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Mentors are Your Friends…Right?

overtheshoulder.jpgThe WSJ has a little Q&A about how to handle the sitch of a not so great mentor. Since mentor/mentee (use whatever internal buzzword that applies) relationships seem to be ubiquitous in accounting firms we thought that this may be of some interest to you.
More, after the jump


We, personally, cannot fathom an instance where any of you would go out and find yourself a mentor that you wouldn’t burn the town with but maybe you don’t get to make that choice. Or, maybe, since accountants seem to be gluttons for punishment, you picked a mentor that you thought would help your career and it turned out to be a HUGE MISTAKE.
If you’re not choosing your own mentors then it’s an absolute certainty that there have been scores of awkward and borderline inappropriate encounters experienced by you.
Or maybe we’re dead wrong and mentoring just involves spending exorbitant amounts of your firm’s money on U2 tickets and bottle service. Either way, discuss your awesome exploits with your mentors or your complete nightmare, creep-out sessions.

IASB, FASB Are Really, Really Getting Serious About Convergence

Thumbnail image for merge.jpgDo you have doubts about the IASB and FASB’s commitment to accounting rule convergence? What? The name change idea didn’t convince you?

Well, David Tweedie and Bob Herz both addressed doubters attendees at a joint conference of the American Institute of CPAs and the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation in New York to let them know that they are redoubling and in some cases, retripling their efforts to get this done.

The boards intend to hold more joint face-to-face meetings, in some cases by video conference, in order to make faster progress.

“We’re going to work on these issues together every month,” said Tweedie. “That’s why we think we’ll make our June 2011 target date.”

Monthly meetings. Some will be face-to-face. When they can’t do that, there will be video conferencing. Is there any doubt how serious they are taking this? This should be a piece of cake now. Oh sure, maybe they’re going to agree to disagree on the fair value thing but who said that’s important?

Wait a minute. Sir David Tweedie’s confidence seems shaky:

The approach may or may not work, and Tweedie acknowledged that some of the standards may take several years to be finalized. In many cases, they will be moving targets. But the goal of achieving a June 2011 convergence of the two sets of standards still seems doable, he insisted, and it would be a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

Good lord. Which is it people? Let’s just agree that accounting standards will be kinda-sorta converged by June 2011 and the rest of them will be converged “at a date yet to be determined”. We understand that the pressure is tough. No need to commit to anything.

IASB and FASB to Meet Monthly on Standards Overhaul [Web CPA]
Accounting Standard-Setters Will Get Much Chummier [Web CPA Debits & Credits]
Earlier: IASB: You Want a New Fair Value Rule? You Got It. Just Don’t Ask Us About Convergence