Going Concern

Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton Is Done Selling: Acquires Huron’s Disputes & Investigations Practice

Caleb Newquist
October 4, 2010

If you had to judge the state of Grant Thornton based on the activity over the past year, you might assume that the firm was headed downhill because of their disposal of several offices around the country. Despite the haters and accent conspiracy theorists out there, Stephen Chipman was confident about the future. So much so that he sent hand-written notes to all of you encouraging you to become GT evangelists.

Now this morning, we learn that this unleashing of dynamic potential clients could be taking shape:

Grant Thornton LLP said Monday it has acquired the assets of Huron Consulting Group’s disputes and investigations practice in a deal that will bring 60 people to Grant Thornton’s offices in Boston, Chicago, New York and San Francisco.

The acquisition is part of Grant Thornton’s strategy to double revenue in the next five years. Huron Consulting has divested itself of its disputes and investigations practice. Huron’s D&I employees will join Grant Thornton’s economic and advisory groups in four cities, including Boston.

Well! This is quite the acquisition. Since GT and Huron are both Chicago-based, there is likely a lot of connections here that helped make this deal happen. Huron’s press release states that the D&I group (the smallest inside the company) had been on the block because the overlords wanted to focus its efforts on “businesses [with] a more substantial market presence”:

The Company stated previously that it was evaluating the long-term prospects of its D&I service line, which had accounted for approximately 5% of the Company’s overall revenue for the first six months of 2010. “The Disputes and Investigations practice has been a part of Huron since our formation in 2002. We recently conducted a comprehensive assessment of all of our businesses and concluded that the divestiture of the D&I practice would enable management to devote more of its energies and financial resources to businesses where we have a more substantial market presence,” said James H. Roth, chief executive officer, Huron Consulting Group.

[…]

Huron is also revising its 2010 revenue guidance based on the divestiture of the D&I practice and other market factors impacting two reporting segments. When the Company announced second quarter results in July 2010, it provided a 2010 revenue guidance estimate between $600-$620 million.

Based on the divestiture of the D&I practice, the 2010 Company revenue guidance would have been reduced by $35-$40 million. In addition to the D&I divestiture impact, the Company is reducing its annual guidance by an additional $25-$30 million to reflect contract and project delays in two of its service lines: Healthcare and Accounting Advisory.

On the surface, it may look like a good deal for both companies but in reality it feels like Huron was desperate to sell a good revenue-generating unit (19% as of June 30, 2010) and since GT is definitely shopping for acquisitions, the firm was more than happy to take it off their hands.

This acquisition will allow GT access to a sexy area of advisory work (D&I consists of “business disputes, forensic accounting and investigative services, tax controversies and intellectual property disputes”) in key markets and presumably, they can hype the new group internally to expand it and compete for more business.

The only possible downside is that some inside GT may be concerned (we’re speculating here) about taking on more Andersen refugees but ultimately it looks like a good move and the first example of the firm making good on its new strategy. If you’ve got a different opinion, chime in below.

Grant Thornton buys Huron operation [Boston Business Journal]
Huron Consulting Group Announces Divestiture of Disputes & Investigations Practice to Continue Focus on Core Businesses [EON]

More KPMG Comp News: For Some In Chicago, Expectations Are More or Less Met

Caleb Newquist
October 4, 2010

Some of you may have heard enough KPMG compensation news but judging by traffic patterns, most of you have not. And reports are still coming in, so it’d be a disservice to keep you in the dark.

The latest news out of Chicago:

This info is for Chicago, Audit. Most of us had our talks Thursday or Friday, however I hear that some are still continuing into Monday.

A2 to SA1, SP+ rating, received 10% raise and 2% bonus. Same level, EP rating, received 13% raise and 5% bonus. I am also finding out that SP vs. SP+ has no difference at all. This is based on a salary of $56,000 which was our original starting salary (also included a $5000 sign on bonus) as we received no raise last year. This is pretty much in line with what the now S2’s received over the past couple years, as they got 5% raise after their first year and 5% raise for being promoted to senior last year when everyone’s salaries “stayed flat” as my partner put it. What I would really like to know is what A1’s to A2’s received, as last year they had the same starting salary and bonus as what I began with, so they were essentially making more than A2’s for an entire year due to the bonus.

SA 2 to SA3, EP rating, 8% raise and 5% bonus. My managers also don’t seem to excited, but I obviously did not ask them what their actual numbers are.

I believe everyone on my team feels this is what they expected raise wise, but are rather disappointed with the bonuses. Some additional information, raise numbers are consistent across all business units within the office.

It’s also our understanding that convos are still going on in New York this week, so continue to keep us updated.

The JDA

Is The AICPA Cheapening the Profession with New Membership Rules?

Adrienne Gonzalez
October 4, 2010

Someone has to ask the question and as a matter of fact Sharon Gubinsky, one of our favorite Maryland CPAs, already has.

Before we get to Sharon’s enlightening comments, however, let’s examine the AICPA’s idea to expand membership to non-CPAs. As is, AICPA membership is limited to those who hold a current CPA certificate. Since the AICPA is a professional organization charged with protecting the protectors, you’d think it would be simple to decide who can and cannot join the organization.

Those of us affiliated with the industry but without CPA certificates are more than welcome to cheer from the sidelines but are rightfully barred from membership in an organization that oversees licensure and sets the overall tone for CPAs across the country. But here are the proposed changes:

In May 2010, the AICPA governing Council unanimously voted for a member ballot on a proposed bylaw amendment to update the requirements for admission to the Institute. This recommendation is a part of the first major comprehensive review of membership requirements since the 1950s. The bylaw amendment would add a provision to the current CPA certificate requirement for voting membership. Therefore, if the ballot measure were to pass, individuals could become voting members of the AICPA if they meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. Possess a valid and unrevoked CPA certificate issued by a legally constituted authority, the present requirement for membership.

2. At any time possessed a valid CPA certificate and the certificate was not revoked as a result of a disciplinary action (i.e., the certificate holder allowed the certificate to lapse because they were not providing public accounting services and therefore the certificate was not required by their state board of accountancy).

3. Fulfill the education, examination and experience requirements of the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) for CPA certification (see Appendix B) and are of good moral character but have never been granted a right to practice because they do not hold out as CPAs.

Back to Sharon. Not arguing with the first two requirements (nor am I), she and many others take issue with the third. Why on Earth would someone meet every requirement for licensure and choose not to be licensed but still wish to be a member of a large, influential professional organization like the AICPA?

She says:

An additional sore spot for current members opposed to this amendment is that in order to maintain an active CPA license a required amount of continuing education credit hours is mandatory. For the State of Maryland the State Board of Accountancy requires eighty hours of CPE every two years in order to renew your license. Those without a valid license are not subject to this requirement. Not only is the CPE a scheduling issue at times due to billable client work but it is not cheap. The average cost for eight hours of training is approximately $300.00. The positive note is that the CPE requirement does keep us informed and refreshed.

Having a CPA license keeps CPAs incentivized to protect the public and adhere to the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct that gives that credential such weight. There is some level of prestige in saying one has accomplished it and a level of service to the public interest required by those who hold it. So why open up AICPA membership to anyone who could be a CPA if they put in the legwork but haven’t?

I think an associate membership idea – if additional membership revenue is what the AICPA is after – is an excellent idea and I for one would be one of the first non-CPAs to sign up just to show my commitment to what the industry stands for. But that doesn’t mean non-CPAs should be allowed to vote on issues important to CPAs, regardless of how intimately acquainted with the profession and the industry’s professional standards one might be.

Licensed CPAs? Yes.

Inactive CPAs? Yes. They still put in the work to pass the CPA exam and secure experience, they have simply chosen to drop out of public or move into a different line of work. That does not negate their professional experience.

Non-CPAs? NO.

Accounting News Roundup: Investigation of E&Y Over Lehman Begins in UK; Study: Mortgage Interest Deduction Doesn’t Increase Home Ownership; PwC Announces Revenue Numbers | 10.04.10

Caleb Newquist
October 4, 2010

E&Y auditors investigated over Lehman Brothers [Accountancy Age]
“The Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board (AADB) has begun an investigation of E&Y in its role in reporting to the FSA on audit client Lehman Brothers International Europe’s compliance with the authority’s client asset rules, which govern the protection of client money.”

And since they were on a roll, the AADB is also investigating PwC for its role in J.P. Morgan’s misuse of client assets.

Study Finds the Mortgage Interest Deduction to be Ineffective at Increasing Owneref=”http://www.taxfoundation.org/blog/show/26762.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TaxPolicyBlog+(Tax+Foundation+-+Tax+Foundation’s+%22Tax+Policy+Blog%22)”>Tax Foundation]
“Proponents for the MID often offer the justification that it increases homeownership rates, which they say has positive benefits for society. But most economists seriously question the benefits of MID and many believe homeownership is greatly over-subsidized.”

Visa, MasterCard Antitrust Decision by U.S. Said to Be Near [Bloomberg]
“The U.S. Justice Department may decide as early as this week how to resolve its two-year antitrust probe of merchant restrictions imposed by Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and American Express Co., three people briefed on the matter said.

The department still hasn’t decided whether it can reach a deal with the three biggest U.S. payment networks or challenge their policies in court, one of the people said. The department likely will file a lawsuit, and MasterCard and Visa are expected to settle, people familiar with the matter said.

The talks focus on rules that bar merchants from charging extra to customers who use credit cards and steering them to competing cards, and require retailers to accept every type of card banks issue, said the people, who requested anonymity because the discussions are private. The department is leaning toward allowing the companies to maintain prohibitions against surcharging, two of the people said.”

Will KPMG Ever Wake Up and Finally Learn Its Lesson after Being Duped into Completing Crazy Eddie’s Audits Too Early Twenty Three Years Ago? [White Collar Fraud]
Today’s lesson in duping auditors – Sam Antar explains exactly how he fooled KPMG (then Peat Markwick Main) into signing off on incomplete audits back in the 80s.

PwC takes $26.6bn in global revenues [Accountancy Age]
Thanks to the miracle of rounding, $26.6 billion puts P. Dubs in a tie with Deloitte for largest firm in terms of revenues, who reported the same number last month. This obviously will not stand and we will investigate the matter further to the appropriate number of significant digits to determine who the top dog is.

Citi says CEO, CFO “rebutted” Mayo’s criticisms in meeting [Reuters]
On Friday, banking analyst Mike Mayo met with Citi execs including CEO Vikram Pandit and CFO John Gerspach and they discussed, among other things, why Citi hasn’t been writing down their DTAs. Citi says that successfully rebutted the Mayo Man who is issuing a report today with his thoughts on the sit-down.

Accountant gets year-and-a-day in Petters scam [Minneapolis Star-Tribune]
“Harold Katz, the hedge fund accountant who doctored financial statements to hide the Petters Ponzi scheme from investors, was sentenced Friday to 366 days in prison after apologizing to family, friends and investors.

Katz, 43, will be eligible for parole in about 10 1/2 months. He was sentenced for conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

‘I made a colossal error in judgment,’ Katz told U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle. ‘I hope I can use this horrific experience to help others not make the same mistakes as I have.’

Katz created false financial statements at the behest of Gregory Bell, manager of Lancelot Investment Management, a Chicago-area hedge fund, to mislead investors about the stability of Petters Co. Inc., which was defaulting on various promissory notes as its decadelong Ponzi scheme unraveled in 2008. Katz also assisted Bell in making phony banking transactions with Petters Co. Inc. to make it appear the Petters Co. was paying off notes it owed to Lancelot.”

News

Accounting Firm Merger Mania: Marcum and Stonefield Get Together

Caleb Newquist

October 2, 2010

Marcum continues its shopping spree, picking up Stonefield Josephson after picking up UHY’s New England offices back in the spring.

Stonefield, which had offices in San Jose, Walnut Creek and San Francisco, as well as three others in Southern California and one in Hong Kong, merged with Marcum LLP and was rebranded MarcumStonefield.

Terms of the deal were not immediately available.

Founded in 1975, Stonefield had 150 employees in its seven locations. Now, Marcum has more than 1,100 employees in 21 offices, most of which are on the East Coast.

Stonefield, Marcum firms merge [SJBJ]

Tax

Tax Policy Nerds Try to Debunk Each Other’s Debunking Over “The Largest Tax Hike in History”

Caleb Newquist

October 2, 2010

You may have seen some tax-hating, freedom-loving types waving flags, flying planes with banners and screaming from the rooftops that if the Bush tax cuts expire that it will be “the largest tax hike in history.”

The argument has been made and questioned ad nauseum but yesterday Ryan Ellis of Americans for Tax Reform (founded by Grover Norquist, so you get the context) felt the urge to prove the point once again that this will be the largest freedom-hijacking ever:

CBO projects that nominal GDP over the next decade will be $187.7 trillion over this decade. In order for the Obama tax hikes to be bigger than THE TO WIN WORLD WAR II, it would need to be at least 5.04 percent of this, or $9.46 trillion.

Gerald Prante over at the Tax Foundation’s Tax Policy Blog isn’t amused with this latest attempt:

Ellis is thereby admitting that it’s simply not the largest tax hike in American history. When you say “history,” that includes the 1940s. If you want to exclude WWII, say peacetime. Furthermore, the Treasury study that Ellis bases these claims off only goes back to the 1940s, which means that we don’t even know the relative size of tax hikes pre-1940, such as when the individual income tax was initiated and ramped up. So in summary, we can say that you have to knock off about 170 years of American history in order to make Ellis’s claim only possibly defensible.

Hmmm. We have to give that point to Prante there. You can’t just say “the biggest tax hike in history” and then say “except for that one time.”

And while we’re splitting hairs, we (i.e. the US of A) can’t really take credit for killing Hitler, can we? The Führer killed himself under duress from the Soviets. So there’s that.

Anyhoo, back to the subject – Ellis than tallies up all the tax “hikes”:

The 2011 income tax hikes. These are the rate hikes, the capital gains and dividend hikes, the return of the marriage penalty and the death tax, etc. CBO score: $2.567 trillion

Failing to index the alternative minimum tax (AMT) to inflation. CBO score: $558 billion

Failing to stop dozens of business tax hikes (“extenders”). CBO score: $1.969 trillion

Interactive effects of all these. CBO score: $606 billion

Obamacare tax hikes. CBO score: $525 billion

Add all of these up, and you get to $6.225 trillion over the next decade.

Prante fires back, noting that Ellis is making an auditor to tax accountant comparison:

Ellis classifies a compilation of “tax hikes” that are set to go into effect as one giant tax hike, including AMT expiration, the extenders bill, Making Work Pay, and even health care reform. There are two problems with this. First off, Ellis and ATR have a countdown clock on the ATR website (which is off by one hour by the way due to Daylight Savings Time) saying “countdown to the biggest tax increase in American history.” Well, virtually all of the health care tax hikes, which he counts in his tax hike amount, don’t kick in until 2013 (731 days from January 1, 2011). Therefore, this is inconsistent. Furthermore, summing up all the tax hikes and counting them as one big tax hike is inconsistent with the Treasury study cited earlier. If you want to count all the “tax hikes” occurring under Obama as one big tax hike, then shouldn’t you do the same for previous administrations?

Right! If you’re going to have a countdown clock, shouldn’t it be accurate?

Wrapping up, Ellis says:

Expressed as a percentage of the economy, this is 3.31 percent of GDP. That’s the largest tax hike in history, except for the one that was used to fight simultaneous wars in Europe, North Africa, and the Asian Pacific Rim.

You got us, guys. It’s a mere 3.31 percent of GDP.

Final retort from Prante:

The Treasury study referenced wouldn’t even consider letting the tax cuts to expire to be a tax hike because there was no act of Congress. Has Ellis done a review of history to make sure that no tax cut has expired elsewhere in history that was not counted in this Treasury study (given that Ellis considers an expiring tax cut to be a tax hike)?

This is a good question. Have you done your research into historically impotent and unwilling legislative bodies? Because if you haven’t, then you’d find that the group we’ve got up there now seems to have pretty awesome ability to do exactly nothing (read: estate tax).

Whether past flaccidity demonstrated by Congress has resulted in larger “tax hikes” remains unknown but something tells us that since none of this is getting resolved any time soon, we’ll get an answer.

Largest Tax Hike in History? Outside of Killing Hitler, Yes. [ATR.org]
Is Allowing Tax Cuts to Expire the Largest Tax Increase in American History? The Question Revisited [Tax Foundation]

News

Promotion Watch ’10: McGladrey Names 21 to Partner/Managing Director

Caleb Newquist

October 1, 2010

Cake and punch all around, natch. And if you’re lucky, pictures with your McGladrey-sponsored golfer of choice.

Oct 01, 2010 – MINNEAPOLIS (October 1, 2010) — RSM McGladrey, Inc., and McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, leading providers of assurance, tax and consulting services under the McGladrey brand, recently announced the promotion of 21 employees to partner/managing director roles, effective Oct. 1.

“Our new partners and managing directors have demonstrated the power of truly understanding our clients’ needs and proactively contributing to their success,” said C.E. Andrews, president and COO for RSM McGladrey. “They display the firm’s core values of relationships, excellence and integrity every day in their interactions with clients, potential clients and with one another. It’s a pleasure to recognize their significant contributions.”

“These employees have consistently proven their ability to gain a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses, aspirations and challenges,” said Dave Scudder, managing partner and CEO of McGladrey & Pullen, LLP. “They have used this understanding to develop innovative insights and expertise unique to each client and industry that we serve.”

The complete 2010 class of partners and managing directors includes:
Name Line of Business Location
Donnovan Maginley Assurance Florida
Doug O’Connor Assurance Illinois
Linda Dehner Assurance California
Steve Gradl Assurance Minnesota
Tasha Kostick Assurance California
Wes Getman Assurance Atlanta
Allison Egbert Assurance Boston
Kevin Vannucci Consulting Connecticut
Brian Holmes Consulting Illinois
Lawrence Levine Consulting Illinois
Dean Nelson Consulting Boston
Diego Rosenfeld Consulting Boston
Rob Frattasio Consulting Boston
Greg DeVino Tax Florida
John Majer Tax Florida
Tay Reeder Tax Georgia
Phil Wasserman Tax New York
Brian Blacklaw Tax Illinois
Mindy Cozewith Tax Georgia
Rebecca Sheridan Tax Texas
Jim St. Germain Tax Boston

McGladrey Announces New Partners and Managing Directors [PRLog]

News

Vault Accounting 50: Firms #21-#30 (2011)

Caleb Newquist

October 1, 2010

Hitting the third group of ten on Vault’s Accounting 50, we see plenty of familiar names that would probably prefer being ranked higher but the people have spoken.

If you’ve got any news, gossip, cost saving ingenuity or anything else worthy of our pages on these firms, get in touch with at tips@goingconcern.com

21. Ernst & Young LLP – New York, NY
22. KPMG LLP – New York, NY
23. Grant Thornton LLP – Chicago, IL
24. BDO Seidman LLP – Chicago, IL
25. McGladrey & Pullen LLP/RSM McGladrey Inc. – Bloomington, MN
26LLC – Southfield, MI
27. J.H. Cohn LLP – Roseland, NJ
28. Eisner LLP – New York, NY
29. Clifton Gunderson LLP – Peoria, IL
30. Crowe Horwath LLP – Oak Brook Terrace, IL

Here’s the scoop from Vault, with the occasional comment from us.

Ernst & Young – “Quality people, quality audits, quality network”; “Grossly overwork their juniors, underpay their seniors”; “Arrogant” [Jim Turely strikes as a humble-ish guy]

KPMG – “Good international firm”; “Frat party all the time”; “Weakest of the Big 4; unwilling to take risks to change its culture” [What kind of frat? Tri-Lambs?]

Grant Thornton – “Youthful and growing”; “More powerful in some regions than others”; “Big Four wannabe; inconsistent” [And a blogging CEO!]

BDO – “Solid, respected”; “Trying too hard to be a Big Four firm”; “Numerous accounting scandals”

McGladrey – “Solid, well known”; “Known to treat individuals with disrespect; questionable management”

Plante & Moran – “Excellent national reputation—they do things right”; “Mixed reviews on training” [Twelve straight years in Fortune bitches!]

J.H. Cohn – “Relaxed,” “open-door team environment”; “Old-line regional firm currently buying clients—the finest reputation advertising dollars can buy”

Eisner – “Solid New York City/Metro New York/New Jersey player”; “More marketing than expertise”

Clifton Gunderson – “Solid regional”; “Small firm, closing offices”; “We still need stronger name recognition”

Crowe Horwath – “More caring than the Big Four”; “From January to April, [you’ll] work every weekend” (Does more caring mean free cookies? More group hugs? We need details!)

And a some recent samples from these pages:

• E&Y’s lead partner on the Emmys doesn’t get any action from groupies and the Shanghai office doesn’t care if you’re afraid of heights.

• The House of Klynveld recently got less-drastic makeover than PwC and Dick Bové thinks the Citigroup team is ‘an acceptable group of auditors.’

• One Grant Thornton office announced its Christmaskuh festivities early and Stephen Chipman encouraged employees to share the firm’s new strategy with loved ones.

• BDO opened a new office down in tobacco land.

• McGladrey rolled plenty of refreshments for their rebranding including punch that was eerily reminiscent of Jonestown and a freakishly large cake that allowed execs to show off their lack of chipping skills.

• Eisner played coy on their merger with Amper Politziner & Mattia at first but then admitted that they were making sweet CPA firm love.

• A Crowe Horwath audit partner pleaded ignorance on tax issues for his banking client because, well, the tax department is on another floor.

Earlier:
Vault Accounting 50 Rankings: Digging Into The Top 10
Vault Accounting 50: Firms #11-#20 (2011)

Technology

Future Accounting Firm Tools? BlackBerry’s PlayBook Will Challenge iPad

GoingConcern

October 1, 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.

As iPhones continue to impinge on traditional BlackBerry territory, Research in Motion (RIM) is countering with a competitor to Apple’s famed iPad – a tablet known as the PlayBook will be released in early 2011.

Geared toward business users, the PlayBook will serve as either a standalone device, or a larger screen for a BlackBerry smartphone. Users will be able to access any information on their BlackBerry smartphone, such as e-mail, calendar appointments, and documents, interchangeably on either device.

Internet access is available via WiFi or by sharing the wireless data service plan of a BlackBerry. Unlike the iPad, the PlayBook will offer full support for Flash, which means users won’t have to jump through hoops to view YouTube.

At nine-tenths of a pound, the PlayBook is smaller and lighter than an iPad. Current iPads don’t offer built-in cameras, but the PlayBook will have dual high-definition cameras facing front and rear to allow video recording or video conferencing.

The PlayBook is compatible with BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and offers secure corporate data access. Video playback will be available at 1080p, along with support for MPEG, DivX, and WMV formats. The PlayBook will use the new BlackBerry Tablet operating system, which includes full multi-touch and gesture support.

The PlayBook will ship with a 1 GHz dual-core processor, and will have four times the onboard memory of an iPad (1 GB RAM in a PlayBook versus 256 MB in an iPad). The operating system allows for full multitasking, meaning users won’t have to pause or shut down one application to launch another. The PlayBook will have a standard microUSB and micro HDMI ports, and the 7-inch screen will offer a screen resolution of 1024 x 600.

RIM has not yet announced pricing, but some analysts expect the PlayBook will be offered through the cell phone carriers that sell BlackBerry smart phones. Others expect that the PlayBook will retail for approximately $499, which is the same as an entry level iPad.

About the author:
David Ringstrom, CPA, heads up Accounting Advisors, Inc., an Atlanta-based software and database consulting firm. Contact David at david@acctadv.com.

Career Center

Tax Associate Who ‘Can’t Handle’ Public Accounting Searching for Options

Caleb Newquist

October 1, 2010

Back with another edition of “I’m an accountant and my career is in the crapper,” a tax associate just finished their first year with a mid-tier firm and has discovered that public accounting isn’t exactly the glitz and glamor they were expecting. NOW WHAT?!?

Have a question about your career? Determined to keep a promise to yourself but are surrounded by Big 4 hotties and don’t know what to do? Someone digging at your career choice and need a devious plot to get back at them? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and we’ll help you make a solid decision.

I’m a first year tax associate at a mid-tier firm and after running through my first spring and fall busy season of working 70-80 hours a week, I’ve basically come to the conclusion that this lifestyle is “not my cup of tea”. The reasons are pretty typical, no life, managers hate me, don’t like the people, the culture is toxic, if you leave at 8:00 pm you feel like the world is watching you leave, etc. etc. For those who want to say “well you just couldn’t handle it”, you’re absolutely right, I couldn’t. I [also] know a number of associates in numerous service lines at the end of their respective first year just find that their job is not for them. My question is, what kind of outs do people in this situation have? I know that the option to transfer to another service line and the standard “just grind it for another year” are typical responses, but what other options are there? And how do recruiters view those who have only one year of experience at a public accounting firm?

Thanks!

-OneFootOutTheDoor

Dear OneFoot,

At the beginning of your letter you sound as though you were engaging in a little self-loathing. Sort of like, “Nobody likes me. I’m a pathetic human being because I can’t find it in my heart to LOVE public accounting. What do I do?” Then you admit that there are others around you that hate it as much as you. This surprises no one. Accounting firms see this happen every year: a first year associate realizes quickly that this isn’t their ‘cup of tea’ as you put it. If you’re truly as miserable as you sound, the fact that you made it through both the spring and fall tax seasons is impressive. We’ve seen associates turn in their papers less than six months on the job.

Does this make you a terrible person doomed to a lackluster career that would make Milton Waddams look like an employee of the month? Of course not. You mention the popular options “transfer to another service line” or “grind it out another year” and we agree that they don’t make a damn bit of sense if you’re simply over public accounting.

Realistic options for you are to start talking to professional recruiters and be honest with them about your situation. No recruiter worth their salt is going to say, “Can’t help you kid, move back in with your parents.” They’ve seen others like you – public accounting wasn’t a good fit and you want out stat. The reality is that because your experience is so brief, you might end up in another entry-level position; the sooner you accept that as a possibility, the better. That being said, what you must, must, must, must do OneFoot is give the recruiter a good idea of what you want to do. We know that doesn’t include public accounting but what kind of job would you really like? Knowing that will go a long way helping them get you the job you want. Until you can answer that questions honestly, you’re not going to be happy in any job – public accounting or otherwise.

CPA Exam

How Much Harder Is FAR Going To Be In 2011?

Adrienne Gonzalez

October 1, 2010

Quick answer: easier actually, in my opinion. I didn’t take the exam this year and I am not taking it next year nor any year after that so perhaps I’m wrong.

A few nights ago, a CPA exam candidate was bitching about studying so I threw in my whining about digging into new CPA exam content for next year. Cry cry, we all have it rough.

Long story short, since I was stuck shuffling through new content anyway she asked an easy 2011 question.

Can you tell me if FAR will be that much harder in 2011? I don’t think I’ll get my NTS in time to schedule for 2010

How many of you are in that boat right now? I’ve seen quite a few of you making plans to knock out two exam parts this year that have just put in your applications; I’m truly sorry to be the one to break this to you but chances are you aren’t going to get in this year. It’s good to be realistic going into this, anyone could lie to you and say in 4 – 6 weeks you’ll have an exam date. Even if you do get approved to sit right now you still have to wait for payment coupons and NTSs, by the time all that is in your hand all the exam dates will be taken. Don’t trip, next year it will be easier and here is why:

Simulations: Big ass simulations are broken up into little parts so you can totally blow a few of them and have several different topics coming at you instead of just two. So if you’re not so hot on pensions, you still have 5 or 6 other chances to do well on simulation problems. In 2010, if you didn’t study the indirect method you better hope you don’t get it or else you’ve blown it. For candidates who have sat this year, you’ve likely already seen them testing out the new format.

Written Communication: You get a spell checker in written communication AND you only have to do essays once (unless you fail BEC). Come on, written communications are easy already, you don’t even have to be right you just have to rite good. In 2011, you won’t have to write 6 different essays in 3 sections but just 3 in 1. That’s a win. Throw in the spell checker and I really wonder why some of you are scrambling to take BEC this year so you don’t have to in 2011. Is writing that bad? Get used to it, you’re going to be writing a lot of unnecessary emails and it’s an important skill to have. You can’t protect the public interest if ur writin liek this. Point being, FAR won’t have written communication for those of you morally opposed to writing anything.

IFRS Just about everything you’ve learned in 2010 will still be relevant in 2011, especially in FAR. No one is throwing out GAAP (even our super excited friends at the AICPA who can’t wait for IFRS!) and some areas of FAR aren’t impacted by IFRS at all. It appears throughout FAR but you shouldn’t be too freaked out by it because you don’t have to be an IFRS expert to nail the material. Just read, learn and pass. It’s really simple. The questions will likely stay mild until the AICPA Board of Examiners figures out whether or not this was a good idea a few quarters down the road. Conservatism dictates they’ll take it slow with international content until we’re actually 100% on this convergence thing so don’t freak out, IFRS makes a lot more sense than cost accounting ever will.

Not bad right?

Here’s where the old timers chime in and tell us all about back in the day when you didn’t get a calculator and had to walk uphill both ways to get to an auditorium in the middle of nowhere for a 17-day marathon of CPA exam testing. In the dark. With no scratch paper. Commence telling us about the “Before Time” please.

ANR

Accounting News Roundup: SEC at “Bottom of the Barrel” When it Comes to Diversity; More on Competition (or Lack Thereof) in the Audit Market; Define “Rich” | 10.01.10

Caleb Newquist

October 1, 2010

SEC Plans to Hire More Women and Minorities Amidst Poor Rankings [FINS]
“At a recent panel discussion and networking event at the agency, Commissioner Luis Aguilar spoke about the need to hire ‘the best and brightest,’ while acknowledging that in the past it hasn’t done a good job of recruiting women and minorities.

In his speech, Aguilar said that as of FY 2009, 89% of the SEC’s senior officers were white, 4% African-American, 3% Hispanic and 2% Asian. Along gender lines, 67% of the officers were male and 33% were female.

Moreover, in a recent survey published by the Partnership for Public Service, the SEC fell from 11th to 24th place on a list of the ‘Best Places to Work’ rankings. With regard to diversity, the SEC ranked 24th out of 28 agencies when it came to diversity. In other words, the bottom of the barrel.”

PCAOB Fires Shot on Audit Issues, Calls for Enforcement [Compliance Week]
“The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has published a report summarizing its observations after inspecting audits performed while credit market seized and the economy plunged into depression. The report says auditors generally didn’t adhere adequately to PCAOB standards when it came to some of the toughest areas in financial reporting through the credit crisis – namely fair value measurements, goodwill impairments, indefinite-lived intangible assets and other long-lived assets, allowances for loan losses, off-balance-sheet structures, revenue recognition, inventory and income taxes.”

Viacom Names New CFO [WSJ]
Controller James Barge succeeds Tom Dooley who jumped over to the COO seat.

Accounting niches [AccMan]
Are accountants doing enough to leverage their professional expertise?

Investors unhappy with lack of competition in audit market [Accountancy Age]
“The Association Of British Insurers (ABI), whose members account for almost 15 per cent of investments in the London stock market, is worried about the audit structure and said it has made its views known in a submission to a House of Lords inquiry into audit competition.”

H&R Block sees 5-cent hit from IRS policy change [AP]
Fewer rapid refunds doesn’t seem like a bad thing.

KPMG’s Fuzzy Math on Atlantic Yards [NYO]
The completion of the Atlantic Yards project remains on a timetable that runs parallel to the adoption of IFRS in the United States.

Tax the rich, whoever they are [Don’t Mess with Taxes]
Come out with your hands up!

Posts navigation

Older posts
Newer posts

Careers

Big 4

News

Technology

Practice Management

Site Search

Twitter Feed

Get the Accounting News Roundup

Quick Reads

Sponsored Content

Get the Accounting News Roundup

Remote Tax Manager

Remote Tax Advisor, CPA Firm

Remote Tax Manager

Remote Tax Manager

Remote Tax Advisor, CPA Firm

Remote Tax Manager