We are extremely cautious about pricing. We recognize the consumer environment is still very fragile. We have had a great success over the past year, and in fact 18 months, in building our customer traffic almost against the odds, again despite what is a very difficult consumer environment still. [BBW]
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It Appears That Albany International Fired Their CFO Because They Felt Like It
Michael Burke need not worry. David Paterson will be unemployed soon enough.
Albany International (NYSE: AIN) announced on Sept. 23 that it terminated CFO Michael Burke without cause. Burke was also senior vice president at the manufacturing company headquartered in Menands, New York.
Albany International’s board of directors tapped John Cozzolino to serve as acting CFO. Cozzolino is a vice president overseeing strategic planning.
The moves are effective immediately. Albany International would not say why Burke was fired.
“There were absolutely no ethical, legal, accounting or personal issues involved,” said Susan Siegel, a company spokeswoman.
Just a board of directors channeling a little bit of Steinbrenner.
Albany Int’l Corp. CFO terminated [The Business Review]
CFO Survey Finds Signs of Life for Accountants in the Bay Area Job Market
In the CFO survey du jour, San Francisco CPA firm Armanino McKenna LLP (“the 37th largest CPA firm in the nation”) says that, as far at the Bay area is concerned, CFOs are looking to hire more accounting staff in the second half of 2010.
More than 40% of those surveyed in the San Fran neck of the woods are planning on it and they aren’t looking for newbies. No, they’re looking for the slightly grizzled, slightly jaded types that are wasting away in their current cube farm. “[T]he most desired new hire is the mid-range accountant, such as an analyst, staff or senior accountant,” sayeth the press release.
As for the rest of the country, things are probably still up in the air but we’ve got to start somewhere.
So if you’re sick of your current city and really want a new job, hoof it out west. If you’re lucky, maybe Adrienne will let you crash at her place. Just try to keep the CPA exam questions to a minimum.
CFOs Predict Increased Accounting Hires in Last Six Months of 2010 [PR Newswire]
Transitioning from Typical Accountant to CFO Superstar
Let’s face it, accountants aren’t often featured as heroes in action flicks nor romantic leads in love stories, and are pretty much ignored by the media unless it involves blame and/or complicated financial rules that are just barely an accounting matter (accountants did not securitize every loan nor did some nefarious squad of beancounters dream up Repo 105) so it’s pretty exciting to see the Washington Post heralding accountant turned CFO Carl Adams.
No, he doesn’t have 12 mistresses and he hasn’t gotten any DUIs (that we know of) but the smart professional is cool again. As if he (or she) ever wasn’t.
Carl received his accounting degree from Penn State and, presumably, was really impressed by what he saw when he entered public accounting via Ernst & Young, so much so that he hung around to make senior manager before leaving to do a stint with the SEC.
Transitioning back to the private sector meant applying what he’d picked up from E&Y and the SEC in the capacity of an accounting professional, except plain old “accountant” just didn’t fit him anymore. Perhaps accountants are far more “superhero”-like than we give them credit for? Adaptable, talented, and equipped to deftly switch careers like some folks switch lanes on the freeway; what’s not to admire?
Since most CFOs are professionally qualified to be accountants anyway, a guy like Carl may not seem so spectacular on the surface but when you consider the ever-sophisticated landmine-laced territory of financial statements, there is no such thing as an over-qualified CFO. The definitive line between CPAs and finance professionals slowly becoming blurred and may become non-existent.
Since we know accountants – generally speaking – are change-adverse, why not introduce a more comprehensive curriculum in accounting programs that prepares future CPAs for this diverse, brave new world of accounting and finance to offer them maximum flexibility to transform with the industry?
Sorry for you old schoolers, the green eyeshade has been retired for quite some time: now is the era of the ever-evolving, constantly-changing, ready to head off the next Repo 105 before Wall Street implodes itself again accountant. Movie coming to theaters near you in 2011… in 3D!
Carl Adams: An accountant who yearned to do more finds his calling as a CFO – New at the Top [WaPo]