Going Concern

Sarah Palin Didn’t Need Another Reason to Dislike the IRS

Caleb Newquist
April 27, 2010

“Who would have thought that the IRS would have a favorability rating a third higher than the tea party movement’s? Or that the IRS would be twice as popular as Palin?”

~ David Cay Johnston, on a recent poll that showed the IRS having a 49% favorable rating versus the former governor’s rating of less than 25% (Nancy Pelosi was 29%).

KPMG

John Veihmeyer Gets a Little Mysterio About His Path to the Top of KPMG

Adrienne Gonzalez
April 27, 2010

New KPMG Chairman (and US CEO since 2008) John Veihmeyer told the Washington Post about growing up to ascend the public accounting ladder and if that’s something you’re looking to do with your life, be sure to check it out.

Since some of us would rather sip on Molotov cocktails and scratch our eyeballs out with sharpened #2 pencils, we can merely press our faces to the glass to see how public accounting really works. According to J Veihm, it’s something like this: once you’re jumped in, there’s no getting out.

One of the very best pieces of mentoring advice I ever received was to “view a challenge as an opportunity” and then “take it on and do it better than anybody else.” I recall one specific moment, when KPMG’s leadership asked me to consider accepting a particular position that, at the time, I thought would be something of a roadblock to achieving one of the goals I had set for my career in public accounting. I shared my concerns with a trusted colleague, who I have long considered to be my professional mentor, and his response has stayed with me over the course of my 33 years with KPMG. He said, “look at this challenge as an opportunity, accept it, and then do it better than anybody before you ever has.” I took his advice, and he was right. In hindsight, the experience I gained in that role did more to prepare me for the rest of my career than anything else I could have done.

Translating that, if you express concerns about the gang shoving you up the corporate ladder by sending you on your own drive-bys or whathaveyou, one of the higher officers will reassuringly pat you on the shoulder and remind you that there’s one way to go and that’s up. Accept it, there is only one way out (for gang members, that usually means getting shot to death; in public accounting, it might mean a heart attack at 45). Creepy.

KPMG knows all about challenges so it’s probably a good thing that Johnny V was groomed in advance for his duties as KPMG Chair.

Credentials for Accountants: Certified Management Accountant

Caleb Newquist
April 26, 2010

Last week we kicked off our certification series by looking at the CFE for those of you interested in becoming numbers sleuths that also have the figurative iron-clad stones that Sam Antar insists are imperative for any CFE.

This week we look at the Certified Management Accountant (“CMA”) credential and while it’s probably not as sexy as the CFE, a lot of you may want to consider the CMA if you see yourself spending a good portion of your career working as an in-house accountant or finance pro.

The credential is administered by the Institute of Management Accountants whose website states that “85% owork inside organizations, where expertise in decision support, planning, and control over value-adding operations are crucial elements of operational success,” and boasts 60,000 members worldwide.

Here’s the rundown on the CMA:

Education Requirement
You can meet the education requirement by verifying that you have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or that you have a professional qualification, such as a CPA (here’s a partial list of global certifications that qualify).

Professional Requirements
The professional requirement for the CMA is two continuous years of experience in management accounting or financial management. This can be completed prior to the application or within two years of passing the CMA exam. The website states that, “Qualifying experience consists of positions requiring judgments regularly made employing the principles of management accounting and financial management.”

There is a long list of experience that will satisfy this requirement including financial analysis, budget preparation, management information system analysis, financial management, management accounting, auditing in government, finance or industry, management consulting, auditing in public accounting, research, teaching or consulting related to management accounting or financial management.

CMA Exam
The CMA Exam is currently transitioning from a four-part format to a two-part format. The two-part format rolls out on May 1st but testing of the four-part format will be available through December 31, 2010. The new format will focus on financial planning, analysis, control, and decision support. The two four hour exams consist of 100 multiple choice questions and two 30 minute essay questions.

Part 1 breaks down like this:
Planning, Budgeting and Forecasting (30%)
Performance Management (25%)
Cost Management (25%)
Internal Controls (15%)
Professional Ethics (5%)

And Part 2:
Financial Statement Analysis (25%)
Corporate Finance (25%)
Decision Analysis and Risk Management (25%)
Investment Decisions (20%)
Professional Ethics (5%)

There’s a lot of information on the new exam format including fees, testing windows, and more that can be seen here.

After certification, you are required to complete 30 hours of CPE annually, of which, 2 hours are required to be in ethics.

Career Options
Many CMAs work in budgeting, financial planning, cost accounting, performance evaluation, asset management and other various capacities. The work often times result in internal reports that will help management make prudent decisions rather than just taking wild stabs at running their respective companies. So it goes without saying that this is important stuff.

For those of you still working in the public realm, you can get benefits out of a CMA too. Our favorite Exuberant Accountant, Scott Heintzelman, has a CMA and he told us that it helps him better understand the needs of his manufacturing clients, “I had a bunch of clients in the manufacturing space and many of the controllers were CMA’s. I thought taking the time to get this certification would give me more creditability with this group…it helped me gain more manufacturing clients as they saw me as one of them, not just a CPA.”

Compensation and Other Benefits
According to the IMA’s most recent survey, CMAs earn 24-31% more than their non-certified colleagues. Those surveyed that have both a CMA and a CPA have even higher salaries. Now, we know what that you’re hung up on money but there are some other advantages too.

According to Scott, “Partners then had this belief [then] that the CMA was a brutal test (and it was). So a year later I started the process and actually was fortunate to pass the entire test on the first attempt. I had also passed the CPA exam on the first attempt a year earlier and so my partners suddenly thought I was some super smart young accountant and many believed I was ‘fast tracked’ to partner. I believe I just worked my butt off to learn that stuff, but none the less several of my partners looked at me differently. A very key moment in my young career.”

Video

Britain’s Singing Accountant Got Bullied Big Time

Adrienne Gonzalez
April 26, 2010

There’s finally some video of the new Britain’s Got Talent star, 28 year-old Christopher Stone. An accountant, Stone showed up at his audition with his Mom and Dad who sold their house to pay for music lessons when Chris was little.

Tortured as a kid for his love of music (they apparently called him a “poof” though we aren’t sure what that translates into over on this side of the pond), Stone suffered through beatings and taunting for much of his young life. “Bruises heal but the pain from mental bullying doesn’t just go away,” he said, later giving Simon Cowell a reason to criticize for the sort of nervous hand-wringing that can only come from someone who spent half their life getting chided by bullies.

The roar from the crowd when Stone admits to being an accountant pretty much sums it all up but he knocked Maria out of the park and boasts 12:1 odds to win the show (that’s some sweet action).

Hey E&Y, we’re sure you are desperate for IFRS experts AND singing talent for your excellent videos, how’s about a Visa for this dude?”

School bully torment of singing accountant [The Sun]

CPA Exam

All About the Audit Section of the CPA Exam

Adrienne Gonzalez
April 26, 2010

Editor’s note: Since I’m guest editing this week, we decided to do a 5-part feature on – what else – the CPA exam. I’ll be covering tips and tricks for each section and ethics on Friday so check in with us this week for the full breakdown. – JDA

So you’re taking Audit? Great.

Good news: traditionally, Audit tends to have a higher national pass rate than the other sections (only by a half a percentage point or so on average so don’t go getting excited that you can pass this one if you don’t study at all) and doesn’t require nearly as much effort as, say, FAR.

Bad news: chances are you didn’t take Auditing in college unless you’re planning on being an auditor so you have no idea what any of this stuff is about but like the rest of the exam, you don’t need to be an expert, you just need to know enough to get a 75. Yay!

Audit is the most expensive section as it is the longest at 4.5 hours and Prometric charges by the minute. Despite its length, you will still probably run out of time so time management is especially important with AUD. Do not spend more than 2 minutes on each MCQ, you’ve got 90 of them to get through and will need at least 45 minutes for each simulation.

The AICPA BoE has set the following target weights for skills testing:

Communication (10% – 20%)
Research (6% – 16%)
Analysis (12% – 22%)
Judgment (12% – 22%)
Understanding (35% – 45%)

Based on the Content Specification Outlines, Audit covers the following areas:

Planning the engagement (22% – 28%) Determine scope and nature of engagement, Generally Accepted Audit Standards, assessing engagement risk, communications, formulating audit objectives, etc.

Internal controls (12% – 18%) Understanding of business processes and information flows, limitations of internal control, tests of controls and control risk.

Obtain and document information (32% – 38%) Performing planned procedures, audit sampling, substantive tests, contingencies, identifying control deficiencies, attestation engagements.

Review engagement and evaluate information (8% – 12%) Performing analytical procedures, evaluation of audit evidences, work reviews and reasonable assurance.

Prepare communications (12% – 18%) Reports, reports, reports! This section covers all kinds of reports, footnotes, disclosures, as well as required communications based on discovery of illegal acts, errors and fraud, and communications with audit committees.

Studying for AUD should take between 60 and 90 hours depending on what review course you are using and whether or not you have experience in this area. Obviously if you took Auditing in school you will need less time to review some of these areas.

Good luck and see you tomorrow with Regulation!

Career Center

Job of the Day: Deutsche Bank Needs a Finance Manager

GoingConcern
April 26, 2010

Deutsche Bank is looking for someone to join its Finance Division as a Finance Manager of Global Banking. Responsibilities will include stakeholder management, business solutions, validation and control.

Candidates need a minimum of seven years experience with background that is familiar with both U.S. GAAP and IFRS.

Company: Deutsche Bank

Title: Finance Manager – Global Banking

Location: New York, NY

Responsibilities: Stakeholder Management – the establishment of stakeholder priorities and the development of open communication and feedback with them. Prioritizing business requirements given the resources available; Business Solutions – providing innovative solutions to business requirements, reviewing new structures and business opportunities. You will also challenge new product initiatives to ensure that business assumptions are accurate; Validation & Control – reviewing offshore produced profit and loss (P&L) and risk data produced by service centers. Monitoring key performance indicator performance and developing a thorough understanding of the products and business drivers. This includes P&L, Balance sheet and risk weighted asset analysis; Acting as the contact point to advise on local generally accepted accounting practice and regulatory requirements; Continuing to develop and enhance the relationship and business knowledge of the Professional service centre in Mumbai and to ensure proper accounting is followed especially by the offshore production teams; Move existing onshore finance production to the PSC

Qualifications/Skills: Accounting or Finance background (IFRS and US GAAP); Relevant product knowledge-Securities Lending, Trust And Securities Services (Custody, Hedge Fund administration, Corporate Trust-Structured Financial Services, Global Debt Services); Strong Excel, Essbase and PowerPoint skills are required; 7-12 years of experienced desired.

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

Help the IRS Improve Its Service on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel

Adrienne Gonzalez
April 26, 2010

If you are some kind of tax activist, not a felon and ready to serve your country, we may have the volunteer opportunity of a lifetime for you: Serving on the IRS’ Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP). The deadline for applications is this Friday and we’re pretty sure the Service has been swamped with would-be heroes vying for a chance to provide a voice to the poor, abused little taxpayer.

“TAP members represent the typical taxpayer and provide the IRS with invaluable insights that are crucial to sound tax administration,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman.

To qualify, you must pass an FBI fingerprint check (sorry, Lone Wolves, you’re pretty much disqualified right off the bat and will have to stick to crashing planes into IRS buildings if you want your voice to be heard), not be a lobbyist, and of course be caught up on your own tax bills.

Think of it like a focus group for taxes except unlike traditional focus groups, you won’t be getting $75 for an hour’s worth of opinions. TAP members serve a 3 year term and are expected to commit 300 – 500 hours per year serving the ~~Service~~ taxpayer. Members are required to attend a yearly meeting in Washington, DC each fall, at least one face-to-face subcommittee meeting with other members in their region and must participate in a monthly conference call.

So go on, little taxpayers, give the IRS a piece of your mind. And 500 hours of your time, of course.

Technology

Three Social Media Trends That Will Never Catch on with Accountants

Adrienne Gonzalez
April 26, 2010

CPAs have pretty much dominated social media and infested the blogosphere to the point that when I tell people that I cover accounting news for a living, I don’t have to explain just what on Earth accounting news is. That’s a step in the right direction but the reality is, some web and/or social media trends may never catch on with accountants. I’m suggesting three but fairly sure there are plenty more; if you know of one, do share.

Foursquare Paranoid stoners and anti-Big Brother types aren’t hip on it either but I guarantee you Foursquare will not catch on among CPAs. Who is dumb enough to track their own billable hours where everyone (and the boss) can see? What fun is checking in at the office day in and day out?

Get Satisfaction Listen, I know the smaller firms and personal, hometown CPAs are all about client satisfaction. Some of the mid-tier firms might also give some type of shit about the level of service they provide to their clients and how effective they are in doing it. But as a general rule (and especially for the larger firms), they really don’t actually want to know if they are delivering it or not in the direct manner that Get Satisfaction provides. If you aren’t familiar with how the site works, check out Comcast (several Comcast agents, actually) against the pissed off subscribers who lost their digital channels after the 2009 conversion but as a direct result of Comcast’s decisions. Can CPAs handle that sort of brutal, misspelled, angry honesty? Doubt it.

Blippy Though most CPAs love to hear the promise of yet another tool meant to make their lives easier, the remote chance that their credit card information may accidentally, kinda sorta end up on Google might make them a tad Blippy-adverse. And hey, while you’re at it, see what your friends are buying (while exposing what you are at the same time), what fun! I think they’ll pass. Hell, who would want Facebook for their bank statement, CPA or not?

Accounting News Roundup: Audit Committee Chair Resigns from WellCare Health; PwC, E&Y Officially Cut Iran Ties; Repo 105 = Pointless, Repugnant Practice | 04.26.10

Caleb Newquist
April 26, 2010

Director Resigns at Wellcare Health [WSJ]
Regina Herzlinger was the chair of the audit committee of WellCare Health Plans, Inc., a Tampa-based provider of Medicaid and Medicare plans, but resigned last week amid controversy around the company’s accounting practices. The Wall St. Journal reports that Ms Herzlinger said that internal audits discovered the company overbilled the Illinois Medicaid program by $1 million “and potentially overcharged states for almost $500,000 worth of maternity care.” She also stated that the company “ran afoul of Georgia’s requirements that it account for eachhich it paid providers, resulting in a $610,000 fine.”

WellCare also paid an $80 million fine to the State of Florida last May for a criminal investigation “into allegations that it had defrauded Florida benefits programs for low-income adults and children” as well as $10 million to the SEC for an investigation into its accounting. At least they’re keeping some attorneys busy.

Ms Herzlinger alleges that she was not renominated to her position on the board of directors for raising questions about the accounting practices at the WellCare as well as corporate-governance issues.

The Company claims that “good corporate-governance practices require it to bring in new board members periodically to provide a fresh perspective,” so at least they’ve got that point covered. The Journal also reports that the company is pulling the materiality card, saying that the “accounting errors Ms. Herzlinger identified were relatively small and the company’s own internal controls indentified them, indicating that its processes are working well.”

Lehman Investors Add Auditor Ernst & Young to Suit Over Deals [Bloomberg]
Charlie Perkins, the Lucas van Pragg of Big 4 accounting firms, has to be getting sick of repeating himself:

“Throughout our period as the auditor of Lehman, we firmly believe our work met all applicable professional standards, applying the rules that existed at the time.”

Countrywide Investors Said to Settle Lawsuit for $600 Million [Bloomberg BusinessWeek]
KPMG is listed as one of fifty defendants in the lawsuit in California.

Companies Feeling More Pressure to Cut Iran Ties [NYT]
PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young have both cut their ties with Iran, following KPMG, the Times reports. This results in grand total of zero Big 4 firms with affiliates in Iran.

United Against Nuclear Iran (“UANI”) President Mark Wallace received letters from both PwC and E&Y:

This week, Mr. Wallace’s group received letters from both PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young assuring the group that they had cut ties with Iranian firms. PricewaterhouseCoopers wrote that the Middle East member of the company’s global network had had a “cooperating firm relationship” with Agahan & Company, an Iranian firm, but that it expired last year. Ernst & Young said it cut its ties in 2001 to the Tadvin Company, one of Iran’s largest accounting firms, even though Tadvin was still listed on its Web site this year.

Mr. Wallace called that a breakthrough because by publicly avoiding Iran, the American accounting firms that audit so many other companies send an important signal. “What it says is if it’s too risky for the Big Four accounting firms,” he said, “it should be too risky for other companies.”

It’s pretty obvious Mr Wallace doesn’t know anything about Big 4 accounting firms re: risk.

A manifesto for accountants [Tax Research UK]
Richard Murphy has some suggestions for the Accountancy Age manifesto.

Repo 105 Explained With Numbers and Detail [The Summa]
“Right now, I just don’t see what the big fuss is all about. The number differentials are just too small. Although a repugnant practice, Lehman didn’t accomplish much of anything with Repo 105 use.”

KPMG Resigns as TierOne Bank Auditor

Adrienne Gonzalez
April 26, 2010

In a bizarre piece of auditing news released late on a Sunday night, KPMG has verbally resigned as Nebraska-based TierOne Bank’s independent auditor, withdrawn its audit opinion for 2008 and taken back its review of TierOne’s financials for the quarter ended March 31, 2009.

Well damn, we’re fairly sure it couldn’t get any worse than that for TierOne, could it?

Citing risk of material misstatement, KPMG has also warned the audit committee that TierOne’s financials are not to be relied upon by investors. Even Overstock.com doesn’t get that kind of treatment.

Last month the Office of Thrift Supervision – TierOne’s primary regulator – gave it until April 30th to merge with or sell its assets to a healthier financial institution so we’re going to go out on a limb here by assuming that they aren’t going to have good news come Friday and KPMG is just doing the responsible thing by backing away from the mess with a week left.

Quote of the Day

Enron on the Stage Enjoys Ironic Timing

Caleb Newquist
April 24, 2010

“[It was] crudely beneficial for us.”

~ Lucy Prebble, playwright, on the timing of the economic collapse and “Enron,” her play set to open in New York next week.

News

The Ernst & Young Las Vegas Office Should Try to Nab This Guy for Their Next Singalong

Caleb Newquist
April 24, 2010

It’s fair to say that of all the fine accountants that participated in the E&Y video from earlier this week, none of them will be bagging a Grammy any time soon (regardless of what the E&Y bigwigs say).

That being said, there is at least one accountant out there who must decent enough pipes to garner this headline:

The Singing Accountant set to be this year’s Susan Boyle?

Not surprisingly, the young lad is a little timid:

Christopher is an accountant who lacked confidence to follow his singing dream. After years of hiding his talent, his family finally persuaded him to pluck up the courage and audition for the show.

“I’ve come to Britain’s Got Talent to audition today mainly from pressure from my parents, more than anything else. They’ve been telling me for years and years that I need to do something like this.”

If Simon Cowell says this, “I think you have a really, really good voice,” then that’s a pretty good indication that you’ve got a better than average singing voice (unfortch there’s no video at this time).

As opposed to what he might have said to the E&Y LV peeps, which we might be something along the lines of:

A) That’s the worst performance I’ve ever heard.

B) That would make my labrador howl uncontrollably for hours.

C) That explains why your pay was frozen.

D) I know Jim Turley, and when he gets wind of this, you’re all going to be fired.

E) Now I know why Lehman Brothers failed.

Now you go.

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