Tag: Ernst & Young

Jim Turley Says E&Y Is Totally On Board with This Global Accounting Standards Thing

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Jim Turley.jpgReally, he said that global standards were ‘imperative’ which carries a much more serious connotation and we’d hate to sell Big Jim short:
‘It is imperative that there is one set of financial reporting standards for the world if the quality and comparability of investor information is to be protected.’
And in an amazing coinkydink, that’s what everyone at the G-20 said too:
More, after the jump

In a statement the leaders said they: “call on our international accounting bodies to redouble their efforts to achieve a single set of high quality, global accounting standards within the context of their independent standard setting process, and complete their convergence project by June 2011.”

Since so many big shots were in the Burgh, last week, JT figured he’d just put it out there that his firm was FIRST! to say, “Yeah, we’re down for redoubling our efforts! Whatever that is, we’ll do anything! Don’t know about the rest of you slackers but we’re damn proud to get on this. June 2011? No problem. Am I right people?”
Ernsters? Ready to double down? It’s imperative, you know.
Big Four firm backs G20 accounting stance [Accountancy Age]

E&Y: This Stuff Is So Important That We Can’t Let You Be Distracted By Regular Work During the Week

Late November is typically a time of year when most of you can coast a little bit. Oh sure, some of you certifiable types are still working like your miserable lives depend on it (and probably not charging the time) so we’ll ignore you for this particular post.
We learned yesterday that the New York and Philadelphia offices of E&Y are apparently so strapped for time during the eleventh month that the annual accounting & auditing update has been scheduled for the 21st which is on a…wait for it…Saturday. That’s EVERYONE, staff through partners.
Now maybe there’s a perfectly good explanation for this odd scheduling. Perhaps the rulers of the Ernstiverse aren’t down with the whole day of rest thing. Or they figure since you’re getting two days off the following week, your ass is lucky that you’re not working Sunday too. Whatever the case may be, E&Y seems to be good at making promises so don’t make plans.

The Accountants Plug at the Emmys Is Made Watchable By an E&Y Hottie and Dr. Horrible

When we heard that the accountants at E&Y with elephant-like memories were the butt of a joke on last night’s Emmys we weren’t really surprised. That being said, we weren’t really expecting a joke that would be that entertaining.
So, we were pleasantly surprised when 1) one of the E&Y reps, Mika Velga (sorry if we butchered the spelling), turns out to be a hottie and B) the sketch featured Dr. Horrible, courtesy of the comedic genius of NPH.
Video, after the jump



If you’re not familiar with Dr. Horrible, feel free to waste a few minutes of your morning getting caught up. Oh, and if you know Ms. Velga, tell her she has fans.

E&Y Partners Need Pachyderm-like Memory for Counting Emmy Ballots

christina hendricks.jpgToday in dorks in tuxedos news, E&Y is finishing up their counting of the votes for this weekend’s Emmy Awards and hopefully they can handle it.
From the press release:

“We work very hard to safeguard the entire voting process and take the appropriate measures to preserve the accuracy and confidentiality of the awards,” explained Andy Sale, Ernst & Young LLP Lead Partner for the 2009 Emmy Awards. “Our team uses a combination of technology and traditional hand-counting methods to deliver accurate results.”

The technology methods must be terribly advanced for this complex engagement and since some partners can’t even send email, we’re a little concerned. Especially since three people memorize the list of 109 winners.
Plus, since this the 21st time E&Y has done the awards, we’re assuming there will be jager shots before, during, and after the show. Not only will this not help with the whole memorization issue but it could also jeopardize the envelope handoffs and projectile vomiting will blow whatever slim shot they had at hooking up with Christina Hendricks.
Good luck E&Y. Don’t f*ck it up. And if you have second thoughts on sharing results early, you know how to reach us.

(UPDATE) Rumor Mill: KPMG Making Pay Freeze Announcement?

There’s been rumors about pay freezes at all firms and E&Y came out last month to say it’s happening mostly because it’s fair.
Since many of you Klynveldians are probably anxious for some kind of “official” word, we’ll pass this along:

Rumor is the Radio Station will be announcing raises and bonuses on Monday/Tuesday in the Southeast next week (rates are loaded online on the self service connection next Friday for all to see, so talk about waiting until the last minute).
Firm leadership is saying KPMG will pay market and market rates are down when compared to the prior year… so here’s to no raises!

Ernstinites got a voicemail announcing the news which didn’t seem to go over well, so here’s hoping that some kind of live feed from Tim Flynn’s office will be KPMG’s approach for this announcement with Q&A to follow of course. More personal that way, don’t you think?
If you’ve got information on your city or region matching the market rates, drop us an email to us or discuss in the comments.
UPDATE, 2:57 pm: Apparently the offices in the Mid-Atlantic are willing to sit down with you to discuss this as we received a tip that “roundtables” were held by partners to explain the merit increases. Beats a voicemail. If you participated in one of these sit downs or had similar meetings in your region, discuss further.

KPMG UK Head of Audit Explains Rentokil Arrangement

KPMG_chair.jpgKPMG’s new arrangement with Rentokil has brought some differing opinions amongst the firms, even prompting PwC to take a not-so direct jab at the Radio Station for scooping Rentokil.
Today, KPMG’s head of audit in the UK, Oliver Tant, wrote a piece for Accountancy Age explaining the firm’s new “extended assurance”:
Continued, after the jump

Under the service, those responsible for corporate governance may ask KPMG to perform work beyond that which is required for the statutory audit, for example by testing a larger sample of controls or additional transactions and balances of lower value than the materiality level set for the statutory audit.
This work does not replace, conflict with or undermine the independence of the external audit it simply extends our understanding of the business and its controls and hence the breadth and depth of insight we can offer. That is why we call it extended assurance.

Mr. Tant also cites the savings passed along to the client, which is so hot these days. He also explains what “extended assurance” is NOT:

The service is not about merging the external and internal audit functions. A company can continue to have its own internal audit function and those charged with corporate governance will still be responsible for assessing the overall adequacy of a company’s control environment and the need for skilled internal audit expertise.
Ethical standards do not prevent the auditor from doing more than the bare minimum to support the audit opinion. We will identify and plan the work necessary to support our audit opinion independent of any further work we may be requested to perform.

As we mentioned, PwC has already made their opinion known and E&Y’s head of assurance in the UK, John Flattery has stated that they will not be “mirroring the arrangement.”
It’s already been speculated that this type of arrangement would not be allowed in the U.S. but there has been no indication that the U.S. firm is pursuing such arrangements.
Since independence is kinda, sorta important for auditors, and many of you are ramming these rules into your brains as we speak (or just waiting to see if you learned anything) discuss in the comments how you feel about the arrangement. Would it pass the smell test Stateside? Is KPMG evolving to the market or are they on thin ice? Are P. Dubs and Ernie being self-righteous dicks since they didn’t think of it first? Feel free to get ugly about it.
KPMG audit head defends controversial Rentokil role [Accountancy Age]

(UPDATE) E&Y Is Making Good on its Promise to The 2nd Year Associates

News from E&Y in SoCal is that those second year associates that were getting raises to put them at a pay level above the newbies are getting a 1% increase to put them there.
Personally, we’d rather be in pay raise Siberia with the rest of you than get 1% but a firm’s word is its bond. If Zitor has given you similar good news for your office, discuss in the comments or shoot us the details to our tips mailbox.
UPDATE, September 21st, 12:20 pm: Another tip out of Chicago confirms Uncle Ernie’s promise-keeping ways, giving the new 2nd Years, a 1% bump.

Is KPMG’s Song Writing Team the Same as E&Y’s?

8ball.jpgNo doubt that you remember E&Y’s Grammy-worthy attempt at a theme song/torture method from last week.

We have now discovered that KPMG also thought this was worthy of the firm’s resources. The only problem we find is that the songs sound oddly similar in melody, atrocious use of harmony, etc. This kind of artistic double-agentry between the firms only reaffirms are suspicions about the firms working together in some sort of oligopolic conspiracy of which the purpose is, we haven’t figured out, except maybe to perpetuate the use of Excel.
After the jump, we’ve provided links to both songs here so that you can provide your expert analysis on which firm has the best song. And by best, we obviously mean drives you to agony similar to Alex DeLarge/Beethoven-esque levels. In addition, feel free to provide your favorite lyrics in the comments.

Who Knew that E&Y had a Creative Art Department?

Zitor.jpgToday, in how your firm spent your bonus news, we present you with Zitor, an alien who somehow ended up in Uncle Ernie’s shop. Zitor then ended up being assigned a counselee for year-end reviews which is fairly realistic considering his lack of expertise and work experience.

Zitor was apparently designed and plugged into the Ernstiverse to demonstrate how to be completely unprepared for a the year-end review process as a counselor.


What’s odd is that most counselors seem to be using logic from another planet so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that this was based on actual methods used.

Regardless of the genesis of this idea, it probably goes without saying that this had to be complete and utter failure for those of you with maturity levels above the age of 13. Nevermind that no one can decipher how accounting firms determine who the best performers are anyway.

Included with this frivolous attempt to relate to the troops, if you were so inclined, you could submit ideas for the line below from Zitor to end up in the next video for this “Coach from Another Planet”. While that sounds incredibly lame and worthy of our ridicule, we’ve decided to let you take a stab at it instead.

The line has been modified slightly to allow your much more creative suggestions to be submitted in the comments:

“At E&Y, we do not give feedback. We give ___________.”

Do your worst.