportedly drive up to the girls and ask for directions. At least twice he’s accused of showing them a map, and then moving that map to expose his genitals. [At least twice he’s accused of showing them a map, and then moving that map to expose his genitals.]

Because of the age of these girls, chances are they’ve never been in the presence of a man admitting to being lost and needing directions since that is something simply doesn’t not happen unless A) he’s being forced to do under duress (e.g. future sex is being withheld) or B) he is not from this planet.

Any woman that has ever been lost with a man, knows that stopping and asking anyone for directions is something that men simply do not have the capacity to do. Accordingly, any man waving them down from a car and saying, “I think I’m lost and need directions,” would have send them running, arms flailing and screaming for the nearest police officer.

Unfortunately, these young girls had to learn this life lesson in a very shocking way and not in the normal course of experiencing the stupidity of men.

Serial flasher faces his victims in court [CBS21]