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Tag: Vacation

Deloitte Consultant Inadvertently Finds Peace on Vacation

Barbara Adachi, a principal in Deloitte Consulting’s human capital practice, started creating a stricter separation between vacation and work when she was in Patagonia on vacation several years ago. Her BlackBerry didn’t get reception there, she said, “and I had no choice but not to check it — it was very freeing.” [NYT]

Gone Fishing

I’ve been working in the UK for the past week which explains the extra typos since I’ve been in a jet-lagged, cider-infused haze since I arrived. While in Londdon, I happened across this street performer who, oddly, had the KPMG logo on his costume. As you may know, these guys and gals aren’t much for conversation so I couldn’t get the story behind it but he offered this pose for £2. With any luck, he’s an auditor in the London office but I doubt my luck is that good.

ANYWAY, after two years of being chained to my desk and staring at my laptop, I’m taking a few days off (seven to be precise) starting Monday. I know, I know. Unacceptable. But after some arm twisting, TPTB figure that some vacation would give me a chance to relax and it offers them some reprieve from my kvetching about EVERYTHING. Plus when the country defaults on Tuesday I thought it might be safer to be in a Paris bistro while the rest of you fight over scraps in the streets.

While I’m trying to navigate various European cities, you’ll be left in the very capable tattooed hands of Adrienne. She’s been given strict instructions to simply keep her hands on the wheel but I imagine she’ll be relishing in the opportunity to not have her six extra “fucks” cut from her posts.

I don’t have to remind you that she commands respect and I won’t be here to protect you if she gets aggravated, so kindly email her with your tips, gossip and story ideas while I’m away. DWB will also be pitching in a little extra and we’re very excited to bring Joe Kristan back as well.

So thanks for your support and if I happen to not return, you can assume I ran off with a French girl and will live the rest of my days reading anything but accounting news. Cheers.

Charlie Gasparino: Someone’s Holiday Vacation Is Holding Up the Ernst & Young Settlement Talks

The Fox Business Network ace reporter is saying that Cuomo & Co. would like to settle this thing up ASAP (a “quick scalp” before AC goes to Albany) however it is definitely not happening this week because, “According to people at Ernst & Young […] one of the lead investigators in Cuomo’s office is on vacation.”


Also interesting is that Chaz reports that E&Y thought there wasn’t going to be such a rush to get this thing settled but now everyone is all worked up because the story got leaked.

As for the SEC stuff, we don’t know what to make of it since there’s been hardly any news about talks between E&Y and the Commission. Francine McKenna told us that Gaspo “got a lot of smoke blown up his tush,” which is typical for reporters who cover Big 4 firms once in a lunar eclipse on the winter solstice.

Four Ways Accountants Can Battle the Slow Summer Days

Good afternoon and Happy Thursday, people. For the sake of your sanity I decided not to write about LeBron James and his impending decision*. Today I wanted to focus on something that is plaguing all of us right now – the summer months.

What the devil are you talking about, Daniel?

You heard me, my accounting cohorts. The summer months are traditionally a down time for most public accounting professionals due to the accounting cycle combined with the influx of extra hands on deck (i.e. peppy interns). The lack of significant workloads during July and August can be enough to drive even the most motivated accountant to the breaking point of boredom.

Here are a few tips to get you through the days ahead once you reach the max weekly usage on Pandora:


Five before 5 – Things never feels slower than when there seems to be nothing to accomplish through the course of the day. Avoid the “I did nothing for 8 hours” by setting out a list of five things to accomplish during the day, trivial or not. List items can include everything from contacting your scheduler or manager about the fall client schedule or rolling forward workpapers in preparation for the 2010 year end. Creating the list the night before will also help set the tone for your morning routine.

Volunteer – The effects that volunteering has on one’s mind and well being are well documented. In short – it’s good for you. Check in with your local HR rep or watch out for the monthly emails about volunteer opportunities. Want to look outside of your firm? Volunteermatch.org is a wonderful resource.

Mentor an intern – See that bright-eyed and bushy-tailed intern in the cubicle passing time by reading through 10K’s on the SEC website? Do their internship experience a favor and walk them through one of your clients’ workpapers. Carving out time in your day to explain the steps and processes documented in your work will help them better understand what they can expect in the future. Anything you can do to expand their exposure beyond cas rec’s is an accomplishment; and trust me, they’ll remember and appreciate the fact that you took the time to explain the process.

Get out of the office – If nothing else cash in a chunk of your vacation days and take a week off. Even if you don’t travel, use the time to catch up your personal life. Read a book, sleep for 16 hours, I don’t care. Just get away from the office and turn off your Monday-Friday mindset.

*That said, I hope he comes to New York