Jim Peterson has subjected himself to not one but two viewings of the PCAOB's December 4 meeting, so that alone makes him a hero because ain't nobody got time for that.
But on his second viewing, the delirium kicked in and he started counting how many times the PCAOB thanked the PCAOB for the PCAOB's work. We aren't entirely sure why he did this, but the result is hilarious:
On the PCAOB’s pervasive “thank-you” process, here’s a summary from my simple if tedious exercise in data gathering through the broadcast:
Including duplications, the five PCAOB members themselves thanked their staff by functional groups a total of thirteen times, and specifically recognized 16 of that staff by name – along with three individual staff members of the Securities and Exchange Commission and eight appreciations to various configurations of that agency’s personnel.
Chairman James Doty led the fulsome way, laying on hands of thanks upon all his fellow members as a group and giving an individual shout-out to member Lewis Ferguson.
At the other end of the spectrum, by contrast — perhaps feeling unusually peckish that morning, or still suffering post-Thanksgiving dyspepsia, or just annoyed at it all — member Jeanette Franzel managed only a single cursory and generic wave.
Meanwhile, on the staff side, hierarchy seemed to reign. A total of eight functional subordinates received individual expressions of thanks; fourteen were administered more or less laterally to those in other functions, and again, the SEC and its staff were recognized twice.
Total: 64 different mentions – all in only a two-hour meeting.
If I get around to it, maybe I'll make a dubstep remix of PCAOB thank yous one of these days. If anyone wants to beat me to it, I'd be forever grateful.