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Career Center

Mid-tier Manager’s Phone Blowing Up with Calls From Big 4; Is It Time to Jump Ship?

Caleb Newquist
November 10, 2010

Welcome to the winesday edition of Accounting Career Couch. In today’s conundrum, a mid-tier manager is getting aggresively courted by three of the Big 4 firms and what’s to know the True Accounting Firm Story about them before dropping his current firm like a bag of dirt.

Trying to figure out your next career move? Getting anxious about busy season and need some new survival tips? Did you recently receive an email that you really want to share with other but it may or may not be appropriate? WAIT! Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and we’ll steer you in the right direction.

Back to our greener grass hunter du jour:

Caleb,

The recent improvements in the fortunes of the Big 4 have yielded some opportunities for certain of us in the mid-tier firms. In the past two weeks I have been contacted by Deloitte, KPMG and E&Y regarding open positions they are trying to fill.

I am an experienced manager at a mid-tier firm that has not quite recovered from the recession. The firm is struggling to bring in new clients and has had almost no success in this area. The Big 4 have aggressively cut fees and have a generally better reputation to rely upon. While I like the opportunities as they are advertised, what kind of situation am I stepping into at these firms? Should any of these firms be avoided? I could stay until promotion to senior manager, but the firms is currently very top heavy. I see limited benefit to staying as my share of the work increases and my pay has not kept pace. Any thoughts?

It’s pretty difficult to pick one firm over the other without details about your city (memo to advice-seekers: GIVE US LOTS OF DETAILS ABOUT YOUR PROBLEM) but we’ll take a stab here.

Choosing one firm over another is purely a matter of your own preference. If you’re a fan of yellow, this is an easy decision. Prefer blue? Your decision is a little harder, unless you’re a Phil Mickelson fan, in which case there’s no debate here.

But seriously – if you specialize in a specific industry, you’ll probably meet a partner that you’ll work for when you interview with the firm. Hell, if it’s a small enough office you might meet all the partners in your group. That should give you a pretty good feel for what you’re getting into. Like we wrote last to Jersey Girl, a partner’s behavior during the interviewing process can be a good sign of who to choose.

If you’re antsy about your current firm, then you’re probably not alone. Regarding your concern about your current firm being “top heavy” the parking lot at senior manager is pretty full anywhere you go, so can’t really help you there.

Bottom line – go on some interviews and feel the firms out. Throwing darts won’t get you anywhere. Get a feel for the people you’ll be working with and your decision should be easy.

KPMG

Is Citi Getting Bad Advice from KPMG?

Caleb Newquist
November 10, 2010

John Carney wonders aloud if Citigroup’s low reserves (approximately $1b reserve for $500b in exposure) for its repurchase risk is thanks to the guidance provided by KPMG. Citi has said that they are, “comfortable with this level of reserves because historically realized repurchase risk has been quite small.” Carney explains, “In short, they haven’t had to pay out much on these claims in the past, so they figure they won’t pay out much in the future.”

Be that as it may, JC and his colleague, Ash Bennington are pret-tay sure Citi has it wrong (they lay out their case in full) and speculates that KPMG is, at the very least, an enabler here.

Carney points out that Francine McKenna has been following KPMG’s not so stellar guidance on this particular issue for years. Starting with New Century in 2007, Wells Fargo last year and Countrywide who was purchased by Bank of America.

Carney then writes that Bank of America is “widely assumed to have the largest repurchase risk, largely thanks to the acquisition of Countrywide.”

So that’s a helluva trail to be sure and Carney wraps up:

So is the advice of KPMG part of the reason for Citi’s complacency when it comes to repurchase risk? Given the history of companies audited by KPMG missing repurchase risk, perhaps Citi should rethink that complacency.

Of course Carney forgets that Dick Bové would take exception with everything he’s saying, since this firm is perfectly acceptable. Even if he doesn’t know who they are.

We’d like to get anyone familiar with the matter (read: Citi audit team members) on the record, so get in touch and we’ll put it out there. Or you can chime in below.

PwC Ireland Email Ranking Hotness of Female Associates Goes Viral

Caleb Newquist
November 10, 2010

You may or may not have heard already about a little email making the rounds in Ireland that originated inside PwC. A few dudes figured they would rate the female incoming associates and of course the thing went viral. PwC’s leadership in Ireland got wind of it and since this sort of thing is typically frowned upon, they are now investigating the matter.

It’s rumored that this ranking is a “tradition” inside the firm but if it sounds familiar, it should. Last year we reported on a similar contest that originated inside Del��nders were reversed and there were creative categories like, “Most likely to sleep his way to partner.” This particular ranking is about as imaginative as you would expect from a bunch of dudes at PwC.

Because we’re the ambitious type, we thought we’d try to run down the email and photos and by the grace of the gossip Gods, our persistence paid off. After the jump, the email with the less-than-classy comments – including one guy asking his email to be removed if it the message was going to be forwarded – and the accompanying slideshow (sans names of course).

FW: This would be my shortlist for the top 10
O’Carroll, Richard (IE – Dublin)
to:
Ryan, Evan@Dublin, Mac Giolla Bhride, Jack (IE – Dublin), McInerney, Ruaidhri (IE – Dublin), Mark Gantly
27/10/2010 11:37
Show Details

History: This message has been forwarded.

Delete my email signature etc if forward.

From: david.mcdonough@ie.pwc.com [mailto:david.mcdonough@ie.pwc.com]
Sent: 27 October 2010 11:27
To: Nolan, Alan (IE – Dublin); Burbridge, Gerard (IE – Dublin); James.Phelan@cbre.com; David.MacUileagoid@mercer.com; John.Murphy@hsoc.ie; Lord, Patrick (IE – Dublin)
Subject: Fw: This would be my shortlist for the top 10

FYI. New clunge.

_____________________________________________________
David Mc Donough | Senior Associate | Asset Management |
pwc | One Spencer Dock | North Wall Quay | Dublin 1 | Ireland |
Direct (: + 353 1 792 5633 | Fax 7: + 353 1 792 6200 | E-mail *: david.mcdonough@ie.pwc.com

—– Forwarded by David McDonough/IE/ABAS/PwC on 27/10/2010 11:26 —–

Stephen Tully/IE/ABAS/PwC
27/10/2010 10:19

Dublin
IE

To Colin Burke/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Gavin Dunne/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Gerard Somers/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, John Leonard/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Leon Nangle/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Maurice O’Brien/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Neil Collins/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Patrick Meagher/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Pierce Kenny/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Robert E Byrne/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Rory Bluett/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Paul G Cummins/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Gavin Friel/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Mark Rochfort/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, David McDonough/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Stephen Doherty/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE
cc
Subject Fw: This would be my shortlist for the top 10

Lads a couple added and also departments

____________________________________
Stephen Tully | Senior Associate | Asset Management Group
stephen.tully@ie.pwc.com
PricewaterhouseCoopers | Assurance
One Spencer Dock | Dublin 1 | Ireland |(: 353 -1-792-5793 | 7: 353-1-792-6200

—– Forwarded by Stephen Tully/IE/ABAS/PwC on 27/10/2010 10:18 —–

Paul G Cummins/IE/ABAS/PwC
26/10/2010 17:17

792 6087

To Stephen Tully/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE
cc Colin Burke/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Gavin Dunne/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Gerard Somers/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, John Leonard/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Leon Nangle/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Maurice O’Brien/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Neil Collins/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Patrick Meagher/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Pierce Kenny/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Robert E Byrne/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Rory Bluett/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Paul G Cummins/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Gavin Friel/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Mark Rochfort/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE
Subject Re: This would be my shortlist for the top 10Link

Great work…..have reservations about the last one getting in……

_____________________________________________________
Paul Cummins | Senior Associate | Asset Management |
pwc | One Spencer Dock | North Wall Quay | Dublin 1 | Ireland |
Direct (: + 353 1 792 6087 | Fax 7: + 353 1 792 6200 | E-mail *: paul.g.cummins@ie.pwc.com

Stephen Tully/IE/ABAS/PwC
26/10/2010 16:59

Dublin
IE

To Colin Burke/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Gavin Dunne/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Gerard Somers/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, John Leonard/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Leon Nangle/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Maurice O’Brien/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Neil Collins/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Patrick Meagher/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Pierce Kenny/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Robert E Byrne/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Rory Bluett/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Paul G Cummins/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Gavin Friel/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE, Mark Rochfort/IE/ABAS/PwC@EMEA-IE
cc
Subject This would be my shortlist for the top 10

Memo to the AICPA: You Don’t Have To Be In High School To Come Up With Juvenile Acronyms

Adrienne Gonzalez
November 10, 2010

Some of you seemed less than enthused when we shared an AccountingWEB piece on the AICPA’s new “Clearly Pretty Awesome” campaign two weeks ago so I’m here to get a good hoo-RAH out of you in the hopes that you, our brilliant, bitter and oftentimes inappropriate Going Concern readers, might have 2 or 3 cents to add.

Here’s the deal, the AICPA is giving away cash and prizes (to be used strictly for educational purposes, that is) for whomever (between ages 15 – 19) can come up with the best made-up job title using those all important three letters: C P A. Since the efforts of both the Obama administration and Ben Bernanke seem to be useless in creating jobs, perhaps high schoolers can boast a better success rate in creating new jobs. Sorry, Certified Public Asshole is already taken and frankly, kind of played out. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have similar ideas for made-up jobs, though whether or not anyone actually becomes a Chief Private Asshat remains to be seen.

The obvious inspiration behind the campaign is to plant the seed of public accounting in young little future beancounters’ brains when they are still pliable and easily influenced. After all, it’s easier to get them now, as opposed to later on down the road when they’re bitter and pissed off, overworked and saddled with a family and a career. While we admire the AICPA’s efforts in painting the profession in as cool a light as possible given the circumstances, we don’t quite see the point in rewarding whomever makes up “city park accordionist”.

Instead, here’s what I propose: take your high school student to work day for CPAs. Cops do it, why can’t we? Invite high school students to go on a ride-along to the client and hell, while they’re there why not have them partake in such exciting awesomeness as inventory counts? It will look great on their résumés when the job market looks up in 3 – 7 years!

Or better, encourage students to become forensic accountants by taking them to a real prison to follow a day in the life of Jeff Skilling complete with orange uniform and over-aggressive cellmate. That kills two birds with one stone as the impressionable youngsters could also get a great lesson in sexual harassment from a tattooed dude named Spike and save themselves an employee training or two down the road. Perfect!

So, go on then, what do you think CPA could stand for?

Accounting News Roundup: Morgan Stanley’s CFO Has Some War Stories; Lamar Odom Sues IRS; More on Too Few to Fail | 11.10.10

Caleb Newquist
November 10, 2010

A Female Wall St. Financial Chief Avoids Pitfalls That Stymied Others [NYT]
Ruth Porat, the CFO at Morgan Stanley, gets a write-up in the Times which doesn’t hesitate to point out all the women CFOs that have failed before her, “In Ms. Porat’s case, she is often reminded about recent Wall Street history. ‘Be careful in everything you do, because we all know how this ended before,’ another stock analyst told her at a cocktail party earlier this year on the 41st floor of Morgan’s Stanley’s headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, according to attendees.

The comment was a not so subtle reference to the last two female chief financial officers on Wall Streehman Brothers and Sallie L. Krawcheck at Citigroup. Ms. Callan resigned from Lehman just months before it filed for bankruptcy and is now under investigation by regulators. Ms. Krawcheck struggled as chief financial officer at Citigroup and was publicly demoted in early 2007.”

But the boys’ club might be able to relax on this one, as Ruthie sounds committed, “In 1992, during the birth of her first son, she was on the phone in the delivery room making client calls.” Oh, and there was this time that she threw her back out finished a presentation on the boardroom table. Legendary!

Ambac Has Stipulation With IRS Over Tax Dispute [Bloomberg]
Ambac Financial Group Inc., the bankrupt holding company for a failed bond insurer, has a stipulation with the Internal Revenue Service over a dispute about whether the agency can seize at least $700 million in tax refunds, an Ambac lawyer said in bankruptcy court today.

Under the stipulation, the IRS has agreed not to take enforcement action against Ambac or its subsidiaries without giving five days’ notice. The agreement will remain in place until Ambac holds a hearing to decide whether it can get a judgment to decide the issue.

Google to Give Staff 10% Raise [WSJ]
Chief Executive Eric Schmidt disclosed the raise in an email to employees, saying the company wants to lift morale. “We want to make sure that you feel rewarded for your hard work,” Mr. Schmidt wrote. “We want to continue to attract the best people to Google.”

The S.E.C., Whistle-Blowers and Sarbanes-Oxley [DealBook]
The S.E.C., led by Mary L. Schapiro, released its proposal last week. Unfortunately for businesses, the S.E.C. must comply with the Congressional directive that puts the interest of attracting tips about corporate wrongdoing ahead of the internal compliance programs that most corporations set up under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which passed eight years ago. For businesses, it looks like Congress may be willing to use the new whistle-blower programs to undermine Sarbanes-Oxley.

Lamar Odom Seeks Tax Deduction For NBA Fines and Fitness Fees [Forbes]
Odom is going pro se before a U.S. Tax Court to get back “$12,000 in sports fines and another $178,000 spent getting himself in shape.” His wife, no stranger to tax-related fiascos, must have told him that it was the smart move.

Does the GOP Really Want to Slash Spending in a Weak Economy? [TaxVox]
No doubt the GOP wants to shrink government. And there isn’t much doubt that some voters agree with them. But is this the time? Will voters be quite so enthusiastic once they realize spending cuts mean more than eliminating ever-popular waste, fraud, and abuse? Will they embrace actual reductions to those government services and benefits that they have grown to love? And, most important, will they accept these government spending cuts in the teeth of a still-sluggish economy?

The Big Four: Too Few to Fail [Accounting Onion]
We need at least a fifth firm, but preferably lots more, that are capable of taking on the largest corporations as clients. Surely, the public has learned more than they wanted to know about the concept of moral hazard from the too-big-to-fail banks. And just as surely, the Big Four are too few for financial regulators to let fail. This version of moral hazard is that each of the firms knows the position the financial regulators are in, and they take on more risk as a result.

IRS Announces 2011 VITA Grant Recipients [TaxProf Blog]
Glenn Beck can rest easy, ACORN isn’t on the list.

Quote of the Day

Congress: Come Hell, High Water or Spiteful Democrats, We’ll Patch the AMT in the Lame Duck Session

Caleb Newquist
November 10, 2010

“We plan to do everything possible to enact AMT relief legislation in a form mutually agreeable to the Congress and the president. We urge the Internal Revenue Service to take all steps necessary to plan for changes that would be made by the legislation.”

~ One of those “letters” that legislators write to bureaucrats as a form of grandstanding. This particular letter was from Max Baucus, Chuck Grassley, Sandy Levin and Dave Camp to Doug Shulman

Sandra Guy, Recognized for Leadership in Diversity, Leaving BDO

Caleb Newquist
November 10, 2010

We’ve learned from a tipster that BDO’s Head of Human Capital Sandra Guy was leaving the firm to ‘pursue other interests’ which we have confirmed with a BDO spokesman.

As of Monday, Sandi Guy, executive director of Human Capital, has left the firm to pursue other interests. Barbara Taylor, the firm’s general counsel, will oversee the Human Capital function on an interim basis until a replacement is identified.

“We thank Sandi for her many years of service to our firm and are grateful for her significant contributions,” says Jack Weisbaum, chief executive officer. “We wish her well in her future endeavors.”

Ms. Guy was recognized just last year for her work in diversity by American Society of Women Accountants (ASWA) and Profiles in Diversity Journal’s “Women Worth Watching in 2010.”

Technology

Accounting Tech: CCH Mobile Brings Tax Research to BlackBerry, iPhone

GoingConcern
November 10, 2010

The following post is republished from AccountingWEB, a source of accounting news, information, tips, tools, resources and insight — everything you need to help you prosper and enjoy the accounting profession.

CCH’s new application, CCH Mobile, is an extension of CCH’s IntelliConnect tax research platform and makes CCH’s content and tools available via BlackBerry and iPhone.

More than 1,000 professionals attending the 2010 CCH User Conference from November 7-10 in Grande Lakes, Orlando, will preview CCH Mobile. The new app is the latest offering from CCH designed to ensure that CCH resources will be with professionals wherever they choose to work.

“We’re providing an advantage for any professional who needs to conduct business beyond the boundaries of their office,” said Mike Sabbatis, CCH president and CEO. “And while that’s just about everyone, only CCH IntelliConnect customers will have the ability to conduct research on CCH’s premier content from the palm of their hand – anytime, anywhere.”

With CCH Mobile, tax and accounting professionals can access answers and tools on the spot – when meeting in person with clients at remote locations, or whenever they need content quickly, according to the company.

A limited-time free version of CCH Mobile is available. All current IntelliConnect subscribers can download the debut of CCH Mobile at no charge and all CCH User Conference attendees also have access to a preview version of this portable tax research tool.

After downloading the CCH Mobile app to a smart phone, users of the complimentary introductory release will have access to:

• Customized Tax Tracker News
• Primary materials including Internal Revenue Code and Regulations
• Tax tools and calculators
• Smart Charts (depending on IntelliConnect subscription level)

Following the introductory period through mid-2011, additional subscription packages will be offered to suit subscribers’ specific research needs.

Click here for more information and to view a demonstration of CCH Mobile.

About CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business:
CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, is a global provider of tax, accounting and audit information, software, and services. It has served tax, accounting, and business professionals since 1913. Among its market-leading solutions are The ProSystem fx Suite, CorpSystem, CCH IntelliConnect, Accounting Research Manager, and the U.S. Master Tax Guide. CCH is based in Riverwoods, Illinois. Wolters Kluwer is a global information services company. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices.

News

BREAKING: Accountant in Pakistan Dies From Non-Predator Drone Causes

Caleb Newquist
November 10, 2010

Shocking development out of Pakistan as an accountant has died from a heart attack after allegations of corruption were brought against him. Judging by the complete omission of anything to the contrary, a predator drone does not appear to be involved in any way shape or form.

An accountant of a school in Pakistan’s Multan city suffered a heart attack and died after the teaching staff levelled corruption allegations against him and the principal.

Ehsan Ghauri, chief accountant of the Multan Public School, died Monday following a heart attack after the teaching staff, during a protest demonstration, charged him and the principal with corruption, Dawn reported Tuesday.

Grant Thornton’s New CPA Policy: Bonuses and Requirement for Promotion

Caleb Newquist
November 9, 2010

Grant Thornton rolled out some policy updates today related to obtaining a CPA (full email after the jump), including some impressive bonuses for its newest employees (hired after April 15, 2010). The largest available is $10k if you happen to be of the Elijah Watts types and “are among the top 10 candidates earning the highest cumulative scores on the four sections of the CPA Exam in the country.”

Other bonuses include:

• $5k for passing all four sections within one year of full-time hire.
• $3k if you pass within 18 months of full-time hire.
• $7.5k for those in the top ten in their state but not good enough for national recognition.

The firm is also paying a small bonus ($1k) for current employees who have epicly failed so far but��exam between August 1, 2010 and July 31, 2011.

While most people easily get hung up on the money aspect of things, the bigger change is the requirement for new employees (again, those hired after April 15, 2010) to have passed all four sections of the CPA prior to being eligible for promotion to Senior Associate. That goes for both audit and tax employees.

We covered CPA exam policies in a couple of posts earlier this year and the only other firm that has this requirement is PwC for the audit practice. The tax practice requires a CPA for promotion to manager.

So some pretty interesting developments at GT and it seems to be a fair transition – from a timing standpoint anyway – as those hired in the last six months can hardly find their ass with both hands, let alone be ready for a promotion to SA. But again, this is major policy change going forward and GT is, at the very least, making the case that they will be holding all of their associates to a higher threshold of performance than firms that don’t have such requirements.

Sound off your support or displeasure in the comments on the bonuses or promotion requirements below. And for the non-GTers out there, what do you think of your firm’s policy? Does it need updated to keep the pace with GT’s move? Are changes in the works? Keep us updated by emailing us at tips@goingconcern.com.

Policy update
Important information regarding CPA licensure
At Grant Thornton, we are a dynamic global organization that is committed to making a difference to our colleagues, clients, the profession and our communities. As part of our commitment to providing our clients with distinctive service and the highest quality, I am pleased to announce two important changes effective immediately.

Introducing the CPA Pass Bonus
It is our goal to continue to attract intellectually curious, talented individuals to our firm and to encourage them to pass the CPA exam and earn their license as soon as possible. As such, I am delighted to announce that Grant Thornton will now offer a CPA Pass Bonus.

Grant Thornton will pay professionals who joined the firm as entry-level associates from campus on or after April 15, 2010
· $5,000 – For passing all four parts of the exam prior to or within one year of their full-time date of hire

· $3,000 – For passing all four parts of the exam within 18 months of their full-time date of hire

· $10,000 – For those who are among the top 10 candidates earning the highest cumulative scores on the four sections of the CPA Exam in the country

· $7,500 – For those who are recognized as earning the highest cumulative scores on their initial sitting for the four sections of the CPA Exam within their state and were not national winners

To recognize a transition within the spirit of the new policy, Grant Thornton will pay a one- time “catch up” to experienced associates through senior associates

· $1,000 – For passing all four parts of the exam, if they pass during the August 1, 2010 and July 31, 2011 time period only

CPA requirement for promotion to senior associate
In addition to paying a bonus to those passing the CPA exam, the firm has made the decision to require audit and tax employees to have passed all four parts of the CPA exam in order to be promoted to senior associate.

For employees hired on or after April 15, 2010

· This new promotion policy is effective immediately.

For employees hired before April 15, 2010 or as experienced associates and senior associates:

· Employees who have not yet passed the CPA exam will be “grandfathered” under our current policy. In that regard, we encourage all individuals currently at the associate 2 level or above to pass the CPA exam within the next 2 years. However, they must be a licensed CPA prior to being promoted to manager.

For additional information, please see the CPA Pass Bonus Policy linked here.

If you have any questions about either of these changes, please contact your practice leader or local HR professional.

Lou

University of Tampa Wants Accounting Firms to Get to Know Beta Alpha Psi Members with New Recruiting Tool

Caleb Newquist
November 9, 2010

As previously discussed, the fall recruiting onslaught is a huge part of the major accounting firms’ strategy to keep as many bright-eyed and bushy-tailed auditors, tax and advisory professionals on staff. Some schools simply rely on their reputation for churning out dynamite candidates on paper to keep the firms coming back but what about other schools that don’t necessarily enjoy the sterling reputation?

Well for starters, you could burn those other schools to the ground. If doing a 6 to 10 stretch doesn’t work for your career plan, then perhaps getting your name out there before you meet the firms will help.

That’s exactly what the University of Tampa’s Beta Alpha Psi chapter is doing for their members – posting their photo, bio, résumés and email address to allow firms to get to know candidates prior to meeting on campus.

So far the feedback has been positive, including some from KPMG that was included in the chapter’s press release:

“It was a great resource for us to be able to recall the individuals that we had the opportunity to meet, and then easily review their goals and current status, and then further review their resumes. It allowed us to obtain quick and accurate information on those we met.”

Perusing around some of the other chapters like Texas, Notre Dame and BYU it’s pretty obvious that U. Tampa’s site is more interactive and easier to navigate. Plus, if you’re participating in the recruiting in the process for your firm, it’s a great way to prepare to meet recruits as opposed to the standard awkward small talk.

Kudos to U. Tampa BAP for getting their members names and faces out there. Hopefully other chapters will follow their example to engage more effectively with the firms in their cities and regions to assist members as they go through the recruiting process.

UT BAP Spotlight

News
Tax

Eric Cantor Will Not Be Entertaining Any of This Talk of Compromise on Tax Cuts

Caleb Newquist
November 9, 2010

The presumed next Majority Leader in the House has gone on the record (with Fox News no less) that any pragmatism on the President’s part will be slapped away like a homeless vet’s outstretched hand:

The Obama administration’s hopes of reaching a tax deal with Republicans that would decouple rates on the rich from the middle class appear dead.

House GOP Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) threw cold water on the proposed plan, which would temporarily extend tax cuts for the wealthy while permanently extending tax cuts for the middle class. “Taxes shouldn’t be going up on anybody right now,” Cantor said.

So, in other words President Obama, you can take any of this “compromise” talk and stick it in your tea because that’s what was mandated by the people:

“This election … was really the American people saying they are tired of the lack of results in Washington,” he said. “They want to see more jobs for more Americans. They want to see us … cut government spending, rein in the size of government so we can get this economy growing again. That was the prescription, that was the mandate that came from the people.”

So a fair amount of ellipsises there, so maybe he’s not exactly sure what he’s saying but Cantor is a fool if he thinks that “cutting government spending” and” reining in the size of government” is not part of the GOP agenda despite what Paul Ryan writes in the Financial Times.

Security Agency spending seems to be a pretty big piece of the shopping spree; doesn’t it make sense to start there? If not, are we going to continue buying predator drones on the credit card and cut education again since raising taxes is absolutely out of the question?

Cantor, Republicans signal Obama tax proposal is dead in the water [The Briefing Room/The Hill]

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