Going Concern

Announcements

Thanks to This Week’s Advertiser

Caleb Newquist
December 23, 2009

A quick word of thanks to this week’s advertiser on Going Concern:
• Verizon Wireless
If you’re interested in advertising on Going Concern, email us at advertising@breakingmedia.com. Thanks!

Uncategorized

Non-Knights Don’t Think Rule Convergence Is All That Important

Caleb Newquist
December 23, 2009

Not everyone is as hung up on converging U.S. GAAP and IFRS as Sir David Tweedie.
As you may recall, Tweeds delayed his retirement in order to see the rules copulate and bring forth debit and credit harmony.
As admirable as his commitment to the project is, not too many people share his enthusiasm:

A survey by CFA Institute , an international association of more than 16,000 investment professionals, showed that three quarters of respondents believe that improving standards so they are more useful for making investment decisions is “at least as important if not more important” than reducing complexity or convergence.
While respondents generally support convergence, only 6 per cent of those surveyed, including research analysts, portfolio managers, corporate financial analysts and accountants, believe converging the International Accounting Standards Board and its US rival should be the primary objective.

It’s bad enough that Tweeds gets hassled by non-knighted clowns that don’t know a debit from their ass but now there’s a survey out there that says his pet project isn’t that important.
Plus, the SEC doesn’t seem too hung up on it and the FASB has its own problems. Has double-entry chivalry lost all its meaning?
Investors cool on audit convergence [FT]

Career Center

Job of the Day: Tax Maven Wanted at BBH

Caleb Newquist
December 22, 2009

Nine days left in 2009 and all you tax trolls are gearing for another great tax prep season. For those of you looking to bestow your IRC wisdom at a new shop, we’ve got at least one option for you.
Check out a Senior Tax Manager position at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York, after the jump.

Company: Brown Brothers Harriman
Title: Senior Tax Manager
Location: New York City
Experience: 8 – 10 years
Description: The Sr. Tax Manager at Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) is responsible for the maintenance of tax records as well as the preparation and review of all specifically assigned tax returns and related documents for all BBH Partners and Managing Directors, Partnership and Trust returns.
Responsibilities: Tax Preparation: Review as well as assist in data gathering, preparation and filing of the firm’s federal, state, and local partnership income tax returns as well as personal property tax returns, sales tax returns, unincorporated business tax, business privilege tax and other returns.
Tax Research: Collaborate on tax research on new tax laws, regulations and rulings to disseminate information to the firm; Research and assess the integration of foreign tax credits, from operations and investments, on the overall tax burden of the firm.
Tax Review: Review individual partner tax filings as well as discuss and explain tax positions to Partners. Review tax returns and tax return workpapers for individual Partners and Managing Directors
Requirements: BA/BA degree; Masters in Tax and/or CPA a plus but not required; Strong knowledge of federal, state, and local personal income taxes, gift taxes, generation skipping taxes, estate taxes, nonresident withholding taxes and payroll taxes for high net worth individuals; Strong fundamental understanding of international tax concepts, including value-added tax, foreign tax credits and withholding tax.
See the entire description over at the GC Career Center and visit the main page for all your job search needs.

The American People Have Spoken on Tax Reform

Caleb Newquist
December 22, 2009

After asking pretty much everyone for their suggestions on tax reform, the President’s Tax Reform Panel has released 384 submitted suggestions and the American People did not disappoint.

The FairTax.org crowd turned out en masse and plenty of practitioners and academics also provided their $0.02.
We didn’t really read those but we’re sure they’re great. We were more interested in those people that were more or less thinking out loud.

Suggestion #239 Mike Finch:

I support yearly audits of all government big wigs and prison terms for any that are found to have made more than $100 mistake on their taxes.

Suggestion #249 from “Froggy” whose organization is “peace man”:

Tax the rich! tax the rich! tax the rich!. oh please please please tax the rich. I want the economy to sink further!

Suggestion #278 from Alex Clay:

Make it explicit that cheating on your taxes makes you ineligible for presidentially appointed positions or committee chairmanships in the congress

Suggestion #346 from Ed:

0% tax rate. Reduce the tax law to 2 pages.

David Laing’s suggestion (#359) must have gotten lost on its way to the health care debate:

No option is NO OPTION! No bill that does not contain a public option is not worth your signature.

Since most of you have checked out for the week, consider spending some digging through these for more gems (we haven’t been able to find an intern that’s up to the job) or suggest your own ideas in the comments.

Tax Reform Submitted Comments [TWH]

The JDA

Pleasing the Accountants, Road Trip Style

Adrienne Gonzalez
December 22, 2009

Editor’s Note: Want more JDA? You can see all of her posts for GC here, her blog here and stalk her on Twitter.
NYT had a piece yesterday called “Paying With Plastic to Please the Accountants” and I have to admit at first glance, the title annoyed the shit out of me. The accountants don’t care what you use when expensing your stupid airport Starbucks and car rentals, all they want is to be left alone to decode your receipts in peace. At least mine does.
But it isn’t just the accountants. Apparently your expenses are of extra importance to the IRS – though we’ll save the wild speculation that might dictate Timmy the Tax Cheat is just really hard up for some revenues (especially after that $38 billion tax break he gave Citigroup without anyone’s permission).

The I.R.S. is engaged in an initiative to audit tax returns of about 6,000 companies, partly to look at executive fringe benefits, including travel-expense procedures. This takes place as companies are already struggling to get a better handle on overall travel and entertainment management, especially as business travel picks up in a still shaky economic environment.

The article goes on to talk about extra airline fees (I won’t bitch about the $40 I just had to pay to check a suitcase on a recent Chicago trip) and makes expense reports sound like financial statements. The IRS apparently doesn’t care about receipts for charges under $75 while most companies use $25 as their receipt required limit. Is a $4 airport latté material? Maybe not. Are 25 dinners between $20 and $24? You bet your sweet little bean-counting ass.
I will go ahead and state the obvious here because sometimes I feel like you rubes need a BIG SIGN: in this economy, companies can no longer afford the jetsetting of yore, and why the hell should they? With video conferencing, email, mobile productivity and social networking helping to bring an entirely new meaning to collaboration, all of that cross country crap is no longer as critical as it once was. And so go the $4 airport lattés and bad $15 dinner tabs with it.
So remember, kids, keep your receipts, Timmy might want to run some substantive tests on your company rental cars and client dinners on the road. God forbid he not get a piece.

Uncategorized

The FASB Is Still Trying to Get Everyone to Buy into this Codification Thing

Caleb Newquist
December 22, 2009

Despite your best efforts to resist the new FASB codification as the source for all things GAAP, the FASB is not disheartened. Herz and Co. are cognizant of the desire of many accountants to have reference books on shelves in their offices in order to maintain their double-entry wonk image. In order to feed this natural inclination, the FASB is now offering the codification in a four volume set for the low, low price of $195.
Call us skeptical but this particular attempt by the FASB to get more people on board with the whole codification thing is doomed. DOOMED, we tell you. If they really want to get accountants to buy this stuff it will require a marketing campaign the likes of which Ronco and the Shamwow guy have never seen.
FASB Offers Codification in Four-Volume Set [Compliance Week]

Preliminary Analytics

Preliminary Analytics | 12.22.09

Caleb Newquist
December 22, 2009

• Dubai World fails to seal deal on debt talks – Even though DW is insisiting that the talks have been “constructive.” [Times Online]
• Marijuana-Reeking Tour Bus, Red Ferrari Are FDIC’s Crisis Booty – Not to mention ashtrays with dead cigarette butts. These guys will take everything. [Bloomberg]
• FBI Probes Hack at Citibank – The bank deee-nies that there was a breach so you have the less than desirable option of believing the B or the C. [WSJ]
• World Series Champs Pay Hefty Luxury Tax – Tax Girl is not a Yankee fan. [Tax Girl]
• U.K. Backs Merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation – Somehow the Brits came to this conclusion: ‘[T]he merger will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in the market for live music ticket retailing or in any other market.’ [NYT]

Review Comments

Review Comments | 12.21.09

Caleb Newquist
December 22, 2009

• Christmas Gifts for that Special Tax Person – A possible gift for that Tim Geithner groupie in your life. [TaxProf Blog]
• GM Recruits Microsoft’s Liddell as New Finance Chief – Apparently GM’s finance department had some Deliverance thing going on. [Bloomberg]
• Top 50 Blogs for Accountants – There are some familiar names on this list, including GC. Thanks! [The Biz-Learner]
• Rajaratnam, Chiesi Plead Not Guilty – Doing what’s best for investors is not a crime. [WSJ]
• Crazy Eddie inductee talks about walls of false integrity – Sam Antar = Hall of Famer [Con Artist Hall of Infamy]

A Note to the SEC

Caleb Newquist
December 22, 2009

Web CPA, October 30, 2009:

Kroeker reiterated earlier statements that he and SEC Chair Mary Schapiro had made, indicating the SEC was turning its attention this fall to the proposed IFRS roadmap. When asked about the date, Kroeker said, “There will be follow-up on the roadmap this fall.” Asked to define the word “fall,” he noted that the season ends on Dec. 21.

Fall ended at 12:47 pm EST today. Anyone seen this map?

In Better Late Than Never News…

Caleb Newquist
December 22, 2009

Hey gang, we’ll just take a moment of your time to point out the bang-up job that’s being done at the The Business Journal of the greater Triad Area. They’re not in the class of the CNNs of the world but we figure some recognition is appropriate.
They ran a story dated Friday the 18th entitled, “Ernst & Young merging sites, making Triad virtual office” which is kinda, sorta similar to a post we did on December 10th.
Maybe we’re hung up on little stuff like choice of words and timing but we’ll be damned if we see “first reported by Going Concern” anywhere.

…roughly 60 client-serving professionals based in the Greensboro office at 202 Centreport Drive will remain with the firm, with most staying in the Triad to work remotely. They will report to and receive support services from the Raleigh office…
The statement did not specify the impact of the move on Triad support and administrative staff, including whether there are any transfers or layoffs occurring.

If the TBJ is curious, we know the impact on the support staff. You can email us here if you’re still wondering.
We also don’t see any mention of the Manchester closing either but that’s in a whole other state, so it’s probably not relevant.

Fraud

And Here We Thought All Accountant Bloggers Were Doing It for the Forces of Good

Caleb Newquist
December 22, 2009

The gamut of accounting bloggers that we’re acquainted with are good people despite their individual proclivities. Things like paranoid fantasies that involve every level of government bureaucracy (we’re looking straight at you, JDA) and perverse obsessions with stilettos that even freak us out (ahem, Francine) don’t make anyone a bad person, just well, weird.
That being said, it was only a matter of time before an accountant/blogger actually turned out to be criminal*.

Russ Fox at Taxable Talk:

About a year ago I discover a tax blog called Apirl15.com. I doubt we’ll be seeing any more of this blog; according to an affidavit from an IRS Special Agent, the proprietor of the blog has admitted to embezzling $8.5 million.
William Murray, a CPA from Sacramento, allegedly told his clients to pay their taxes through a “trust account” system. This “service” would help the clients and make things easier for them. Mr. Murray also allegedly had clients send money that he would allegedly “loan” to other clients.

William “No, not Bill” Murray used the client money for the run-of-the-mill stuff: cars, houses, entertainment (i.e. hookers, llelo), plus it’s alleged that he’s a degenerate gambler. A model citizen really.
Despite this blow to the accounting blogosphere image, you can sleep well knowing that if we ever ask for your money it will be used for the purposes of providing you with the finest accounting ~~rag~~ news publication possible. There are reputations at stake.
April 15th No More [Taxable Talk via Tax Update Blog]
*You were a criminal before you started blogging, Sam.

CFOs

Your Suspicions About the Controller Not Liking You Are Well Founded

Caleb Newquist
December 22, 2009

Editor’s Note: A controller friend of GC — who is clearly in the Holiday spirit — presents their top methods of annoying the hell out of their co-workers. We have kept their identity secret* for their own protection. No one likes tragedy around the holidays.
Top ten ways a Controller can piss off co-workers:
1. Start charging for stamps.
2. Stop reimbursing your #1 sales guy’s T&E and when he calls to ask you where his check is tell him to “get fucked” and hang up.
3. Get up during a company meeting and announce that the new per diem has been reduced to $20 a day and that all employees must stay at La Quinta when traveling for business.

4. March into the CFO’s office and tell him your quitting and the books are fucked. Give him/her about 30 minutes to digest and then send them an email to say “just joshin’ ya, boss”.
5. Siphon off ALL the company’s money to an offshore bank account then parachute out the window into your Ferrari waiting below.
6. Write an all company email on December 25th announcing massive layoffs and your recent promotion to CFO.
7. Cancel the holiday party for “budgeting purposes”.
8. Announce that you need to sublease most of the company’s office space and that all employees will be doubling up in offices.
9. Let your corporate checking account go into the negative so that all your year-end bonus checks bounce.
10. Tell your staff that in order to close the books in three days you’re doubling the staff but and they’re going to have to work in shifts.
By,
Anonymous Controller
*For a price, certain information (read: name, address, usual routine) could be provided.

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