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Having ‘Funniest Accountant’ Contests Only Reinforces The Idea That Most Accountants Are Not Funny

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Do you have nothing going on? Do you fancy yourself a funny accountant? Would you be comfortable getting up in front of a room full of strangers (presumably drunk) to prove it? Good news! You can now attempt to become the funniest accountant in all of Dixie.


But first you must conquer the Triangle, which shouldn’t be too hard if you stick to disparaging Triad jokes.

The 3rd annual shebang “The Triangle’s Funniest Accountant” was developed as a result of Accountants One’s Accountants Are Funny Too campaign to dispel with the stereotype of accountants being humorless, uptight dorks.

Which brings us to the point – how does having a “funniest accountant” contest dispel a stereotype? Does having a “Most Depressed HR Professional” contest dispel the notion that everyone that works in that capacity is popping anti-depressants to keep up that chipper attitude? Of course not. People like Braddock are either naturally deranged or have a drawer full of Prozac bottles handy to ensure that the sun is alway shining, this is a great company, so on and so forth.

Likewise, a slew of Seinfeld with killer 10-key skills getting on stage to tell Sarbanes-Oxley jokes only serves to remind us that this is a futile ruse that reminds everyone that the hilariously charming accountant on stage is indeed a rarity sight and that he or she has had the good luck to work with colleagues that serve as endless material.

Third Annual Search for the Triangle’s Funniest Accountant [Raleigh Downtowner]

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Forget Patmore, a former accountancy and finance student is starring this week in what must surely be the employment and tax case of the year.

Lapdancer Nadine Quashie allegedly earned more than £1,000 a night dancing at the Stringfellows (NSFW) club London and is now trying to pursue an unfair dismissal through the Employment Tribunal after being fired in December 2008 following allegations of drug use and dealing.


On behalf of the club, Caspar Glyn argued that the dancer was not entitled to rights under the tribunal as she was self-employed. “To take off your clothes and be paid to do that, it is a curious, unusual situation… which is perhaps in itself unsuited to an employment relationship,” he told the tribunal.

Aiming another blow below the belt, he added that Quashie should be disqualified from having her case heard because she had misrepresented her tax affairs – in spite of having studied accountancy and finance at Thames Valley University for a year.

She took two years off her studies to hold a full-time position as women’s rights officer for the student union, but instead of returning to the course she turned to lapdancing.

She has told the tribunal that conditions at the club effectively meant dancers were employees and she should be entitled to a full tribunal hearing. Like other dancers, she was required to give up 25% in commission, with an additional £85 deducted for nightly fees.

While Stringfellows insisted she was self-employed, Quashie said she did not learn of her self-employed status until another dancer told her of the situation five months after she started working there.

This case has everything for employment and tax advisers, HMRC investigators and retired colonels from Tonbridge. In addition to the lurid claims of private, late night sessions with Peter Stringfellow and his friends, it presents a classic challenge for the badges of employment tests and some messy tax implications for all sides.

Purely hypothectically, how would you advise the participants in such a case? Back at the central London tribunal, meanwhile, judgment in the case has been reserved.

Three Accountants Won Big on Election Day, One Huge Loss and One Race Still Undecided

A quick rundown of the results on the races we told you about yesterday.


• Wisconsin – Ron Johnson won handily over Russ Feingold disappointing liberals like ATL Editor Elie Mystal and served as a pleasant surprise to libertarians like Adrienne who texted us, “WHOA Feingold got taken out in Wisconsin!! I never thought I would see that.”

• South Carolina – Nikki Haley won over Vinny Sheheen. She will be the first female governor in the Palmetto State’s history.

• New York – Joe DioGuardi got trounced by Kirsten Gillibrand who got over 60% of the vote. Harry Reid is double-relieved.

• Michigan – Rick “One Tough Nerd” Snyder cruised to victory over Virg Bernero in the governor’s race, winning by approximately 20 points.

• Virginia – The one race that is still ongoing is in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District between Gerry Connolly and KPMG alum Keith Fimian. The Wall St. Journal reports, “Connolly is leading by 487 votes. Mr. Connolly has 49.2% of the vote, while Mr. Fimian, who lost narrowly to Mr. Connolly in 2008, has 49%,” and Fimian is confident that he’ll be declared the winner.

So for those keeping score, accountants (all GOP, not surprisingly) are 3-1 with one race still too close to call. We’ll be watching the VA11 race until the bitter, bitter end.