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Tag: GET RIGHT OUT OF TOWN

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]

BREAKING: Some Banks Are Uncooperative with Auditor Requests

From the mailbag:

Just thought I’d share some developments from the audit world. Some financial institutions which respond to our audit requests are adding disclaimers such as the following:

“…The recipient acknowledges that [the respondent] does not represent and warrant that the information is complete and accurate. The recipient further acknowledges that the information may not disclose the entire relationship between the customer and [the respondent]…”

Basically, this is making the confirmation process entirely pointless as banks are saying that even if they sign and respond to a confirmation, they aren’t guaranteeing that their response actually means that the balance is accurate. They are also doing this in the fine print attached to a lot of confirmations so it wasn’t entirely obvious until some people started actually reading that fine print. This is causing issues as we can no longer rely on these confirmations for our audit procedures if they contain such a disclaimer.

PwC Report Shocker: Consumers Who Pirate Video Are ‘Enticed by Free Content’

If you can believe that.

[A]ccording to a report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), those lessons don’t relate well to a generation of broadband mobile users who still prefer to go searching for free content rather than pay even the smallest price.

“Many consumers who say they commit online piracy are enticed by free content” despite having access to “an astonishing variety of movies videos and television shows–on multiple platforms–faster than ever before,” the report concludes.

The report’s key findings are topped by the fact that 81 percent of surveyed consumers say they will continue pirating video despite concerns about computer viruses, the legality of their actions and inferior quality/fidelity of the content. It also reported a crossover effect in that “40 percent of those who report pirating content via traditional methods said they will probably also pirate on mobile devices within the next six months.”

PwC: Video pirates “enticed by free content” [FierceCable]
The speed of life [PwC]

PwC Survey: Working People to Death Might Cause Them to Quit Their Jobs

Shocking survey results out of PwC today as the firm announced that overworking staff increases turnover at law firms. If you can believe that.

There is a “strong correlation” between staff turnover and chargeable hours at law firms, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Numbers released as part of their annual survey of the sector show that the top ten law firms have average turnover rates of 17-18%.
According to the accountancy firm, reducing turnover to less than 10% can reduce costs by £32,000 per equity partner.

In semi-ironic and related news, a bunch of bitter Big 4 employees finally decided over the Thanksgiving holiday that they would be leaving their respective firms because they are sick of the hours.

Ford CFO: Having Ready Access to Cash Is a Decent Business Practice

FYI for any budding CFOs out there:

Having liquidity is key to any business and it is important to build it before any crisis, said Ford Motor Co.’s (F) chief financial officer Thursday.

“We have to assume that when you really need liquidity, it won’t be there,” said Lewis Booth, speaking at Treasury & Risk’s 15th annual Alexander Hamilton Awards ceremony in New York City.


After those insightful comments, Booth gushed about how the company that Hank built was doing.

“We expect our automotive cash to be about equal to our debt by year-end 2010, earlier than expected,” Booth said, adding “this has been a magic year.”

Just a CFO walking the talk (almost anyway).

Grant Thornton CFO Survey Reminds Everyone That the Job Market Still Sucks

But don’t just take the CFOs word for it, Stephen Chipman is hearing the same thing from the dynamic companies that GT is rubbing elbows with these days:

In a national survey of U.S. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and senior comptrollers conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, only 29% plan to increase hiring in the next six months, while 21% plan to decrease hiring.

A vast majority (79%) believe that the U.S. economy will not recover until the second half of 2011 or later, and more than half (59%) are concerned with a double-dip recession.

“These findings are consistent with what we have been hearing from our dynamic-organization clients,” said Grant Thornton LLP CEO Stephen Chipman. “Indecision stemming from a weak economy and the unknown impact of governmental tax policy and new regulation on business and individuals is causing paralysis, particularly as it relates to major business decisions, including expansion, expenditures and hiring.”

In related economic shitshow news, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are probably going to need more bailout cash. As you were.

Time Warner CFO Gives Shocking Assessment of the Print Ad Market

In case you haven’t been paying attention for the past, say, 5-10 years:

Time Warner Inc. (TWX) Chief Financial Officer John Martin said Thursday that the television advertising market is “really strong,” while the print advertising market is “okay–but not really robust.”


Not to worry though, there are no signs that things are getting worse.

Meanwhile, he said the company’s publishing arm, Time Inc.–which he called “the most secularly challenged part of our company”–faces difficult comparisons in the second half of this year, though he added that he didn’t see any slowdown ahead.

The magazine business was pummeled by the recent economic downturn at a time when it was already declining due to the rise of digital media.

Time Warner CFO: TV Ad Market `Really Strong,’ Print Less So [Dow Jones]