When accounting goes unaccounted for
With 14 days to go until the release of the most anticipated game of this decade, PwC has pushed out a bit of thought leadership-slash-economic analysis titled "Vice City, everywhere:…
Last Friday, 42-year-old Ian Brinksman was picked up by the feds for allegedly passing top secret national defense information to another individual. Though that individual wasn't named by any reports,…
Oh no, hackers have swiped oodles of slides! PwC has confirmed that a third-party vendor it uses for employee records has been breached after a "cyber extortion group" said they…
Wow, Big 4 are really rushing out revenue numbers this year aren't they? First we got Deloitte in late September, EY two weeks later, and now PwC has just dropped…
...such as "support whistleblowers" and "punish people who do stuff that will give Australian Financial Review an easy 9 months of negative headlines." So KPMG Australia is still in its…
The PCAOB announced yesterday that they've put together five new units underneath the enforcement umbrella, each with their own specialized expertise. In the PCAOB's words, those units are: Strategic Risk…
Hey. Got some news for you so you have something that isn't politics to talk about at the water cooler. In this news briefPwC Will Certify ThinkersThat's a Big Number"People…
Footnotes is a collection of stories from around the accounting profession curated by actual humans and published every Friday at 5pm Eastern. While you're here, subscribe to our newsletter to…
With 14 days to go until the release of the most anticipated game of this decade, PwC has pushed out a bit of thought leadership-slash-economic analysis titled "Vice City, everywhere:…
Well we knew this would happen eventually. An article published today in Accountants Daily is all about how small firms over in Australia are struggling to hire talent. Now, if…
The Journal of Accountancy has published an interesting article about comments made by the director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility at the AICPA National Tax Conference yesterday, an…
Last month a pitch arrived in our editor inbox, the title of which was "Going Concern, meet the startup helping accounting firms turn old Slacks and emails into free money."…
Oh no, hackers have swiped oodles of slides! PwC has confirmed that a third-party vendor it uses for employee records has been breached after a "cyber extortion group" said they…
Did you catch Bill Gates' recent chat with Ezra Klein? I didn't, thankfully my washed colleague regularly reads NYT and sent it to me via Slack. Many people are stuck…
Rather than dropping a strongly worded letter on the topic of the IRS's position on AI in tax practice and dropping the topic there to focus on other pressing matters,…
The Journal of Accountancy has published an interesting article about comments made by the director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility at the AICPA National Tax Conference yesterday, an…
Last month a pitch arrived in our editor inbox, the title of which was "Going Concern, meet the startup helping accounting firms turn old Slacks and emails into free money."…
Cash flow, automation, fraud protection. Your firm can deliver all three. Finance leaders would like some help with the accounting. Not a little help, either. BILL asked 354 finance decision-makers…
Spend and expense management is one of the most in-demand CAS services—and one of the most underutilized. There’s still plenty of room to get into the game. Clients are drowning…
That's the headline from INSIDE Public Accounting based on the results of their 2026 Practice Management Report: The report draws on survey responses from 605 North American accounting firms, spanning…
White-collar jobs bounced back in October.
Professional and business services, which includes law, consulting and scientific research, added 70,000 jobs last month, per the October jobs report. That’s well above the sector’s average of 15,000 a month over the past year.
Via @Reuters: Investors settle with KPMG over Silicon Valley Bank collapse
Factory farm accountants sounds terrible tbh
Recruiting firm Brewer Morris has released its 2025 US CPA salary guide and should you want to read the whole thing you can request it from them here. Perhaps you,…
Saw this on the bird app yesterday and thought its message would be worth passing along what with 20 days remaining until April 15 and nerves as strained as ever…
Ed. note: An earlier version of this article's headline stated the sheriff is investigating. The Alexander County Sheriff's Office informed us they are not investigating, only fielding calls from the…
Boston Business Journal wrote an article about Deloitte's new office in Boston and for some reason they chose to lead with this: You won’t find trash cans at the desks…
We realize the decision to run maintenance on IRS systems likely isn't made by anyone who understands deadlines but surely someone who does could inform the IT department of these…
Cash flow, automation, fraud protection. Your firm can deliver all three. Finance leaders would like some help with the accounting. Not a little help, either. BILL asked 354 finance decision-makers…
Spend and expense management is one of the most in-demand CAS services—and one of the most underutilized. There’s still plenty of room to get into the game. Clients are drowning…
Looking to staff up for a season or hire a freelancer for a project? Accountingfly is ready to partner with you! Gain full access to a pool of highly skilled…
Every accounting firm struggles with project management, with smaller practices that are rapidly expanding taking the brunt of the damage. As your firm adds new clients, takes on more work,…
This is the final call for your firm’s schwag. The following submission is especially nice because someone at Ernst & Young was cool with a less than perfect item.
See this high-quality piece, after the jump
Quality in Everything We Do – Damn straight.
Commenter Guest @ 2:39 brought to our attention that the Radio Station is cutting performance ratings circa now. This is a little more salt in the wound after pay freezes were announced slowly leaked. If you’ve had your performance review recently and you got blindsided by a cut rating let us know. Email your tips to tips@goingconcern.com
Did you ever dream of being inducted into any form of a hall of fame. Baseball? Rock ‘n Roll? Calculus? Did you think all hope was lost for this particular career goal when you decided to become a pointy-headed number cruncher?
Well, we’ve got great news for you. The Financial Executive International Hall of Fame was established four years ago (how did we miss that?) and just announced this year’s recipients. Now you too can fulfill those dreams of giving a teary-eyed speech, thanking all the little people you stepped over and around to become the finance and accounting oracle that you are.
This year’s ceremony will induct Donald Nicolaisen, former Chief Accountant at the SEC and Dennis Dammerman, former vice chairman at GE. So what if you’ve never heard of them? They’ve achieved financial professional immortality! You could be next. Oh, and Bob Pisani of CNBC is hosting. Joan Rivers won’t be far behind. Is there a reason that this ceremony isn’t being beamed into every home in America?
Nicolaisen, Dammerman Named to FEI Hall of Fame [FEI Financial Reporting Blog]
A study put out by Big D states that 60% of business executives believe that they have every right to know how you portray yourself and the organization you work for.
And while they’re checking that out, they’ll probably go ahead and sneak a peek at your photos from your friend’s bachelorette party where phallic hats and straws were passed out to anyone who would accept them.
Not surprisingly, the study also states that the majority of 18-34 year old employees want The Man to BTFO of their online social networking. While this demand for privacy may exist, apparently you’re still aware that the power of rumor mill known as the Internet can still take your employer down like Nixon Dick Fuld Arthur Andersen.
While less than 20 percent of the overlords out there actually have Big Brother in place, almost half of employees say that they will still flagrantly update their status as “I hate Mondays” or “The weather is way too nice to be working!”
Deloitte’s 2009 Ethics & Workplace Survey Examines the Reputational Risk Implications of Social Networks [Deloitte Press Release]
The IRS is saying that wealthy taxpayers are rethinking their sinful offshore banking ways in expectation of a tax evasion rapture.
Last week the Service had 400 applicants for its temporary voluntary disclosure program which is four times the amount they had in all of last year suggesting that some taxpayers are seeing the light.
The IRS evangelism has come about mostly because of their pursuit of the 52,000 secret names held by UBS. While this battle for souls is still continuing, the IRS figured they’d make a run at converting other, non-UBS, sinners.
Seek thy truth, after the jump
Some taxpayers are remaining non-believers however, thanks to their agnostic attorneys:
Yet attorneys say that those who come forward now risk supplying the IRS with more financial information than the agency may have otherwise been able to collect. “These taxpayers reasonably fear that applying to the program could supply the agency with a roadmap it would not otherwise have,” said Barbara Kaplan of Greenberg Traurig in New York, who handles voluntary-disclosure cases. “They worry that they could wind up both rejected for clemency and helping the IRS case against them.”
Ultimately, all taxpayers will have to take their own path but if they find themselves cast into the darkness, they won’t be able to say that the truth wasn’t presented to them.
Tax Evaders Flock to IRS to Confess Their Sins [WSJ]
So you’re an attorney for Goldman Sachs, married, three kids, live in WestchesterManhattan, life is pretty mundane. You’re probably getting a nice bonus this year, why not have a little fun?
So you “accidentally” stumble into a chat room. You start chatting innocently, with a fifteen year old girl, no big deal, just talking. You might make mention of a certain Jonas brother or whatever 15 year old girls are into. Then you start getting brave and might start asking about her VS Pink undies. Then you’re really feeling comfortable and start talking posish.
WHAM. Next thing you know, cops at the door, yelling, “you like VS Pink you pervert?!? You planning on doing a little wheelbarrow and switching it into a reverse cowgirl? Nice try SICKO!”
Then after six months in Chino Riker’s you’re walking door to door telling everyone you’re a pederast how you really like VS Pink undies.
UPDATE 1:47 PM: After further review, looks like the perv is a Manhattan resident and travelled to Westchester to seal the deal. Our bad. Anyway, turns out the guy was really just looking out for his fellow GS employees.
DA: Goldman Sachs lawyer Todd Genger caught soliciting ’15-year-old’ [NYDN]
• Moore’s ‘Capitalism: a Love Story’ to Debut in Venice – We thought it might debut at 85 Broad but whatevs. [Bloomberg]
• In downturn, robots laid off – Statistics also show that robot suicides and chemical dependency is up. [Miami Herald]
• Madoff gives feeder fund managers’ names to lawyer – Something about spending 150 years in prison makes a man want to talk. [Reuters]
• Cablevision to spin off Madison Square assets: report – In other news, Penn Station will remain a toilet. [Reuters]
• Air Canada Gets Bailout From Ottawa – “Air Canada has secured a 1 billion Canadian dollar ($922 million) lifeline with help from the federal government, giving the carrier a crucial infusion of cash to help it survive the recession and avoid another trip through bankruptcy protection, The Globe and Mail reported.” It’s the North American way. [DealBook]
Sometimes when two married people decide to get down to some adulterous activity, bad things can happen. Divorce, confused kids, awkward dinner parties. Most people probably don’t count on getting involved with serious insider trading allegations.
Steamy details after the jump
Eventually the two settled into a comfortable day-to-day routine in their respective offices in New York and Philadelphia, staring at the same Yahoo Finance screen. Mr. Gansman led Ms. Murdoch in a guessing game about which deals he was working on, she said.
Lady Hard Up For Cash Whores Self Out For Hot Tips, Help With Subprime Mortgage [DB]
• Trustee Sues Ruth Madoff for More Than $44 Million – You knew it was coming Ruth. Forget living in Manhattan. [WSJ]
• Fed Says Most Districts Report Slower Pace Decline – TRANSLATION: Things suck less than previously [Bloomberg]
• No More Bank Deals for Wilbur Ross? – WTG SheBair [DealBook]
• Obama expects GM, Chrysler to repay loans – Don’t hold your breath BO [Reuters]
• FASB Chief to speak on fair value – SNOOZE [Accountancy Age]
• Lights Go Out in New Delhi as Billionaire Ambani Brothers Feud – Two feuding billionaires, living with their Mom. The house is probably large enough to house every Indian citizen but still…AWESOME. [Bloomberg]
Now that American consumers have maxed out their credit cards, they’re trying to pay for everything in cash or using their debit cards. Noble attempt but if they buy something when their account is zero, the dreaded overdrafts fees are bleeding them out. IT’S NOT FAIR!
It’s becoming apparent that banks will be vilified for anything that results in revenue. And who comes to the rescue when banks are wronging the American people? Congress, obv.
That’s right, thank God we’ve got lawmakers working for the people because right now the banks are “walking across the battlefield and shooting the wounded”, which, we have to admit, is a pretty awesome analogy.
Yes, banks are charging fees for too many things that shouldn’t be allowed. Consumers need to be able keep to spending long after their accounts are at zero. How hell else can this economy get rolling again if Americans aren’t spending?
Nevermind that 3,000 banks may collapse if legislation passes that would limit overdraft charges. And forget about setting up automatic transfers from savings, THERE ARE NO SAVINGS. Help us, Congress. PLEASE.
Overdraft Debit Fees Treat Customer to $300 Fast-Food Charge [Bloomberg]
Accounting is still a hot degree according to the latest report from the AICPA. For the 2007-2008 school year, 66,000 bachelor’s and master’s degrees were awarded, a 3.5% increase from the previous school year.
Enrollments were also up, to 213,000 students in undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, a 4.7% increase.
One thought we have is that this trend can’t possibly continue forever. We talked to one campus recruiter for a Big 4 firm and they said that while the trend of graduates and enrollment will eventually slow down, the number of students at on-campus events is not getting smaller. “Lots of finance majors have seen the banking sector implode and rather than become biology majors, they jump into accounting because it’s an easy transition.”
More after the jump
While the need for accountants is obvious, we’re wondering if these students know what they’re getting themselves into. What would be interesting is to know how many of them end up leaving the industry after a few years and do something entirely different (like become a D-list blogger).
What continues to impress us, however, is how the Big 4 and the larger regional firms are able to make accounting so glamorous. The students are drooling at these recruiting events, mostly for beer, but they’re drooling nonetheless. The competition for the top talent is fierce and the firms pull out all the stops to get that talent. It also doesn’t hurt that most campus recruiting professionals are dead sexy but whoever heard of someone taking a job for shallow reasons?
Accounting Degrees Continue Historic Upward Trend, According to AICPA Report [AICPA Press Release]
2009 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits [AICPA.org]
The whole IRS/UBS tango has gotten to the point where we’ll take any kind of resolution.
Like if the IRS decided that it was too much trouble and said, “We don’t need no stinking names”, we’d be thrilled. Or if UBS decided to hand over a truckload of Toblerones in order to bury the hatchet we’d think, “that was our idea” .
But no, the standoff continues, as the parties confirmed Friday’s meeting today to discuss the progress they’ve made in reaching a settlement. Regardless if a settlement is announced on Friday or the stalemate continues and the case starts on Monday the sooner this thing is over, the better.
UBS, IRS to Meet on Friday [WSJ]
