Going Concern

Big 4
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How the Big 4 Are Helping Career Moms Have It All

Daniel Braddock
June 30, 2010

The Harvard Business Review’s blog (Harvard blogs?) ran a piece earlier today about a recent Pew Research study that claims more women are not having children.

The HBR brushes over the whole birth control thing and serves its best interest by focusing on what they consider having it all (an advanced degree and at least one child), picking the following statistic out of the hay stack, “in 2008, 24% of women ages 40-44 with a master’s, doctoral or professional degree had not had children, a decline from 31% in 1994.”

This had me thinking about the benefits that the Big 4 provide to their employees going through early parenthood. What might surprise you (or might not) is how similar the firms’ services are.

From PwC.

From Deloitte.

From KPMG.

From E&Y.

Parental leave of absence: “Eligible primary care parents with three months of service can use six weeks of paid parental leave during the year following birth or adoption placement (three weeks for non-primary care parents). This is in addition to maternity disability benefits, if applicable, of 60% to 100% for approximately 8 weeks. Paid parental leave runs concurrently with any job-protected time under family and medical leave.”

Provided by every Big 4 firm:

Adoption assistance – Per EY’s site: “Pays expenses up to $5,000 per child (with an additional $1,000 for special needs children), with paid leave available for the caregivers, along with resource and referral services.”

Lactation program – PwC’s program, explained: “Access to educational materials, unlimited pre/post-birth counseling from nationally recognized lactation specialists and breast pump discounts are available through this program. Private mother’s rooms are also available in many of our offices.” Do conference frooms count as “mothers’ rooms?”

Parental paid leave of absence

Deloitte – 2 weeks (this is all I could find – can anyone prove differently?)

PwC – up to 6 weeks

KPMG – 8 weeks “Professionals who plan to return to work after the birth or adoption, are eligible for two weeks (10 days) of paid child care leave.”

E&Y – 6 weeks

Unique programs:

Family time off – The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 promises 12 weeks of unpaid leave for those employees who need to take care of a sick family member. E&Y extends this service to 16 weeks.

Back up Child and Elder Care – many of the firms provide some kind of support for employees when family care emergencies occur. KPMG takes things one step further by allowing employees to share their unused resources with colleagues that have depleted their resources.

Note – I used external websites when reviewing the different options – these might outdated from what you have internally. Does your local office offer something unique that is not listed here? Share details in the comments.

More Women Manage to Have It All [HBR]

News
Tax

Turns Out the Guy that Joe Biden Called a Smartass Is Just an Ass

Caleb Newquist
June 30, 2010

Yesterday we learned about Joe Biden not taking too kindly to a custard shop manager’s suggestion that he can eat all the free custard he wants as long as JB & the rest of the crew “lower our taxes.”

The Veep retorted that maybe the dude in the funny paper hat should try saying nice for change instead of being a smartass. It was the typical Joe Biden charm that you would expect. Perhaps he should have suggested visiting the White House’s tax savings tool instead of name-calling but the past is the past and we’ll just chalk up another Joe Biden moment of hilarity/political liability.

But wait! What if the VP was right about this portly custard slinger? We read over a little mini memoir over at Daily Intel that indicates that the guy probably had it coming:

First of all, as anyone who has ever lived in Milwaukee knows: Kopp’s Frozen Custard is the most delicious dessert on the planet. It’s basically ice cream with twice the fat. So when Smilin’ Joe Biden showed up at Kopp’s in Glendale, Wisconsin, last week, you can only imagine his annoyance at being interrupted in the middle of his first taste — from the looks of things, Friday’s special flavor, chocolate chip cookie dough — by a store manager cracking that the cone was free, as long as the vice-president would agree to “lower our taxes.” Biden being Biden, he called the manager “a smartass.” And who was that smartass? None other than my nemesis of twenty years ago — the first boss I ever hated and feared.

Said smartass is Scott Borkin and the author of this piece, Dan Kois, proceeds to tell a tale of a lunatic boss from hell (thanks, Richard Lewis):

Once, very late on a long, hot night of customers piling in and the custard machines jamming and the store’s owner, Carl Kopp, walking around in his apron and hat terrifying everyone, Scott Borkin came over to collect a shake for order number 87. “What the hell is this?” he asked me.

Inside, I panicked. What had I done wrong this time? But I had the ticket right in my hand — malt with chocolate — and was positive that’s what I had made. “It’s a chocolate malt.”

“No, this,” he said, pointing at my Sharpied “7” on the lid. I’d written it with a line through the center because once someone had mistaken my non-lined 7 for a 2.

“Uh, it’s a seven,” I replied.

“This is a seven,” he said, taking the ticket from my hand and drawing a non-lined numeral. “Do it right or you’re outta here.” He plucked the malt off the counter and stalked away. “This isn’t Germany!” he called over his shoulder.

Christ. Threatening termination because of lined 7 and anti-Germany? PLUS he likes bitching about taxes? This guy could be the next Joe the Plumber. Oh wait, he’s already been on Fox & Friends. Mission accomplished.

Today in Auditor Musical Chairs: KPMG and Deloitte Both Get the Boot

Caleb Newquist
June 29, 2010

Evergreen Energy of Denver dismissed Deloitte effective June 23rd according to the company’s 8-K filing. Hein & Associates, a local Denver firm, will take it from here.

It stands to reason that Evergreen didn’t appreciate the going concern opinions that Deloitte gave the company for its December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 financial statements but in cordial SEC filing fashion, there are no parting shots from the company.

Evergreen’s press release indicates that this was simply an opportunity to throw some action to another firm (most likely with lower fees), “With the sale of certain Buckeye assets and our exit from the coal mining industry, Evergreen Energy has transitioned into a green technology company. This is an ideal time to switch to a Denver-based regional accounting firm with substantial public company expertise in the clean technology and software industries that can more cost effectively meet our needs.”

Deloitte’s letter to the SEC is abruptly admits that everything is cool rather than flat out saying, “you’ll be sorry you ever ditched us, you losers.”

Similarly, Measurement Specialties, Inc. showed KPMG the door for Ernst & Young. The company says everything was hunky-dory between the two although there was a small matter of the internal controls around a significant joint venture of which the company had no control. Oh, and the effectiveness of internal controls of some recent acquisitions also couldn’t be determined. But it was cool and the company said, “it was in the best interests of the Company to change its independent registered public accounting firm.”

KPMG has NFI what that means saying in their letter, “we are not in a position to agree or disagree with Measurement Specialties, Inc.’s statements relating to the reason for changing principal accountants.”

We wish everyone nothing but happiness.

One Possible Sign that the Modeling Career Isn’t Working: You’re Claiming Bogus Tax Refunds

Caleb Newquist
June 29, 2010

We don’t mean to crush anyone’s dreams of walk-offs or eating disorders but sometimes when you’re not sure if things are working out in your modeling career, you have to be able to recognize the signs when they appear.

One sure sign that you won’t be America’s Next Top Model (or the person fetching ANTM’s rice crackers) is that you find yourself claiming to have earned $550,000 working for an “environmental group” and then requesting a $200,000 refund for that “work”:

Nyemah Johnson, who models under the name Nyemah Marxx, falsely claimed he made $550,000 working for an environmental group and was entitled to the six-figure refund, prosecutors said.

He was one of five people arrested last week in a $1.1 million tax scheme that prosecutors said was led by Queens accountant Diana Rabin.

The bright side, of course, is that there is no such thing as bad publicity and assuming Mr Marxx has access to something a step above a public defender, he’ll manage to stay out of jail for too long and maybe then he’ll be able to land the “shirtless bro” gig outside the A&F.

Manhattan model, Nyemah Marxx, is caught in $200,000 tax scam [NYDN]

Career Center

Job of the Day: Vanguard Needs a Corporate Tax Accountant

GoingConcern
June 29, 2010

Vanguard is looking for an experienced tax professional to join their team in its Valley Forge, PA location.

Responsibilities include preparing and filing of domestic and federal compliance related documentation for international subsidiaries, maintaining transfer pricing documentation and preparing and reviewing returns.

Candidates need a minimum of three years experience, two that are specific to tax compliance. CPA or Masters in tax is a plus.

Company: Vanguard

Title: Corporate Tax Accountant – International

Location: Valley Forge, PA

Responsibilities: Preparing and ensuring the timely filing of domestic and federal compliance related to international subsidiaries (Form 5471, FBAR form), including coordinating the timely receipt of key source documentation and the preparation of applicable tax work papers; Maintaining up-to-date transfer pricing documentation; Owning the responsibility for direct and indirect tax compliance (income tax, value added tax, goods and services tax, etc.); Coordinating the preparation and review of returns; Performing compliance reviews of Form W-8 in coordination with Accounts Payable Services, including the annual review of Form 1042 and Form 1042-S for foreign vendors; Assisting in the quarterly calculation of the global tax provision for foreign entities, including variance analysis and periodic projections; Owning the responsibility for the calculations of FIN 48 and FAS 5 tax exposure related to foreign issues (i.e., transfer pricing, subpart F, PE, etc.); Completing quarterly tax account reconciliations of foreign subsidiaries; Preparing tax footnotes for applicable foreign subsidiaries; Completing quarterly reconciliation of foreign subsidiary tax-related general ledger accounts; Maintaining work papers related to foreign subsidiaries, including earnings and profits, foreign tax pools, and subpart F detail; Preparing foreign tax credit calculations and related tax forms as required (Form 1118)

Qualifications/Skills: Undergraduate degree (accounting or finance preferred) or equivalent combination of training and work experience; Minimum of three years of general experiences, including two years directly related to accounting or tax experience; Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Master of Science in Taxation (MST) a plus; Knowledge of the financial services industry preferred; Proficiency with Microsoft Office.

See the entire description over at the GC Career Center and visit the main page for all your job search needs.

PCAOB

Supreme Court Ruling Could Expose PCAOB to More Political Pressure

GoingConcern
June 29, 2010

This story is republished from CFOZone, where you’ll find news, analysis and professional networking tools for finance executives.

We’re not quite as sure as others are that yesterday’s Supreme Court decision regarding SarbOx is so utterly meaningless regarding the future of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Sure, the court said the law is still fully in effect, blah, blah, blah.

But letting the Securities and Exchange Commission fire PCAOB board members for any reason instead of “for cause” could easily subject the board to significantly more political influence.

While Floyd Norris says the commission is unlikely to fire anyone on the PCAOB, the fact is the has commission has thrown its weight around in similar fashion in the case of the Financial Accounting Standards Board when companies have complained to Washington about FASB’s accounting rule making.

What’s to stop them from complaining to the SEC that the PCAOB is being too hard on its auditors, and the SEC from succumbing to that pressure?

Much depends, of course, on who’s leading the commission. Mary Schapiro might not easily bend to the political winds, but her predecessor, Christopher Cox, clearly did just that in connection with FASB.

After all, when during a conference on accounting I asked Conrad Hewitt, the SEC’s last chief accountant under Cox, about the SEC’s threat to hold up approval of FASB’s budget unless it let the commission vet nominations to the board in advance, Hewitt said the SEC was acting properly in its heightened role as the FASB’s overseer under SarbOx.

Yet a FASB member privately insisted to me afterward that the SEC had no authority to do what it did.

And at another conference a few months later, I asked Hewitt what the White House was telling the SEC to do about exemptions for small companies from SarbOx’s requirements for internal controls, the infamous provision known as Section 404. At that, Hewitt, as somnolent a figure as ever occupied the job, sat up in his chair as if he’d just had a bucket of cold water thrown in his face, and insisted that the SEC was an independent agency.

But given what happened to Cox’s predecessor, William Donaldson, I think Hewitt’s reaction to this question was disingenuous.

And both of his answers help explain why the big argument on the court yesterday over the theory of “the unitary executive” and the ability of the president to fire “independent” agency personnel isn’t quite as irrelevant to the PCAOB’s future as most everyone else seems to think.

Were PwC and Grant Thornton Ignoring Overstock.com’s Accounting Issues?

Caleb Newquist
June 29, 2010

Yesterday we briefly picked up the Overstock beat as Sam Antar pointed out that everyone’s favorite Salt Lake City resident got a little confused about when they knew about their gain contingency existed that resulted in some contradictory disclosures.

As you may misremember, this arose from the company for recoveries from underbilled fulfillment partners by improperly claiming that a ‘gain contingency’ existed under accounting rules.”

Now Sam has pointed us to some correspondence between the SEC and Overstock that indicates that PwC wasn’t concerned about the issue until the Commission pointed it out and succeeding auditor Grant Thornton was unmoved until Overstock brought it up:

Please tell us if, and the extent of, your auditors’ national accounting office involvement in these issues during audit of your 2008 financial statements or the reviews of your fiscal 2009 quarterly filings.

PwC served as our auditor during the audit of our 2008 financial statements. PwC has informed us that it did not consult with its national accounting office regarding the above issues when they were identified in Q4 2008 or Q1 2009. However, in connection with this response to your letter dated November 3, 2009, PwC has consulted with its national office in regard to both the fulfillment partner under billing and partner overpayment issues and based on context of this being an area that is a highly facts and circumstances based issue that requires significant judgment where reasonable parties have different views, PwC continues to concur with our accounting and disclosure consistent with its reflection of the underlying economics and our past practices of not billing or collecting for our billing errors, rather negotiating for future price concessions that were contingent on future sales.

Grant Thornton (“GT”) reviewed our Q1 and Q2 2009 quarterly filings. To our knowledge the GT local engagement team did not review these issues with its national accounting office at the time of our Q1 and Q2 2009 quarterly filings. In early October, as we prepared our response to your October 1 letter, we asked GT for its national office’s opinion. It was our understanding at the time that GT’s national office concurred that we had used an appropriate (if not preferred) accounting treatment. Only after we received your November 3 letter, did we become aware that GT’s previous “national office” opinion had in fact been an “informal request” only, and not a “formal request.”

In the case of PwC, it’s entirely possible that they just trusted that OSTK knew what they were doing and went along with it. Obviously a huge mistake. When the SEC came calling however, they moseyed through it again and rang up the accounting wonks at 300 Mad.

But the Grant Thornton engagement team, who came in after all this went down was seemingly on board with it without consulting with its own national accounting gurus even though the SEC was already on this like stink on a monkey. GT making an “informal request” of its national office on an SEC inquiry seems a little tepid.

HOWEVER! You have to remember that this is all in the words of Overstock which hasn’t always been forthcoming/reliable/truthful in its filings. Then again, maybe there’s something to this whole auditor “Yes men” thing.

Credentials for Accountants: Certified in Financial Forensics

Adrienne Gonzalez
June 29, 2010

If you’re the type that enjoyed spy shows as a kid and loves scoping out financial statements like CSIs love autopsying dead bodies, you might want to consider a CFF (Certified in Financial Forensics) when you grow up. Anyone considering this designation may want to add CFF to the end of their name with a CFE or CFA. If you’re looking at a CFF, you might want to hurry up and decide before future CFFs are required by the AICPA, starting September 1st, to pass the CFF examination.

In May of 2008, the AICPA introduced the CFF as a professional credential that combines specialized forensic accounting expertise with the core knowledge and skills that make CPAs among the most trusted business advisers.

Education Requirements
Becauential that represents an extensive knowledge base, CPE is an important component to qualify for and renew a CFF designation. New CFFs are required to demonstrate a certain amount of Lifelong Learning (based on the point system below) and must complete 60 hours every 3 years with renewal of the credential.

Professional Requirements
In order to qualify to become a CFF, CPAs must be an AICPA member in good standing, have five years professional experience in the field of accounting and must score at least 100 points on the application (points based on professional experience, knowledge, lifelong learning and forensic accounting credentials already held). Only CPAs can apply as a valid, unrevoked license to practice public accounting is a requirement as well.

The CFF Exam
The exam, which will be introduced as a requirement on September 1, 2010, is a four hour, 100% multiple choice exam administered by the AICPA. It consists of the following areas and weights (check out the CSOs from the AICPA here)

Professional Responsibilities and Practice Management

• AICPA 5%

• CPA Professional Responsibilities in Civil and Criminal Matters 5%

Fundamental Forensic Knowledge

• Laws, Courts and Dispute Resolution 5%

• Planning and Preparation 5%-10%

• Information Gathering and Preserving 10%

• Discovery 5%-10%

• Reporting, Experts and Testimony 5%-10%

Specialized Forensic Knowledge

• Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Reorganization 5%-10%

• Computer Forensic Analysis 5%-10%

• Economic Damages Calculations 5%-10%

• Family Law 5%-10%

• Financial Statement Misrepresentations 5%-10%

• Fraud Prevention, Detection and Response 5%-10%

• Valuation 5%-10%

Career Options
Many with the CFF credential stick to private practice and use the CFF as a way to distinguish themselves as passionate about forensic accounting.

Compensation and Other Benefits
We all know more letters = more money but in the case of the CFF, little real data can be found on the difference in compensation for CFFs versus plain old forensic accountants. We’re guessing this is because the CFF is a relatively new AICPA credential but as time goes on and frauds get larger and more complicated, we trust that this data will be much easier to come by. As a general rule, crendentialed CPAs are more valuable simply because pursuit of a credential in one’s specialty shows a level of professional dedication adored by HR departments and managers alike.

Adrienne Gonzalez is the founder of Jr. Deputy Accountant, a former CPA wrangler and a Going Concern contributor. You can see more of her posts here

Accounting News Roundup: Auditors ‘Portray Worrying Lack of Skepticism’; Are Tax Strategies Patentable?; Method Man Pleads Guilty, Cuts Check for NYC Tax Evasion | 06.29.10

Caleb Newquist
June 29, 2010

FSA accuse auditors of failing to question management bias [Accountancy Age]
The Financial Services Authority has decided that it was about time it called out a few people, “Auditors have become yes men who don’t adequately question management bias according to concerns raised by the UK’s chief financial regulators. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Financial Reporting Council today released a scathing discussion paper into the profession following concerns raised in the wake of the financial crisis. Among its concerns is that auditors ‘portrays a worrying lack of skepticism’ when scrutinising potential management bias.”

Not onlef=”http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2265630/fsa-audit-report-regulator”>FSA wants new enforcement powers including the ability to ” fine, censure or disqualify audit firms.” The FSA also wants to meet with auditors several times a year, rather than just once, as well as direct access to audit committees.

Alex to Become Hurricane as Swells Reach Gulf Spill [Bloomberg]
“Tropical Storm Alex, the first named system of the Atlantic hurricane season, strengthened today, forcing the evacuation of rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and pushing swells toward the worst U.S. oil spill.

The storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 70 miles (110 kilometers) per hour, was 460 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas, before dawn today, moving north-northwest at 8 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. The circulating winds were near reaching hurricane status of 74 mph.”

New York state may tax out-of-state hedge fund execs [Reuters]
Desperate idea of the day from the brain trust in Albany, “Recession-hit New York could raise an extra $50 million a year by collecting income taxes from people who work for hedge funds in the state but live elsewhere, according to a legislative plan to raise revenue…A spokesman for Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said by telephone on Monday that it means hedge fund managers would be treated the same way as other commuters.”

Aprill: The Impact of Bilski on Tax Strategy Patents [TaxProf Blog]
In non-PCAOB SCOTUS news, the decision in Bilski v. Kappos addressing “Whether a ‘process’ must be tied to a particular machine or apparatus, or transform a particular article into a different state or thing (‘machine-or-transformation’ test), to be eligible for patenting….” was examined by Ellen P. Aprill of Loyola-L.A. regarding the impact on tax strategy patents:

“Bilski is at best a mixed bag for those who think tax strategies should be patentable. It gives little help and does allow business method patents, albeit somewhat begrudgingly. It demonstrates that for those who believe that tax strategies should not be patented, legislation is needed.”

Method Man pleads guilty to NYC tax-evasion charge [AP]
“Hip-hop star Method Man pleaded guilty to a tax-evasion charge Monday, writing a check on the spot for the final $40,000 restitution payment after owing about $106,000.” What, no cash?

U.S. Court to Hear Janus Appeal In Securities Case [Reuters]
“The lawsuit, brought on behalf of those who bought Janus stock from mid-2000 through early September 2003, alleged that the prospectuses of several of Janus funds created the misleading impression that the company would adopt measures to curb market timing, when in fact secret arrangements with several hedge funds permitted such transactions, to the detriment of long-term investors.”

PCAOB

PCAOB Marks the Special Day By Telling Ten Accounting Firms How They Can Get Better

Caleb Newquist
June 29, 2010

Now that FEF v. PCAOB has come and gone, the PCAOB didn’t waste any time getting right back to work, as they posted ten new inspection reports today for firms including some of those pesky international firms that have been so resistant.

That should make bring a smile to everyone’s face who was thrilled with today’s decision.

In slightly related news, Elana Kagan, who argued on behalf of the PCAOB, sat and listened to a bunch of old men talk about her today. ATL has the live–blog coverage.

Firm Inspection Reports [PCAOB]

Sarbanes-Oxley Lives

Caleb Newquist
June 29, 2010

“The Sarbanes-Oxley Act remains ‘fully operative as a law’ with these tenure restrictions excised.”

~ Chief Justice John Roberts, in the Supreme Court’s majority opinion.

Tax
Video

Joe Biden Gaffe of the Day: Calls Custard Shop Manager ‘Smartass’ Who Asked for Lower Taxes

Caleb Newquist
June 29, 2010

It was actually over the weekend but talk about ruining a perfectly good photo-op.

For starters, taxes – like healthcare reform – are a big fucking deal and need to be debated in an environment more suitable for policy debate. Secondly, if you listened to the Veep’s advice, maybe you wouldn’t be complaining in the first place.

[h/t TaxProf]

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