Modern Accounting Firm Offices Sport Fancy Coffee, Nap Rooms, But Cling to Hoteling
Big accounting firms are becoming known for their swanky offices. How else will they woo the best and brightest campus hires unless run-of-the-mill abstract art is hanging on the wall? If you’re on the tax team (something I didn’t have the pleasure of experiencing), enjoy the lap of luxury every day since you’re tethered to […]
Going Concern March Madness: Busy Season Survival — Food & Beverage vs. Technology, The Sweet Sixteen
If you picked upsets in your NCAA Mens bracket and all the favorites in your GCMMBSSF&BvsT bracket, then you're in pretty good shape today. My hunch is that you went for the opposite strategy.
While favorites Excel and coffee had no problems and the wins by Bagels and Key Shortcuts were very satisfying, the loss by Someone Else's Hotpocket from the Freezer was devastating. DEVASTATING.
And Now, May We Present Going Concern’s Twelve Days of Christmas
Ed. note: With only a week before Christmas, you can't walk into any building without hearing Manheim Steamroller or Michael Bublé blasting through the soundsystem. It's enough to make you want to punch out one of those Salvation Army bell ringers. If you can't beat 'em (and not go prison), join 'em, right? So, in […]
Florida Man Didn’t Play the Part of a Dunkin’ Donuts Auditor Too Well
When impersonating an auditor, there are certain distinguishing features and mannerisms that you must employ to successfully dupe your mark. A person rocking banal business casual threads, schlepping a backpack, wearing sensible spectacles, and a tidy haircut works in way of appearance. As far as behavior is concerned, generally speaking, you should always try to […]
Another Hedge Fund Manager Doesn’t Like the Smell of Green Mountain’s Accounting
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. […], maker of the single-serve Keurig brewing machine, fell to the lowest in seven months after hedge fund managing director Whitney Tilson said there may be potential for accounting fraud at the company. Green Mountain fell 10 percent to $58.19 at 1:07 p.m. in New York, after dropping to $56.19, the lowest intraday price since March 10. The shares lost 22 percent in the week before today after David Einhorn, the president of Greenlight Capital Inc., said the company has a “litany of accounting questions” and needs to improve its transparency. [Bloomberg, Earlier]
David Einhorn Roasts Green Mountain’s Accounting
“I believe the available market is smaller than the bulls believe it to be and that Green Mountain has already penetrated a good chunk of it,” Einhorn, president of Greenlight Capital Inc., said today during his so-called “GAAP-uccino” presentation at the Value Investing Congress in New York. “The market is limited,” he said. The company also has a “litany of accounting questions,” Einhorn said, adding that it has reduced transparency and needs to improve disclosure. [BBW]
If You Ever Attend a Meeting Run by Grover Norquist, Know That Your Coffee and Bagel Consumption Will Be Tracked
Bloomberg has a profile of Americans Tax Refund Founder and spending hatchet-man Grover Norquist out today and if you’re not familiar with the man or his mission, you’d think he was the scariest Swede since snark and sass into otherwise dry debates but others don’t see it that way.
Exhibit 1: Former Senator Alan Simpson, is quoted as saying, “If you are in thrall to Grover Norquist,” the Wyoming Republican who co-led the debt panel said he told the group in February, “this country hasn’t got a prayer.”
Exhibit 2: Rep. Chris Van Hollen’s (D-MD) assessment:
“Until Republicans are more afraid of the deficit than they are of Grover Norquist, we’re going to have a problem,” said Representative Christopher Van Hollen of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee.
And I suppose, if you are a Democrat, a relatively pragmatic Republican or a cancer survivor (or a nonprofit that fights cancer) Grover could be pretty scary. He doesn’t take too kindly to those in the GOP who want to raise taxes or eliminate reductions or credits that aren’t matched with further reductions in taxes. You can just ask Tom Coburn:
Norquist has attacked Senator Tom Coburn, a onetime member of the Gang of Six, because the Oklahoma Republican raised the possibility of eliminating tax breaks. Norquist said if Coburn agreed to a tax increase “he was elected on a lie.”
Now, based on that, you may get the impression that Norquist is simply a bearded Sarah Palin but you’d be wrong. Bloomberg reports that he while he does sit on the board of the NRA, he also is an adviser to GOProud and that his wife is a Kuwaiti-born Muslim.
But what may make Grover so scary-good at holding people’s feet to the fire is his attention to detail. To be a tax and fiscal wonk, you kinda need to be obe made that way but Bloomberg gives us the impression that his wonkiness transcends simple Federal government matters:
Norquist, who peppers his conversation with comic voices, Chekhov quotes and references to the movie “Grease,” is big on numbers. He knows what year his meeting reached an average of 80 people and when it grew to 100. He keeps charts on how much coffee and how many bagels are consumed, and his staff counts the attendees every 15 minutes so he can graph the flow.
So for any aspiring Grovers or Grovettes out there, this is what you’re emulating. Best start with the simple stuff.
No-Tax ‘Zealot’ Norquist Emerges as Barrier to U.S. Debt Deal [Bloomberg]
Starbucks CFO: Customers Are Delicate Flowers That Could Wither and Die at Any Sign of an Increase in the Price of Coffee
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]
BREAKING: Accountants Work Long Hours, Get Stressed During Tax Season
Not only that but another shocking revelation is that they use caffeine to help them pull through this tough stretch.
They work 60-hour weeks this time of year, relying on pots of strong coffee and late-night dinners to help them calculate an endless swirl of numbers. Accountants are working feverishly to meet the deadline to file their clients’ tax returns this year even though they have extra time to do so.
Also, this just in – things get stressful because taxes are complicated:
The late nights can get intense, according to Carolyn Dolci, a tax partner in the Hackensack office of EisnerAmper. “It is busier than last year, partly because of the complexity of the tax code,” she said.
If you’re experiencing this phenomenon in your office, tell us your story in the comments below. Things will remain fluid for a few more weeks; we’ll keep you updated with any developments.
Accountants burning the candles at both ends [Star-Ledger]
Analysts Aren’t Concerned About SEC Probe of Vermont Hippies’ Revenue Recognition Policies
Somewhat related: It’s National Coffee Day. Does the SEC have no sense of timing?
Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc (GMCR.O) fell as much as 18 percent on Wednesday, a day after it said U.S. regulators made an inquiry into some of its revenue recognition practices and its relationship with a vendor, which analysts said was M.Block & Sons.
However, most analysts believe Green Mountain’s accounting policies are sound.
“We are comfortable with Green Mountain’s revenue recognition policy, the fact that it does not have control over M. Block & Sons, unquestioned management integrity and strong auditors (PricewaterhouseCoopers),” Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Mitchell Pinheiro said.
At least this analyst knows the name of the auditors. We’re looking straight you, Dick Bové.
Green Mountain roasted on SEC probe; analysts unfazed [Reuters]