Going Concern

The CPA Exam: It’s Too Late Now

Adrienne Gonzalez
October 9, 2009

It’s October which means CPA exam candidates have about 7 weeks left to sneak in one more exam part before the end of the year. If you’re like most candidates, you blew off this entire year with excuses or got disappointed by failing scores early in the year and haven’t given the exam much thought since. Well you better start because you’ve got about 1,248 hours until the final window of the year is closed.
Sometimes procrastination pays off but in this instance, the exam will never get easier and you’ll never get through it if you keep putting it off.
Continued, after the jump

Typical prep time for the sections is as follows*:
BEC – 64 hours
AUD – 80 hours
REG – 96 hours
FAR – 132 hours
With 1,248 hours remaining until the December blackout, you should easily be able to fit in FAR, right? Wrong. If you’re working fulltime, lets just take out 50 hours a week, leaving you with 898 hours. But you’ve got to sleep, right? So if you get 6 hours a night, that leaves 580 hours. Well hell, you could prepare for two sections in that time, couldn’t you?
Not so much. Do you think you’re the only one who waited until the last minute?
The lesson for next year? Schedule early. Chances are if you’re trying to fit in one more section before the end of the year, you will not be able to sit at the Prometric test center of your choice, or may not be able to get the time/date that you desire. Well, that sucks for you, so hopefully you remember that for next time.
If you don’t start studying now, you’ve probably blown it for the year and should just wait for the first window of 2010. Remember the CPA exam isn’t like college, you can’t just stay over-caffeinated for a weekend and cram everything in that you need. Think of the information like a fine wine, it’s got to ferment in your brain to be useful come test day. Your brain learns best in layers anyway and without the foundation, you’re going to get tricked by the easiest MCQ simply because you don’t have the background on each concept.
Otherwise it will be November before you know it and you won’t have cracked a single CPA Review book between now and then. Trust me on this one, kids, start early and start slow. I’m trying to help you.
*Time based on video lectures and AICPA recommendation of 2 – 3 hours of self-study MCQ/sims for every hour of lecture but we’re sure you’re all Einsteins when it comes to this stuff so it’s probably less.

Career Center

Job of the Week: Lions Club International May Even Let the Gents Grow Out Their Manes

Caleb Newquist
October 9, 2009

hire me2.jpg The lion. King of the jungle. They’ve even got a club. Sorry, there’s no liger club. We checked.
Lions club needs an accountant. A CPA even. This could be you.
Details after the jump.

Company: Lions Club International
Location: Chicago
Description: This position provides overall accounting and financial support to our Foundation.
Responsibilities: Compiling and analyzing financial information; account reconciliations, report generation and the preparation of financial presentations for upper management; preparation of budgets and forecasts, preparation of supporting schedules for annual reports, Form 990 and related state tax filings. Supervises one staff member. Ideal candidate will have experience in general accounting with tax exposure.
Skills Required: Bachelor’s degree; 3+ years accounting experience (public accounting experience preferred); CPA preferred
See the full description at the GC Career Center and a gig with a non-profit organization named after an animal doesn’t get you excited, go to the main page and find your next temporary dream job.

Uncategorized

CPAs Rank #6 for Best Jobs in America

Caleb Newquist
October 9, 2009

Don’t have enough corporate magazine lists in your life? Didn’t think so. CNN/Money’s Best Jobs in America dropped this morning and lo and behold, CPAs come in at #6.
Seem high? Maybe. CPAs did only receive grades of ‘C’ on “Benefits to Society” (you don’t keep people from dying) and “Low Stress” (‘C’ seems generous).
Also, CPAs only rank in the top ten in “Flexibility” but still managed to sneak into the top ten overall.
Continued, after the jump

Dubious, right? Money still makes their case:

Businesses began stocking the payroll with CPAs after major accounting scandals earlier this decade, and a host of new corporate accounting rules going into effect soon should ratchet up demand further.
Government agencies are also hiring CPAs, to monitor how well companies are complying with the new regs. Add inevitable changes to personal income tax rules and you have a pretty recession-proof profession.
“Unless Congress does away with taxes, we’ll always have work,” says CPA Lisa Featherngill of Winston-Salem, N.C. Some 33,000 independent CPAs also work for themselves, typically as tax preparers.

Debunk:
1. Scandals early in the decade? What about present scandals? Lotta good hiring all those CPAs did.
2. Remind us which agencies are doing a bang up job keeping companies in line with regulations?
3. Oh, and regardless of the certainty of taxes, this happens.
Maybe we’re overreacting. Perhaps they’re pointing out that if you’ve got a CPA, that gives you options (get crackin’ non-CPAs). Regardless of what Grant Thornton’s latest survey says.
So, if you’re a CPA and you’re happy, clap your hands. And discuss the list and why (or why not) being a CPA kicks so much ass.
Best Jobs in America [CNN/Money]

Announcements

GC October Survey

Caleb Newquist
October 9, 2009

All right people, it’s gotten to the point where we need to know some things about you. TPTB kindly ask that you take a short, perfectly harmless survey.
Your participation is strongly encouraged because 1) you get to tell us how you really feel and B) we asked Chuck for a favor and he’s agreed to track down those of you that don’t play ball.
Personally, unless you’re Natalie Gulbis, we’re not interested but we don’t call the shots around here. Oh, and if you participate, you have a chance to win $100 AMEX gift certificate, which sure beats the hell out of a sharp stick in the eye.
We appreciate your participation.

Mary Schapiro Would Never Support Low Quality Global Accounting Standards

Caleb Newquist
October 9, 2009

Whether Mary Schapiro was just craving Toblerones right out of the factory or just needed to cool off after head butting the staff involved in the Mark Cuban case to get them fired up, the Chair of the Commission is over in Basel, Switzerland letting some other Schape-types know that she’s 100% behind “a global set of high-quality accounting standards.”
That’s great and all but why do we keep hearing the phrase ‘high-quality accounting standards’? Maybe it’s our wild imagination but is there a back room somewhere filled with bizarro accountants devising a plan to develop “the biggest set of piss-poor global accounting standards you could possibly imagine”?
Is that why the convergence will take so long because there are opposing forces with their own agenda? We all want quality accounting standards M. Schape unless you’re not telling us the whole story.
SEC seeks common goal for accounts [FT]

Preliminary Analytics

Preliminary Analytics | 10.09.09

Caleb Newquist
October 9, 2009

• GM Expected to Seal Hummer Sale – $150 mil. Totally worth it. [WSJ]
• Bernanke Ready to Tighten When Recovery Sufficient – Don’t rush the man, you impatient twerps. [Bloomberg]
• FDIC questions Citi management review: report – ‘Cause, you know, they almost destroyed the WHOLE WORLD. [Reuters]
• 34 Banks Miss TARP Dividends and Almost No One Notices – AIG, CIT, and Bancorp are the top three slackers. Thanks guys. [Naked Capitalism]
• In Surprise, Nobel Peace Prize to Obama for Diplomacy – Glenn Beck’s hysterical dismissal of the legitimacy of the award in 3…2…1… [NYT]

Review Comments

Review Comments | 10.08.09

Caleb Newquist
October 9, 2009

• LandAmerica: The final days appeared like a Ponzi scheme – Adrienne’s opus on LandAmerica’s shiesty last days. [The Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter]
• Ethics Committee Expands Rangel Investigation – You might have a rent-controlled apartment if it wasn’t for this guy hoarding them all. [NYT]
• Obama Has Lunch With Bezos, Business Leaders – C’mon Bam, no JT? [WSJ]
• IFRS Returns to the Front Burner – Tweedie says they’re working hard, working weekends and ordering in to get this done. [CFO]

Big 4

KPMG’s Report on the Atlantic Yards Project Didn’t Impress Some People

Caleb Newquist
October 9, 2009

We might be going out on a limb here but it seems like a lot of studies that the large accounting firms put out don’t get much attention. There might be a press release and a mention here and there but otherwise not too much excitement.

That being said, KPMG must be thrilled that the Atlantic Yards Report is taking such exception with thlantic Yards Project:

KPMG’s Atlantic Yards market study, conducted on request of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), backs up the assertion that Atlantic Yards might be completed in the announced ten years, rather than, as then-ESDC CEO Marisa Lago said in April, “decades.”

Well, not only are projections about condo values questionable, as I wrote earlier today, but KPMG’s report has some very shoddy research. Consider that the report (dated August 31) claims that Richard Meier’s On Prospect Park is 75% sold. (Only rental buildings are pre-leased.)

However, the New York Times reported September 27:

While the developers say half of the building’s 99 units have been sold, the real estate Web site StreetEasy.com documents only 25 closings through public records.

KPMG claims that the Oro Condos are also 75% sold. But just this week Crain’s reported that prices at Oro had been slashed 25%.

If you’re not familiar with the Atlantic Yards Project, you’re lucky. Let’s put it this way, it’s a $5 billion project that involves moving the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn courtesy of Nets owner Bruce Ratner and sixteen new high-rise buildings and will be finished long after we get global accounting convergence.

So yeah, a developer’s paradise. Problem is that all the hype has transformed into a giant argument that pretty much involves everyone. As NoLandGrab points out, “if the Atlantic Yards project is so great, why does everyone pushing the project forward, and every alleged ‘study’ extolling its virtues, have to stray so far from the truth to make it appear viable?”

~~The obvious benefit we foresee is that the project may get rid of the worst Target on Earth but we may lack vision.~~

As for the Radio Station, they probably had the best of intentions when preparing their report but now, for better or worse, KPMG, who has yet to respond to our request for comment, is near the center of the rage. Enjoy.

What was KPMG smoking? Report claims 75% of Meier’s On Prospect Park has been sold; other statistics are way off [Atlantic Yards Project via NoLandGrab]
KPMG Atlantic Yards Market Study.pdf

UPDATE – July 13, 2010: Hey gang – a bit of belated correction/clarification here. Norman Oder, who writes the Atlantic Yards Report got in touch with us about our little quip about Target. He wrote to us “I know you’re trying to be entertaining, but that’s not close to true. The Target is across the road from the project site.”

So I guess our wishing out loud for the big Brooklyn bullseye to be destroyed won’t be happening (it’s not part of the plans at least) but we stand by our assertion that the Target is a hellhole and needs to be destroyed.

Uncategorized

Grant Thornton’s Latest Survey Reminds Everyone That Your Chances of Getting Another Job Are Still Pretty Slim

Caleb Newquist
October 9, 2009

Grant Thornton’s national survey of financial executives shows that only 1 in 4 plan to increase hiring in the next six months. That’s not great news but what’s perplexing is that the ~~meaningless~~ highly regarded Grant Thornton LLP Business Optimism Index basically told us the same thing less than a month ago.
Does GT really have to repeat the obvious message that no one wants to hear? We get it. No one can leave their job that they hate for another job that they’ll hate less right now because no one is feeling spendy on new employees.
Oh but GT isn’t purely a purveyor of bad news. Only 10% of the financial bigshots surveyed expect things to get worse. Which is a relief but not particularly interesting since the Business Optimism Index pretty much said the same thing.
It appears that GT is hellbent on reminding everyone that while things certainly can’t get any worse, they’ll probably remain craptacular for the foreseeable future. Keep up the solid work GT, we’re looking forward to next month’s reminder.
National survey of senior financial executives finds only 1 in 4 plan to increase hiring in next 6 months [Press Release]

Uncategorized

Open Thread: Accounting Firm Outsourcing

Caleb Newquist
October 9, 2009

Since it’s been nearly a year since the Presidential election, the political football of outsourcing of jobs has all but been put away. It does remain a popular topic amongst accounting firms however as more and more works is sent offshore.
Now that the programs have been in place for awhile, the pressure to utilize the staff on the other side of the world seems to be increasing. This may free you up for more fantasy football or Perez Hilton but something tells us that’s not exactly what TPTB have in mind.
Plus there’s the whole time change thing. Maybe that’s NBD but staying up until 10 pm for a 30 minute meeting to coincide with your global counterparts doesn’t really strike as a party.
We’ve reached out to the Big 4 on this and we’ll update you with any responses we receive in a separate post.
For now we want your input and experiences. Is outsourcing working for your team? Does it even affect your team? Are the firms really concerned about new associates “doing more challenging tasks” or is this purely a cost saver? What do you make of the process on the other side of the blue marble? Are they being utilized effectively or are you dealing with impossible logistics? Okay that’s enough questions. Discuss.

Big 4

Comp Watch ’10: Is PwC Phoning It in Already?

Caleb Newquist
October 8, 2009

Yeesh, we hope not. Problem is, when we reported on P. Dubs canceling Christmaskah last week, people were speculating that P. Dubs was also kinda sorta putting it out there that there would be no merit increases for fiscal 2010. We’ve received additional tips suggesting the same thing so we’ll put out to you to discuss further.
After Tuesday’s spintastic revenue results, Denny and Co. may have concluded that putting it out there that you shouldn’t get your hopes up for a super P. Dubya comeback was the best course of action.
Problem as we see it is that alluding to the idea that raises aren’t gonna happen can’t be good for morale. Plus, there are the continuing rumors of senior managers leaving en masse, via their own will or otherwise. On the bright side, that could set up for a nice little surprise come next year if things turn around and Den-Den sounded pret-tay, pret-tay, pret-tay optimistic in Tuesday’s press release.
Discuss your thoughts on P. Dubs seemingly pessimistic attitude in the comments.

Deadline Watch: October 15th

Caleb Newquist
October 8, 2009

One week until all is right with the entire world, tax preparers. Oh sure, maybe since partnership returns are now due on September 15th, the October deadline doesn’t have the same urgency as in years past but at the very least, it marks the official end to another tax season.
There are still plenty of you that are still slogging through 1040s though, so hang in there. If you’ve got any last minute meltdowns or clients that are giving you serious heartburn, let us know or discuss in the comments.
The rest of you, commence schadenfreude. Unless you like the week leading up to a deadline. Sickos.

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Remote Tax Manager

Senior Accountant / Client Account Manager (CAS & Tax)