Going Concern

Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day: He’s Also Good at Stalking | 02.03.10

Caleb Newquist
February 4, 2010

“I suspect he takes much more pleasure in baiting opponents than he does in running a company. The evidence he is good at baiting is much clearer than the evidence he is good at managing.”

~ Floyd Norris, New York Times Columnist on the Farmville obsessed, Segway Cowboy Patrick Byrne.

News

Stephen Chipman’s Latest Blog Post: Atlanta Knows How to Party; The End of Suffering

Caleb Newquist
February 4, 2010

Last week, we were a little disappointed in Stephen Chipman’s debut blog entry; A) it’s not public for the whole world to read and B) it reminded us of a journal except all the good stuff like morning bathroom routine, the wife’s headache, compensating for said headache, etc. was left out.

This week is a little better (no Lost recap and 1,200+ words are big negative points), as he shared with the GT troops about his little excursion down to Atlanta to do some glad-handing at the open house for the new office space there. Chip was impressed not only by the new LEED facility but by the willingness of a fair amount of people in Atlanta that had nothing better to do on a Wednesday night:

What struck me was that these were not people who came through obligation; they clearly wanted to be there. I met many clients, and they all had warm and wonderful things to say about our Atlanta office partners and people. Where some business receptions can be deadly if the mix and tone aren’t just right, people were really enjoying themselves — they stayed, they mingled, they had fun, many enjoying themselves well past 9 o’clock at night. (It kicked off at 5).

Okay, so where are these deadly receptions occurring? We’ve been to some wild get-togethers where some people might not get along but there was no risk of anyone ending up dead. Perhaps he just means “shockingly awkward.” That’s way more believable than a party where a homicide may or may not occur.

And why would he be surprised if people could booze for free for over four hours? If there’s free beer and wine to be had in the middle of the week, that probably is the best thing you could do on a Wednesday.

The only other tidbit worth mentioning is that Steve-o got a little redemption that was over two decades in the making. Back in the 80s when Chip was a manager living in Dallas, chasing SMU tail and starting to network, he was courting a prospect that ultimately went with a “large competitor.” Since that point in time, he has not taken it well:

For years — and this was more than two decades ago — I’ve watched this company from afar, and it’s become quite successful. I felt a pang every time I saw their signs (which were everywhere), and also their advertising at NHL games and sports arenas. With every sign sighting, I got increasingly frustrated that they were not a Grant Thornton client.

Many times SC could be caught looking off into the distance, dreaming about the one that got away. A tear. A lone tear…

Well you can rejoice now bitches! Turns out a current GT client recently purchase this prospect that broke our hero’s heart and is now a client of GT. “After almost 22 years of misery, my suffering has ended,” SC utters. This was his White Whale.

And to wrap it up, SC threw in a nice little pep talk for all of you GTers out there feeling down and out, “We don’t need to be the biggest to be the best.” He’s still thinking about you; even if you’re not in Atlanta.

Still no Lost recap.

KPMG

KPMG Boston Is Sprucing Up the New Headquarters, Sans Sign

Caleb Newquist
February 4, 2010

This morning we shared with you the news about Deloitte’s new nightlight in San Jose. Back on the right coast, KPMG Beantown is getting a little redecorating done themselves although it sounds a little more substantive than a sign that can’t send morse code to San Fran in case someone needs an extra intern.

KPMG bestowed Jones Lang LaSalle with the honor of designing the interior of the new digs at Two Financial Center and it sounds like all Klynveldians will be infinitely more productive at the new HQ. 96,000 square feet of pure auditing, tax, and advisory bliss:

The interior will enhance workflow efficiency and accommodate KPMG’s growth requirements, which include capacity for 692 employees. Highlights of the build out, valued at $5.8 million, include: a central reception area on floors one and two, a large conference center with full media capabilities, an employee café, dedicated Human Resources suite and open office areas.

By the sounds of it they’re implementing some sort of Feng Shui strategy that will result in robotic efficiency.

We’re thinking that less than $1 mil a floor sounds like a decent deal but no sign? How the hell is that worth it? It probably wasn’t up to the gang at JLL but they could have at least looked into it. If the British invade again, a warning from the four blue squares would go a long ways towards KPMG’s national security cred.

Career Center

Job of the Day: Genworth Needs a Financial Analyst

GoingConcern
February 3, 2010

An analytical CPA/CFA/MBA is needed for a position located at the Genworth HQ in Richmond, Virginia. Qualified candidates need to have at least five years of Big 4/public accounting experience or experience in financial services or insurance.

Check the more details for this position after the jump.

Company: Genworth Financial U.S.

Title: Sr. Finance Analyst – Strategic Capital Planning

Location: Richmond, VA

Minimum Experience: 5 years

Description: Genworth Financial is looking for a highly experienced and analytical CPA, CFA or MBA to join the Genworth HQ Stat Financial Planning & Analysis team.

Responsibilities: Liaison with various functional areas of the business, including Treasury, Tax, HQ GAAP FP&A, Business Development, Controllership, and Segment Finance groups as needed to consolidate long-term enterprise-wide financial plans, including all key financial metrics; Maintain models for use in updating the consolidated financial plans as needed and to show the impacts of various “what-if” scenarios on all key financial metrics; Use this information and analysis to support strategic corporate planning, including communications to the Board of the Directors; Support the management of the Corporate and Executive Capital Committees, including maintaining committee calendar, minutes and follow-ups, organizing and distributing materials, and documenting project statuses and approvals; Support the Business Development team by providing regular financial inputs, and ad hoc data and analysis as required; Support Board of Director, Quarter Close, Planning, Rating Agency and Capital Committee presentations and analysis as needed

Qualifications: CPA, CFA, or MBA designation; 5-7 years Financial and/or Insurance Experience; Prior Big 4 or public accounting experience; Corporate Finance Experience;

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

Sex Change Expenses Are Deductible but You’re on Your Own for the C Cup

Joe Kristan
February 3, 2010

He seemed to have it all — a wife, three kids, a successful career. But it wasn’t enough. What he really wanted was another X chromosome. Our taxpayer, explains the Tax Court, “was uncomfortable in the male gender role from childhood and first wore women’s clothing secretly around age 10…discomfort regarding her gender intensified in adolescence…[The taxpayer] was a female trapped in a male body, and continued to secretly wear women’s clothing.”

So our taxpayer consulted a licensed social worker, which is apparently how these things are done, and after suitable counseling, decided to try on XX for size. The first steps down the path the the Misses Department seemed to suit the taxpayer, so he took the next big leap. $21,741 of surgical and related expenses later, the taxpayer was Ms. Rhiannon O’Donnabhain.

The Tax Court got involved when she deducted these expenses on her 2001 tax return. The IRS said that the expenses were not “medical” expenses under Sec. 219. It would be an unusual man who would undergo this sort of thing absent dire medical need: “The procedures that Dr. Meltzer carried out included surgical removal of the penis and testicles and creation of a vaginal space using genital skin and tissue.”

It took 139 pages and 4 separate opinions, but the Tax Court agreed that the gender reassignment surgery is a deductible medical expense. It’s surprising that it was so difficult, considering that the court is largely composed of men who wear dresses at work. But they felt it was necessary to go into the sort of privacy-killing detail that makes taxpayers think twice before spurning an appeals offer and going to Tax Court (oh, you mean you’re that Rhiannon O’Donnabhain!):

Petitioner, anticipating the formal recommendations for her surgery, went for a consultation and examination by Dr. Meltzer in June 2001 at his offices in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Meltzer concluded that petitioner was a good candidate for sex reassignment surgery. Dr. Meltzer’s notes of his physical examination of petitioner state: “Examination of her breasts reveal [sic] approximately B cup breasts with a very nice shape.”

Nice enough for government work, anyway. The Court ruled that while the hormone therapy, vaginoplasty, feminizing facial surgery and penis and testicle removal were deductible, breast augmentation was, well, too much:

given the contemporaneous documentation of the breasts’ apparent normalcy and the failure to adhere to the Benjamin standards’ requirement to document breast-engendered anxiety to justify the surgery, we find that petitioner’s breast augmentation surgery did not fall within the treatment protocol… Instead, the surgery merely improved her appearance.

So if the Tax Court’s view holds up on appeal, you can deduct the cost of changing sides, but if that’s not enough to make you sufficiently hot, you’re on your own.

Deloitte

Deloitte San Jose Re-signs Lease for a Nightlight

Caleb Newquist
February 3, 2010

We got pointed to an article about Deloitte’s San Jose office signing a new 10 year lease (subscription required) which is pretty ho-hum although since a $50,000 Deloitte sign sealed this particular deal it made us think back to the idea of the Big 4 and shameless self-promotion.

According to the San Jose Business Journal, the mere idea of a Deloitte sign was the ultimate temptress, “permission to put a sizable sign near the roof of the 16-story building was too tempting to pass up.” This despite the a 25% vacancy rate in downtown San Jose and a 20% vacancy rate in Silicon Valley. All that and we learned that when the sign is illuminated it’s only visible as far away as I-280 and U.S. Route 87.

Couldn’t they get something brighter? If it were us, we’d be looking for something akin to the Aurora Borealis.

Having never been to the Deloitte offices in San Jose (we’d love a tour though, virtual of course, or maybe just some still images of the cube farms) we can’t tell you if the troops out there were in desperate need of an upgrade in facilities. WTFK, maybe everything at 225 W. Santa Clara St. is tip-top. Aaaannnnnd maybe it was the best deal to stay put but the fact that the sign was the clincher seems a little, well, shameless.

More Deloitte Construction:
Deloitte’s Version of Delta Chi Breaks Ground Tomorrow

Non-Profits Are Feeling the Pain

Adrienne Gonzalez
February 3, 2010

WSJ has a Monday piece “Once-Robust Charity Sector Hit With Mergers, Closings” (the Recession Forces Nonprofits to Consolidate) that may be found here. It tells the story of a “homeless” woman with terminal lung cancer and a charity no longer able to afford to help her out. Sad.

When one charity’s COO says “we’ve had funding cut after funding cut, and we never know when the next shoe is going to drop,” that is a bad sign.

Hit by a drop in donations and government funding in the wake of a deep recession, nonprofits—from arts councils to food banks—are undergoing a painful restructuring, including mergers, acquisitions, collaborations, cutbacks and closings.

“Like in the animal kingdom, at some point, the weaker organizations will not be able to survive,” says Diana Aviv, chief executive of Independent Sector, a coalition of 600 nonprofits.

I saw that on the Discovery Channel and it wasn’t pretty.

Note: the Service says the value of your blood is not deductible as a charitable donation but cars are. As of 2005, cars are only deductible at FMV, not Blue Book. Damn you, fair value, foiled by the free market again!

Blame the Service for tightening its charitable donation rules at the worst possible time? Not sure on that one. While you’re reluctant to donate your $200 Toyota (ha) to charity because you could have claimed $2,000 under old rules, find some comfort in the fact that (alleged) terrorist “non profits” can not file for 2 years and somehow get away with it. You wonder why I advocate fixing the system from the ground up?

You can text $10 to Haiti but what about the “Economic Homeless” here in America? asks Young Money.

If this were a survey and you asked me “What do you think the IRS could do to encourage charitable donations?” I would answer “Tax breaks. It isn’t the Treasury’s job to distribute bailouts.” Yet they continue to behave as though it is their duty.

See the problem yet?

Accounting News Roundup: Is Your Next Job in Government? New Overstock.com CFO Isn’t a CPA; Death to Tax Reform Commission | 02.03.10

Caleb Newquist
February 3, 2010

• Obama’s Budget Plan to Create Government Finance Jobs [FINS]
The biggest beneficiary of CFOs not hiring may be the Federal Government. We mentioned in the routhe SEC got a decent boost in the POTUS’ proposed budget and likewise, so did the Treasury Department, “Department employment levels are projected to increase by 253 workers since 2009. Last year’s headcount of 1,089 workers is expected to grow to 1,266 in 2010, and reach an estimated 1,342 workers in 2011.”

Some of the areas within the Treasury that could benefit have yet to be created under the Financial Reform Initiatives including the Office of National Insurance and the Financial Services Oversight Council. We’re sure that Congress will get their act together in time so some of you can consider these potential employers.

One group in the Treasury that won’t have to wait is the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence who was appropriated just over $1 million for new personnel. Whether or not you get to carry a weapon is not clear so just take it easy with all your 24 fantasies. Besides, financial people are the ones who usually end up dead on that show.

• Why Overstock.com and David Chidester Parted Ways [White Collar Fraud]
Sam Antar would like to know why David Chidester and Overstock.com came to a “mutual agreement” for Chides to leave the company. With new Overstock auditor KPMG on board, someone with eleven years experience at the company, that functioned as both the CFO and the Senior Vice President Internal Reporting and Information, might be able to help make the transition easier. Nope!

Sam postulates that the Chidester might have known too much, ” I believe that their so-called ‘mutual agreement’ is based on Patrick Byrne not wanting David Chidester to stay around and David Chidester not wanting to be around to answer questions as KPMG continues its audit of the company’s financial reports.”

KPMG is playing catch up with this new engagement and now they are dealing with a new CFO, Steve Chesnut, who Sam reports, “joined the Overstock.com in January 2009, was not around when most of the financial reporting improprieties under investigation were committed by management,” and isn’t a CPA. He’s got a less enviable job than KPMG.

• Obama’s Tax Reform Commission: RIP [Tax Vox]
Remember President Obama’s Tax Reform Commission? They asked you, the American Taxpayer, to give them ideas on tax reform and, by God, you delivered. After going through all that ingenuity, the commission announced that it get back to those ideas “after the holidays” to get crackin’ on our tax code.

Well! It appears that was time well spent because now it sounds like the tax reform commission is being put out to pasture. Tax Vox reports this exchange from yesterday’s budget briefing with Office of Management and Budget dreamboat Peter Orszag:

“Q: The President was supposed to receive tax reform recommendations in December and that was delayed indefinitely. Is there a possibility that that could be folded into the fiscal commission’s review, or is it just on the back burner?

DIRECTOR ORSZAG: I would imagine that it will be folded into the fiscal commission. I would imagine that — again, the commission will be examining a variety of things, including tax reform.”

We’ll just assume everyone’s ideas are being thrown on the scrap heap. Thanks for your help though!

Quote of the Day: Are You Saying the Plan Didn’t Work? | 02.02.10

Caleb Newquist
February 3, 2010

“[A]t Deloitte we began planning for the downturn and beyond in 2006. Not having a crystal ball, we didn’t anticipate such a violent contraction.”

~ Barry Salzberg, CEO of Deloitte.

The JDA

New Obama Proposal Would Invest $30 Billion TARP Funds in Small Banks

Adrienne Gonzalez
February 3, 2010

One can only postulate that since there was no room in President Obama’s bloated 2010 budget for small business initiatives, he instead chose to apply some TARP money that’s just lying around to get small business working again. I wish Mr President the best of luck on that plan as he’ll be needing it.

WSJ:

President Barack Obama proposed a $30 billion small business lending program Tuesday, the latest in a series of administration efforts to jump-start hiring by the nation’s small businesses.

The program, which Mr. Obama detailed at an appearance in Nashua, N.H., would invest $30 billion from the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program in community banks to encourage them to lend to small businesses. If approved by Congress, the program would incentivize small and midsize banks to provide loans valued at several times that figure.

Didn’t we invest $700 billion in the Too Big to Fail banks for this same purpose? Not that it matters, we’ll try it again with the hopes that community banks will be able to accomplish what TBTF couldn’t.

A proactive sort of administration, White House officials were already prepared to counter the argument that TARP was never intended as a general piggy bank for funding the administration’s whims:

“The law is very clear: The monies recouped from the TARP shall be paid into the general fund of the Treasury for the reduction of the public debt. It’s not for a piggy bank,” [Sen. Judd] Gregg said.

[White House Budget Director Peter] Orszag said new legislation would be required to create the new small-business plan. He said the cost of the plan would depend on the subsidy rate of new activity and wouldn’t amount to a net cost, in terms of the deficit, of $30 billion.

Considering that he’s referring to a deficit of $3.8 trillion, I guess $30 billion isn’t really anything to get stressed out about after all.

Meanwhile, can community banks counter the continued deterioration of commercial real estate weighing on their balance sheets? I guess we’ll have to wait it out and see.

News

Dita von Teese’s Accountant Understands Why She Has to Spend $70k on a Dress

Caleb Newquist
February 3, 2010

Last month we mentioned that while we enjoy her genius, we wouldn’t want to be of Lady Gaga’s accountant. She definitely falls into the “clients that make you want to jump out the window” bucket.

Likewise, if we had our choice of clients, we wouldn’t be chasing down burlesque artists that marry rock stars, in this case, Dita von Teese. Not because we don’t enjoy burlesque artists and the rock stars they love, quite the contrary actually; it’s just seems that the headaches associated with such a client would be more trouble than it would be worth.

Surprisingly, DVT takes money quite seriously and is not as slipshod as you might expect.

“I refuse to go to the hair salon and have a $300 hair dye job – I do it myself at home with an $8 dye kit… I’ve always been a saver…I saved at least 15[%] of everything I earned and invested it in mutual funds“

Jesus, talk about sensible. However there is this glimmer:

“I think nothing of spending $8,000 on a corset for my show. My accountant once said he couldn’t understand how I spent $70,000 on a single dress but then he came to my show and saw how lavish it was and told me afterwards that now he understood.“

Those are work related expenses though; count us unimpressed. We’re expecting Gaga-esque negligent wasting of money. Like seriously getting carried away.

“I bought [a Jaguar] one night on eBay for $35,000 when I’d had too much champagne.“

Yes. That’s the best she can offer. Plus, there’s this:

“I pay my [credit card] balances off every month.”

More sensible behavior. Doesn’t sound like she’d be that bad of a client at all. Hell, she probably even keeps all her receipts. L. Gaga’s accountant might consider asking her for some advice.

Dita von Teese: ‘I spent $70,000 on a single dress for my show’ [Telegraph]

Managing Diversity for the Accounting Firm of the Future

Daniel Braddock
February 3, 2010

E&Y tweeted an interesting release this morning regarding their outlook on cultural diversity and how it relates to future success, both at their firm and in tomorrow’s global economy. I encourage you to read the full text (linked above), but here is an exercept I want to focus on:

“Our recent study “Redrawing the map: globalization and the changing world of business” reveals that the boards of many global companies lack the diversity to deal with intercultural challenges. At the same time, they cite the need for internationally experienced staff as the most important cultural factor in conducting business globally.”

Every firm is well aware of the importance for cross-cultural efficiencies as an accelerator to getting business done in the global markets. I agree with the article’s point that, “If an organization does not leverage the potent weapon of diversity, it risks limiting its creative potential and ultimately losing its competitive edge.” This is absolutely true. But how does a firm balance the “need” for cultural diversity with the reality that the leadership of many clients oftentimes resembles more of an Old White Man’s Club than that of an idealistic HR workplace? From schoolyard to the boardroom, we as people are naturally drawn to the bubble of comfort created by surrounding ourselves with those who are similar to us; commonalty breeds security. Think back to your last happy hour or the lunch table in 4th grade – what has changed?

On a personal level, E&Y isn’t failing at its internal diversity efforts; per Caleb’s post last week, they are second among the Big4 in terms of overall diversity hires (29%) and their male/female ratio is an even-steven 50%. These numbers are most likely bolstered by increased retention over the last 18 months as well as a focus on diverse hiring from the campus pipelines.

That’s not to say that the ongoing effort to strike a better diversity balance is unrealistic or futile. The next generation of partners (i.e. you new associates sweating through your first 80 hour workweek) are better prepared for the global workforce than the average 20 year veteran partner. The influx of group work, community service, and international students enrolled in American higher education institutions remains at the origin of preparedness. Couple these attributes with the fact that these colleges and universities see the statistical advantage to stirring the Diversity Melting Pot, today’s students are prepared more than ever for the corporate boardroom. If only you could send your partners back to experience the same thing.

The challenge for any firm lies in managing the differences created across cultures and generations. The basis of this responsibility lies within personal relationships formed between colleagues; something that no report or Fortune statistic can analyze.

You can follow Daniel Braddock, your friendly Human Resources professional, on Twitter @DWBraddock.

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