These Are the Videos That Made Your Busy Season Slightly Less Awful
For some reason, earlier this year we asked you to submit videos of your busy season exploits as part of some fake contest. The idea was haphazardly thrown together and not taken that seriously, but for whatever reason1 the post sat up top for months. Anyhoo, busy season has been over for everyone for at least a week so I guess we'll wrap this thing in old newspaper and put a bow on it, so we can all move on with our lives. Right? Right.
This KPMG Senior Associate Will Try Wooing the Next Bachelorette
As perhaps some of you have heard me mention, I don't watch much TV. And I definitely don't watch reality TV, but Adrienne does keep up with the Kardashians and various other idiots who take residence inside the box, so I'm vaguely aware (but not really) of what goes on. However, when a Big 4 employee […]
Where Is Ernst & Young Finding All This Musical Talent?
Look, I understand that these firms want well-rounded individuals but when more and more people start showing talents that outshine their professional services skills, it makes you wonder if the recruiting folks need a talking to. I bring this up because, unbeknownst to us, FORTUNE puts together a Battle of the Corporate Bands every year and this year’s winner is American PI, a 12-member band, 11 of which are E&Y employees. Granted, they won’t be winning Record of the Year any time soon since they’re simply covering I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Southbound, People Get Ready, and Superstition but they did have three members win “best of” awards.
And with this triumph by American PI, E&Y now has rock, show tunes, and hip-hop covered. It’s probably only a matter of time until they manage to poach the PwC pianist.
[via AT]
Is This Ernst & Young Auditor the Next Character on Glee?
I don’t watch Glee. Hell, I don’t even have TV. I did flip through the GQ spread with Lea Michelle and Dianna Agron but otherwise, I’m completely unfamiliar with any of the characters on the show. ANYWAY, I hear it’s popular. It’s so popular that regular people want to be characters on the show as overblown versions of themselves and are submitting auditions for a chance to do so. One of these regular people is Nick DeSanto, an auditor at Ernst & Young.
We can’t embed Nick’s audition video from the Glee Project web page but we did find his YouTube channel so we can give you idea of his talent:
More about Nick – he worked for a couple of years at McGladrey before joining E&Y’s FSO Media & Entertainment group, where he’s been for about a year. We spoke to him over email and by phone (he “visit[s] GC almost every day”) and that this audition is his first stab at breaking into showbiz. Can you imagine if he had been involved with the In a JIT project? His singing career would already be on the fast track, winning Tonys and such.
So go over and support him at his Glee Audition page by liking his page if you feel so inclined. And even if you don’t feel the urge, go and like/vote for him anyway. Just because your dreams won’t come true, doesn’t mean you can’t support someone who’s trying to do something to achieve theirs.
Here’s a Video of 500+ CPAs Failing to Juggle
The woman who throws a small hissy-fit at 3:05 makes it all worth it.
Earlier:
So You Think Your CPA Can Dance?
Is This PwC Auditor Your Next American Idol?
Everyone calm down. Steve Beguhn (we’ve finally confirmed the correct spelling) has a long way to go. But dude can sing. And he’s pretty funny.
The only problem I foresee is that I’ll have to start watching the show. For those of you on Facebook (i.e. everyone) you can ‘Like’ Steve here.
What do you guys think of Steve’s chances? Leave your well wishes or your best Simon Cowell critique in the comments.
UPDATE: Just a few particulars on Steve – he’s a Senior Associate in Milwaukee, has been with PwC since Fall of ’07 and interned prior to joining the firm full time. Oh, and he’s not in the office today, so if you’re around Steve, email me.
Big 4 Violin Virtuoso Needs Your Help Winning a Trip Down Under
Because we’re more or less a family here at Going Concern, when someone needs our help spreading the word about anything from compensation news to winning a ski getaway, we’re happy to help.
Today’s accountant-in-need is Larry Chou (a partner who was desperate for a pianist, basically challenged his entire office to step up to the plate and, ultimately, had his prayers answered.
ANYWAY, as you can see, Larry has bigger fish to fry. Here’s his audition:
He also passed along some instructions just so you can get this ball rolling:
How do I vote?
1) It only takes 5 seconds! Between December 10-17 (inclusive), please follow the link below to watch my video and vote for Larry Chou (lchou008). You may have to scroll halfway down the page to get to my video.
(Note: You do NOT need a Youtube user account to vote. Just follow the link!)
I’ve voted…now what?
2) Vote some more! The voting period extends from December 10-17, and you can vote once every day. That means you can vote 8 times if you remember to do it every day. This competition is on Eastern time, so each “voting day” on Pacific time technically runs from 9pm to 8:59pm of the following day. Additional votes from the same user on the same day are thrown out.
3) Check out my Facebook group page or my Facebook fan page.
4) Spread the word! I’m going to need every man, woman, and child to get in on this. Tell your friends, your family, your significant other, your co-workers, your classmates, your barber, your gardener, and your waiter/waitress! Just kidding (but not really, I’m going to need all the help I can get).
Thank you for your support!!
Well. What are you waiting for? ‘Tis the season to help other people out or something or other.
KPMG Partner-cum-Poet Resists Urge to Create Verse on His Blackberry
Believe it or not, employees of Big 4 firms possess talents that have nothing to do with elaborate spreadsheets, coffee and bagel consumption or fantasy football.
A perfect example of this would be Arun Kumar, a “battle-tested” partner in KPMG’s Silicon Valley office. Mr Kumar is a poet, who recently published a collection of 39 poems entitled “Plain Truths.” And regardless of his almost certain reliance on his BlackBerry, he manages to set it aside for the sake of his art.
Kumar, a partner at accounting and consulting giant KPMG, knows another kind of poetry. A poetry of nature and relationships, of whimsy and wisdom, a poetry of words that can be written on planes or between planes or in the quiet of the evening, but never, ever, on a BlackBerry.
“A poem, for me, is visual,” Kumar says at his Mountain View office. “Seeing it is quite important, so I can’t imagine — on a BlackBerry it’s not the same.”
So not only is Kumar a man of professional integrity, he also is one of artistic integrity, resisting the eyestrain and temptation to double-thumb inspiring words on to a 2.5 inch screen that may or may not be lost after he drops it one too many times.
But even more surprising (and disappointing) than his commitment to his craft, is Kumar’s ability to avoid penning poems related to his job. “Most [poems] are far removed from his work,” the article states, despite the undeniable muse that is life inside the House of Klynveld.
Arun Kumar, of Silicon Valley s KPMG office, finds poetry on the human side of the ledger [Mercury News]
We Found a Talented Accountant
Sorry, one talented at something other than memorizing FASBs.
(psst, keep up the good work.)