By now, most of you who are AICPA members in good standing have received your special 125th Anniversary edition Journal of Accountancy. As you thumb listlessly through it, no doubt you noticed that certain firms took out large ads while others – true to their benchwarming status among Top 10 firms – took out small, subtle ads.
Going Concern freelancer candidate Andrew Roberts must have had too much time on his hands when he sent over his analysis of the JofA ads, which was nice because it saved my lazy ass a bunch of effort.
Here's the breakdown ranked in order according to the Accounting Today 2012 Top 100 with page numbers included in parentheses for any of you JofA subscribers to check out yourselves:
Deloitte – full-page (49)
PwC – full-page (89)
E&Y – two-page ad!!! (120-121)
KPMG – a half-page!?!?! (43)
McGladrey – full-page (39)
GT – full-page (63)
BDO – full-page (25)
Crowe Horwath – half-page (64)
Now, perhaps EY is trying to make up for that whole L-word snafu by reminding everyone they are still relevant – which we can't hate on – but who in their advertising department signed off on the photo of a guy in a helmet and goggles with wings strapped to his arms trying to fly through a grassy field with the tag line "It's more than just three letters. It's a world of possibility"? The possibility being dude runs around the field for three hours flapping his arms wildly until it finally dawns on him that humans can never fly? I'm baffled.
Can anyone decipher this for me?
Other notable ad items from this edition of the JofA: KPMG's pathethic half page ad stuffed to the gills with all the important buzz words like "independence" and "objectivity" – yes, yes, we get it. Interesting that even CCH and Avalara managed full-page ads but KPMG didn't. What gives?
Reznick took out half a page while un-merged EideBailly and Wipfli took out a quarter page each (not to be outdone by each other, obviously). It's also worth noting that the AICPA placed five different ads in its own publication, promoting CPA2Biz, its discount program for members, its CPA.com email program, and the AICPA store on Amazon.
Oh, and I already got one for attending Council but if anyone wants a free 125th anniversary poster, you can order one from CPA2Biz.
Call me a masochist but I've always enjoyed reading the JofA, so besides the strange EY ad and the AICPA's own self promotion, it was a pretty good issue looking back on the history of the profession. If yours is still sitting in your mailbox, at least give it a good glance and you might find something interesting. Or at least have something good to whack the dog with when it pisses on the floor.
