Going Concern

Is Charlie Rangel a Closet NASCAR Fan?

Caleb Newquist
December 5, 2009

Maybe! Joe Kristan tells us that the Ways and Means chair is “[proposing] to ‘pay for’ the extension of forty five tax provisions that expire every year or so with an increase on the taxes on hedge funds and private equity funds.”
At the expense of the PE and hedge fund industry no less! Rangs is screwing people in his own back yard to give tax provisions to race car fans? Does this seem especially bassackwards to anyone else?
Tax Update Blog:

Among the 45 provisions are special depreciation rules for “motorsports entertainment complexes” and an “alternative motor vehicle credit for heavy hybrids.” Because heaven knows we need NASCAR and heavy hybrids more than we need private equity investment.

Being the dapper gent that he is, Rangs no doubt has several of his favorite drivers’ jackets hanging up at all of his rent-controlled apartments. You cannot deny the fashion genius of the bow tie/Snickers jacket combo.
Beating on Private Equity to Save NASCAR [Tax Update Blog]
See also: Rangel Identifies $30b of Tax Increases to Pay for 45 Tax Extenders [TaxProf Blog]

Uncategorized

Job of the Week: Is Visa Where You Want to Be?

Caleb Newquist
December 4, 2009

Why not? They’re not going anywhere for awhile. Slowly dying dollar and all. Get the details for a Senior Financial Analyst position in the Bay Area, after the jump.

Company: Visa
Location: Foster City, CA
Title: Sr. Financial Analyst – Controller Business Operations
Responsibilities: Responsible for analyzing, interpreting, and recording financial transactions, as well as and reporting this information and proactively research and document conclusions on accounting issues with appropriate references to relevant GAAP pronouncements.
Qualifications: Must have a BS in Accounting or related field, CPA, at least five to seven years of progressive professional accounting experience in a medium to large international company or public accounting firm, and proficiency in Microsoft applications. In-depth knowledge and recent experience with application of SOP 98-1.
Check out the entire description over at the GC Career Center and jump over to the main page for all your job search needs.

>75: What Happens When You Get a 74?

Adrienne Gonzalez
December 4, 2009

Editor’s note: Welcome to latest edition of >75, our weekly post on questions that you have related to the CPA Exam. Send your questions to tips@goingconcern.com and we’ll do our best to answer as many of them as possible. You can see all of the JDA’s posts for GC here and all our posts related to the CPA Exam here.
It might be the worst feeling in the world. Trust me, I know people who have gotten 17s and 24s on the exam – these are not my CPA Review students, of course, these are people who tried to go the CPA exam alone – and a 74 beats their misery any day of the week.

Nearly 99% of the candidates I talk to (I’m making that percentage up off the top of my head, mind you) who get a 74 on any part of the exam did everything they were supposed to do. They did hours of multiple choice and tons of practice simulations and even did the tutorial at cpa-exam.org before test day.
These are people who asked me very early on how they could plan their time, requested updates weeks before they were available and had me emailing 3 years’ worth of previous CPA exam questions for them to practice on. From all appearances, they did everything they were supposed to and yet got a 74, the worst possible score you can get (17 on FAR aside but we won’t talk about that mmmmmkay?).
So what do you do if you’re that person?
• Don’t bother requesting a “rescore” from the AICPA Board of Examiners: For all of 2008, not a single rescore request resulted in a candidate going from FAIL to PASS. It’s a waste of time and money and the AICPA isn’t going to admit their CBT is at all faulty (those of you who have actually taken it probably know better but we won’t talk about that either) so accept your score and move on.
• Don’t move on to a new section While you have to deal with the fact that you’re going to have to pay re-application fees to the Board and another exam fee, the best thing you can do in the case of a 70 – 74 is to go right back to that section and schedule a new exam as soon as possible. A 74 especially shows that you have an excellent command of the information, just a little more studying and you’re over that hump.
• Look at your score report: Your score report is going to give you quite a bit of insight on where you went wrong the first time. When you fail an exam part, they go so far as to tell you where you failed the worst, USE THAT! When you go back over your review materials, there’s no need to watch every single lecture video again fourteen times – just look at the report, figure out where you need more work, and do extra practice questions in those areas.
Finally, don’t beat yourself up. If this exam were easy, everyone would be a CPA.

Layoff Watch ’09: Update on Ernst & Young’s November Round

Caleb Newquist
December 4, 2009

It’s been a couple of weeks since we last heard any details from last month’s layoffs at E&Y, so we just assumed this particular story had run its course.
Well now, we have received word of (and confirmed) layoffs in the Columbus, Ohio office. One source indicates it was 2 – 3 staff and possibly one manager in the assurance practice. This would put the number of layoffs in the North Central region in the nabe of 25. Our source indicated that it seemed that Columbus had been spared for the round last month, so this may be their attempt to catch up.
Annnnnnd it’s our understanding that the cuts happened the day before the holiday party in Columbus. So there’s that.
If you have additional details, continue to pass them along and continue to keep us updated on any layoffs you hear for your office.

KPMG

Rumor Mill: KPMG Debunking ‘Six Year Manager’ Rumors?

Caleb Newquist
December 4, 2009

While many Klynveldians are getting amped to cobble together some bears for the kids this morning we’ll pass along a little rumor about a rumor.

The rumor that the KPMG bigwigs have been considering a six year timeline to make manager in the audit practice has been kicked around for at least a couple years. Naturally, there were two schools of thought:

• Managers thought it was good idea

• SAs thought it was a terrible idea

According to a tip we received, apparently there is an email floating around that says the rumors about a “six year program are not true and that the firm will continue with existing promotion timing.”

A friend of GC told us that while it’s entirely possible that such an email exists, it’s definitely not coming down from 345 Park and could be some local office trying to calm down those SAs that are considered flight risks.

Regardless of the rumored debunking, the path to partner is certainly becoming longer as we reported earlier this week, and early promotions will still happen based on ~~need or~~ political maneuvering.

If you’ve been notified that your promotion timing is still on track, by email or otherwise, pass the info along or discuss in the comments.

Preliminary Analytics

Preliminary Analytics | 12.04.09

Caleb Newquist
December 4, 2009

• Be fair to Bernanke – Steve Rattner, former car czar, makes the case for the Beard. [WP]
• New Jersey Losing $22,000-a-Day With Swap for Bonds Never Sold – The Garden State owes the Bank of Montreal $23.5 million: “The sum, about the same as the salaries for 113 teachers over three years, will allow it to avoid a $50 million penalty for canceling the contract, which was tied to planned sales of school-construction bonds.” [Bloomberg]
• Chávez Spurs Bank Fears – The next big mess? ‘It’s going to blow…It’s just a matter of time.’ [WSJ]
• Petters Plans Appeal of $3.5B Fraud Conviction – “Efforts to recover money to compensate victims will likely net only pennies on the dollar, and prosecutors have not ruled out new charges against others.” [AP via NYT]
• The PCAOB Wants an Increase in Its Allowance – JDA, always wanting to be helpful, has some suggestions for the PCAOB. [JDA]

Review Comments

Review Comments | 12.03.09

Caleb Newquist
December 4, 2009

• JDA rolls in with >75 tomorrow so if you’ve got any questions on the CPA Exam, send them to our tips mailbox.
• International Accounting Standards Board has “disgraced itself,” says critic – Can you say that about a knight? [CFOZone]
• Its Future in Limbo, the PCAOB Asks for More Money – Gotta pay those board members. [CFO]
• Hairy Issues: Are You Flaunting Your Heavage? – The Journal does it again. [DB]
• Judge ends Enron shareholder lawsuit against banks – Eight years after the E went down, investors have recovered approximately 30 cents on the dollar. [Reuters]
• Tax Court Allows Nurse to Deduct Cost of University of Phoenix MBA – ‘An MBA degree is different from a degree that serves as foundational qualification to attain a professional license. For instance, this Court had denied deductions for law school expenses, because a law degree qualifies a taxpayer for the new trade or business of being a lawyer.’ [TaxProf Blog]

On Campus

PwC Doesn’t Want Anyone That Isn’t Special

Caleb Newquist
December 4, 2009

Denny keeps it pretty vague but we’re guessing he’s not talking about serving as captain of the Delta Chi beer pong team. If you’ve got other ideas on “special,” discuss in the comments.

[WSJ via FINS]

Deloitte

Deloitte Gets into the Ribbon-Cutting

Caleb Newquist
December 4, 2009

More giant scissor danger today as Deloitte had its own ribbon-cutting in Arlington, VA to open their new Federal headquarters. According to the firm’s press release will serve as the “hub for Deloitte’s Federal Government Services.”
The firm’s press release explains how this year’s BearingPoint acquisition provided Big D with many plunders:

“The opening of our new Federal headquarters today is the final milestone in the integration of Deloitte and BearingPoint,” said Robin Lineberger, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and leader of Deloitte Federal Government Services. “Deloitte was already a leader in the Federal marketplace, and the acquisition marked an aggressive expansion into the U.S. federal space, gave us increased market share, strengthened our global position and altered the entire competitive landscape. With the integration of the teams now complete, we’re thrilled to continue serving our clients in the important work they do.”

Still feels like Deloitte might be dancing on the BP grave a little bit but maybe that’s just us.
Anyhoo, now that Deloitte is well positioned to ~~get some lobbying done~~ better serve its Fed clients, all the blue collar efforts can focus on The U.
Deloitte Opens New Federal Headquarters In Arlington [Press Release]

Uncategorized

BDO Announces Global Revenues, Reminds Everyone of the Entity Structure

Caleb Newquist
December 4, 2009

BDO ~~International~~ Global Coordination B.V. announced their global revenue results today of just a smidge over $5 billion. This represents a drop of 4.5% compared to the firm’s prior fiscal year end of September 30.

Newman:

“Our revenues have been affected by difficult market conditions – particularly in the economies of our largest member firms – and the significant reduction in transaction-based activity. Our results have also been affected by currency movements and, in particular, the weakening of many currencies against the US dollar and the euro. We are therefore extremely pleased that overall revenues in euro have grown and that there is only a modest reduction in overall fees when expressed in US dollars,” said Jeremy Newman, CEO of BDO International. “It is particularly pleasing that at a time when many other accounting networks are showing a decline in fee income that our underlying revenues, excluding the effect of currency movements, have increased by almost 5 percent.”

A little less spin from J. New than other Global Chiefs but still the standard optimism. We can’t wait for his blog post. Hopefully he gets more candid but we’re not holding our breath.
On more of a liability note, we were especially impressed with the firm’s “about” section:

BDO International is a world wide network of public accounting firms, called BDO Member Firms. Each BDO Member Firm is an independent legal entity in its own country. The network is coordinated by BDO Global Coordination B.V., incorporated in The Netherlands with its statutory seat in Eindhoven (trade register registration number 33205251) and with an office at Boulevard de la Woluwe 60, 1200 Brussels, Belgium, where the International Executive Office is located. BDO is the brand name for the BDO International network and for each of the BDO Member Firms. The combined fee income of all the BDO Member Firms was $5.03 billion in 2009. The global network has 1,138 offices in 110 countries and more than 46,000 people provide advisory services throughout the world.

Of the six sentences in this paragraph, four seem to be meant to remind everyone that the U.S. firm is on the hook for the $521 million owed to Banco Espirito. Any chance the non-U.S. firms are passing around a basket to help the good old US of A? Anybody? Maybe they’ll think about it? It’s the holidays for crissakes.
Anyhoo, we’re just waiting on KPMG for last major firm to give us the BIG NEWS about their 2009. Maybe it drops tomorrow during the bear manufacturing? Stay tuned.
BDO International Network Announces Revenue Results for 2009 [Press Release]
Earlier GC Coverage of Firm Revenue Results:
The Grant Thornton ‘Global Six’ Campaign Has Hit a Snag
PwC Global Revenue Was Down or Flat, Your Choice
E&Y Revenue Results: ‘Flat revenues certainly don’t tell the whole story’
Deloitte Is Super Proud of Their Presence on Linked In

KPMG

Are You Ready to Build Some Bears KPMG?

Caleb Newquist
December 4, 2009

“Tim, you really shouldn’t have. Seriously. I’m a King, for crying out loud.”

In case you’ve forgotten, KPMG’s bear-building extravaganza is tomorrow and word around the campfire is that everyone is psyched.

At least one office is dedicating the better part of the morning to the “Town Hall” portion of festivities which sounds like it could be a real hoot. We’re guessing there might be a little session regarding stationery controls, given the whole Canopy sitch.

Since all the offices are having their get-downs tomorrow keep us updated throughout the day on anything interesting that comes up.

Audit

UK Regulators: Let’s Try and Quantify Audit Quality

Caleb Newquist
December 3, 2009

Our friends across the pond have put it out there that as it stands, an audit report is an audit report is an audit report. Regardless of the firm doing the work, the end product is the same and the Professional Oversight Board (POB) wants audit firms to produce, “more quantitative data to better equip investors and companies with the tools needed to scrutinise their auditors.”

It’s long been popular to call an auditor’s product a “commodity” and this appears to be the Brits’ attempt to dispel that notion. The talk of asking auditors to somehow quantify quality has already garnered support in the investing community in the UK:

Michael McKersie, assistant director capital markets at the [Association of British Insurers], said he would welcome more comparative information. “The relative lack of hard quantitative reporting data on the audit firms and global networks has been… a concern. Comparability is really important and we have, in the past, seen no n-comparability [sic] here as a problem.”

Fine idea, although there’s not a single indication of how the quality could be measured and the director of auditing at the POB even admits that ‘The challenge is how can auditors demonstrate quality and those that use their services assess it.’
This whole idea of “comparability” came up because of a POB inspection of showed, “some firms were rewarding staff for attracting business at the expense of promoting audit quality.” So the answer to this problem — from the POB’s point of view — is to slap together a “rate this audit from 1 to 10” system and the firm with the highest score has the best audits?
Audit firms will always claim that their work is of the highest quality regardless of the circumstances but now regulators want them to put that in some quantifiable form. And because we like to keep the pace with our friends in the UK, it probably won’t be long before an ambitious bureaucrat Stateside (e.g. new PCAOB Chairman) will insist on a similar approach.
If there’s any wonky auditors out there that have some ideas how this could be done, we’re all ears but for now we’re firmly in the skeptical camp.
Clients blind on audit quality [Accountancy Age]
Also see: You mean the Big 4 aren’t transparent? [Tax Research UK/Richard Murphy]

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