PwC’s Summer Break Works, Says Tim Ryan
From a recent CNBC article on company-wide vacation breaks to foster employee well-being: Feeling revitalized is what many employees and their employers both want. Starting this year, accounting and consulting firm PwC is giving its 60,000 U.S. employees two annual company-wide, week-long breaks — one in July and one in December — in addition to […]
Public Accounting Firms Don’t Need to Increase Salaries to Retain Staff Says Guy Who Obviously Never Worked In Public Accounting
In the 12 years since this website was founded, we’ve heard a lot of complaints from accounting students and early career public accountants. A LOT. Many things have changed since 2009, but one thing has remained consistent all these years and it’s the overwhelming sentiment that public accountants are paid far too little for the […]
#TBT: George W. Bush Didn’t Want Arthur Andersen Looking For WMDs That Didn’t Exist
So infamous were Andersen’s false audits that President George W. Bush joked about them at the 2002 annual Alfalfa Club dinner in Washington, D.C. The president claimed he had good news and bad news from Saddam Hussein: “The good news is he is willing to let us inspect his biological and chemical warfare installations. The […]
Retired SEC Lawyer Calls Agency Penalties “At Most a Tollbooth on the Bankster Turnpike”
James Kidney, who joined the SEC in 1986 and retired this month, offered the critique in a speech at his goodbye party. His remarks hit home with many in the crowd of SEC lawyers and alumni thanks to a part of his resume not publicly known: He had campaigned internally to bring charges against more […]
Per PCAOB Board Member, Facebook Will Not Sufficiently Prepare You As an Auditor
"For new accountants, the focus on documentation can be a difficult transition — the world of texting, Facebook postings, and tweeting may not fully prepare you. And, of course, communication skills are important even beyond the accountant's documentation of audit procedures. Being able to express yourself effectively is key to your relationships with your co-workers […]
@EYstaff Memorializing Nelson Mandela By Tweeting an Inspirational Quote He Never Actually Said
Call this a public service because you, too, may feel compelled to spread this meme today. Love this quote from #NelsonMandela – What an inspiring man. #RememberingMandela pic.twitter.com/x9UppWY4Xi — Life at EY (@EYstaff) December 6, 2013 Well, there's one indisputable fact here, he was an inspiring man. However, that quote isn't his. [Note: as I […]
Accountants Love Their Jobs Because They Get to Manipulate Numbers All Day Long, Says Guy
Today in hot-jobs-you-need-right-now-because-your-jobs-sucks-and-we-need-a-story-about-hot-jobs-and-we'll-quote-some-guy-who-doesn't-know-what-he's-talking-about news, we have a post from CNBC about the most underrated jobs of 2013 courtesy of CareerCast, a job site that puts out lists of that nature. Naturally, "accountant" is on the list because, as well all know, a career in accounting is the best best bestiest thing going these days and CareerCast […]
PwC Chairman: This Recovery Has Legs
Dennis Nally asks that you not get caught up in the numbers that politicians like to talk about: The American economy is doing better than most would say it is because typically what a lot of people try to focus on right now is some of the headline issues, the unemployment level, the deficit, the […]
KPMG Chairman Michael Andrew Dares You to Imagine a ‘Lazy’ Second-tier Firm Auditing a Global Bank in This Day and Age
“Can you imagine a second-tier firm auditing a global bank at a time when there is already a lack of confidence in the marketplace?” He added: “They simply don’t have the skills or the market expertise.” He also accused some smaller rivals of being “quite lazy” about investing in their businesses. [FT]