If this doesn’t convince you accountants are important, nothing will:
I noticed this article during a visit back to my hometown of Green Bay. Now this is something I think we all can aspire to. The Packer franchise has such a deep history, and especially interesting as the Packers are the only publicly-owned professional football franchise in the NFL (and maybe the only sports franchise in the US) where you can purchase shares of its stock. Go Pack.
Enjoy:
“Green Bay Packers likely owe existence to treasurer Frank Jonet”
Even casual students of Green Bay Packers history might recognize the names of the local businessmen who played the key roles in keeping the franchise afloat through its economically turbulent first 30 years.
There’s the legendary Curly Lambeau, whose statue sits in front of the Lambeau Field Atrium, and the rest of the “Hungry Five” who made sure the team stayed solvent in its most dire days: Andrew Turnbull, the former Green Bay Press-Gazette publisher and first team president; Lee Joannes, a local grocery wholesaler and team president from 1930-47; Dr. W.W. Kelly, another original franchise officer who doubled as the team’s first physician; and Gerald Clifford, the Packers’ long-time attorney who in 1923 drew up the papers for their one-of-a-kind incorporation.
And what’s early Packers history without mention of George Calhoun, the irascible Press-Gazette sports editor who relentlessly promoted the team after a chance meeting with Lambeau on a Green Bay street corner in 1919 spurred the idea for a local professional football club?
But even experts on the Packers’ early years might not have heard of Frank Jonet, the taciturn, civic-minded accountant who helped steer the franchise through bankruptcy receivership in the mid-1930s and played a key role in the desperate stock sales of 1935 and 1950 that kept the franchise alive.
“I find it strange that (Jonet) wasn’t better known, particularly because he was the financial receiver of the franchise at a time when this team was very, very close to going out of business,” said Bob Harlan, the Packers’ chairman emeritus, who will present Jonet into the team’s hall of fame on Saturday. “The Circuit Court really threatened him, either pay these bills or close up your shop. He was one of the leaders who saw to it that this team continued to exist.”
The entire thing is too long to read even for me and that’s my team but you’re welcome to.
The short version is that the team suffered through multiple financial crises and survived somehow.
“Wally” Bock isn’t sure what you want from him, MSNBC, New York Post, Daily News et al. He’s trying to run a half billion dollar fortune of a lady who doesn’t want to leave the friendly confines of Beth Israel Hospital.
He can’t be bothered with trivial matters like whether Irving Kamsler pleaded guilty to sending porn to adolescent girls. And besides! It wasn’t even his call.
In his statement to appease the haters, Bock wrote, “I was never in any position to fire Mr. Kamsler; that decision was Ms. Clark’s alone. I did insist that he disclose his conviction to Ms. Clark, which I understood he did.”
How about that for an awkward conversation? It’s not like going door to door in North Hollywood telling everyone you’re a pederast but explaining to a 100+ woman that you sent porn to some teenage girls might make for a few uncomfortable silences. But Bock claims Clark was cool with it, so you best not get all judgey about it.
EU Crafts $962 Billion Show of Force to Halt Euro Crisis [Bloomberg]
With the Euro under pressure, the European Central Bank has hatched a plan to “offer financial assistance worth as much as 750 billion euros ($962 billion) to countries under attack from speculators.” EU countries are chipping in 440 billion in loans, the EU’s budget throws in 60 billion, and 250 billion from the International Monetary Fund.
The funds will be available to those countries that experience a financial crisis similar to Greece. Portugal and Spain have debt to GDP ratios of 8.5% and 9.8% respectively, exceeding the EU’s mandated limit of 3%. package approved last week, receiving 110 billion euros “after agreeing to unprecedented austerity measures,” triggering riots in the country.
Dubai Holding Hires Debt Advisers [WSJ]
Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group, a part of Dubai Holding (not to be confused with fellow Dubai conglomerate Dubai World) has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to help them with a teenie debt restructuring project. DH’s debt issues come about after Dubai World is still working to restructure the $14 billion in outstanding debt that it has with its creditors after a slight panic late last year.
UPDATE: KPMG and Deloitte are getting in on the fun as well, as the Financial Times reports that they have been engaged to advise Dubai Group and Dubai International Capital, respectively.
You Complete My Audit [CFO]
Had your auditor for awhile? If you want to crack the top 100 of longest auditor-client relationship, you’d have to be putting up with the same firm for over 50 years. According to the CFO’s analysis of Audit Analytics data, the longest auditor-client relationship belongs to Deloitte and Proctor & Gamble who have been together since 1890. PricewaterhouseCoopers’ longest relationship is with Goodyear Tire & Rubber, starting in 1898; Ernst & Young with Manulife Financial, 1905; KPMG and General Electric go back to 1909.
Of the 100 companies that have stuck with their auditors the longest, 97 of those companies were with Big 4 firms:
• PricewaterhouseCoopers – 34
• E&Y – 25
• Deloitte – 24
• KPMG – 14
Straight Talk about Brutality of White Collar Crime from a Convicted Felon [White Collar Fraud]
GC friend and forensic sleuth Sam Antar recently had some a two part interview produced that from his recent speaking presentations at Stanford Law and Business Schools. Part one is below and you can see part two over at WCF.