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Let’s Get to Know Twitter’s Audit Committee Members

Posted on by Caleb Newquist
It is a little fun to read S-1s because companies have to talk about "Risk Factors" and "Critical Accounting Policies" and a bunch of other stuff people don't care about. But when a fancy tech company like Twitter releases an S-1 it's completely different because the financial media goes into a rabid lather over it. They just can't resist when tech people publicly reveal how they are going to make themselves filthy rich. Then the journalists and analysts get to poke through filings, point out obscure disclosures or write a superlative analysis in order to enjoy the 140-character ego-stroking they get from their colleagues. CHRIST, it's nauseating. But hey, we all love Twitter — despite all the racism! — so I guess we'll get into the act.
 
Personally, I like learning about the audit committee members. Twitter's AC isn't as shiny of as Facebook's roster of BSDs and if you like CPAs on your audit committee, you'll be disappointed, but I'm sure it's a capable group.
 
So, shall we get to know these guys? I mean, what else you gonna do?
 
Peter Currie — Mr. Currie is best known for being the CFO of Netscape. He's been described as one of the "Silicon Valley wise men" which I think means he gives frankincense to a chosen few. These days he's President of Currie Capital (clever name) and as well as the President of the board of trustees at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. He's a graduate of the Academy as well as Williams College where he earned a BA in Economics and French Lit. He also has an MBA from Stanford. VERY FANCY! Once upon a time he worked at Morgan Stanley.
 
Peter Fenton — Pedro numero dos is venture capitalist. Seriously, that's all he does. After getting both a BA in Philosophy and MBA from Stanford, he joined Accel Partners. He then had stints at a company called Virage and Bain & Co. before landing at Benchmark where he's a general partner. Forbes has him listed at #5 for the 2012 Midas Tech's Top Investors list where it says he "backed Twitter when it had 25 employees." He's been on the Midas list since 2007. He's a triathlete and has completed four half IronMan competitions, according to his Wikipedia page. Dude is 41 years old. Jesus.
 
David Rosenblatt — Despite his lack of Peter, Mr. Rosenblatt is no slouch. He was CEO of DoubleClick in 2008 when Google purchased the company for $3.2 billion and became President of Global Display Advertising for the company. Prior to that he was a co-founder of Group Commerce and is probably the reason the New York Times is still in business (I'm mostly joking). These days, aside from his duties with Twitter, he's on the board of IAC/InterActive Corp and is CEO of 1stdibs.com a "leading online, global marketplace for luxury, vintage products." He got a BA in East Asian Studies from Yale and an MBA from Stanford.
 
So there you have it. Three guys who could really use a break in life. Good luck, gents. Hopefully this one works out for you. And give PwC hell for us!

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AICPA Outlook Survey: This Double-Dip Recession Just May Be Happening

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The outlook for the U.S. economy turned negative in the third quarter for the first time since 2009 as prospects for recovery waned and concerns about a second recession rose, according to the latest AICPA Economic Outlook Survey of Chief Financial Officers, Controllers and CPAs in executive and senior management accounting roles.

The CPA Outlook Index, a broad-based composite index that captures the expectations of CPA financial executives and management accountants, declined 8 points to 58 this quarter, down from 66 in the prior period. The survey, conducted in August, tallied 1,305 qualified responses from CPAs who hold leadership positions, such as chief financial officers or controllers in their companies.

“For the second consecutive quarter, the CPA Outlook Index declined as turbulence in the political and economic environment eroded the sense earlier this year that a recovery was taking hold,” said Carol Scott, AICPA vice president for business, industry and government. “A majority of our CPA members in executive financial roles now fear a second recession may be likely.”

The decline in the CPA Outlook Index was fueled by a sharp drop in sentiment about the U.S. economy.

A whopping 61 percent majority of respondents said they think it is “somewhat likely” or “very likely” the U.S. will fall into a double-dip recession. Only 9 percent of CPAs serving in executive positions expressed optimism about the U.S. economy in the third quarter, down 24 percentage points from 33 percent who were optimistic in the second quarter.

It is reasonable to point out here that though the CPA Outlook Index turned negative this quarter, it is still above the 4-year low of 32 in the first quarter of 2009.

U.S. economy optimism plummeted a whopping 28 points from 53 to 25. Of the major index components, none changed positively quarter-over-quarter for 2011.

While the outlook for respondents’ own organizations is not as rosy as it was earlier this year, it has not dropped as sharply as the outlook for the US economy. Optimists also still outnumber pessimists, with 41% of the CPA decision-makers indicating that they are optimistic about the outlook for their own organizations over the next 12 months, while only 21% are pessimistic. Expectation for expansion also dropped again this quarter but a majority of respondents (53%) still expect to expand at least somewhat in the next 12 months. This is down from 61% who expected expansion last quarter.

Executive summary of the survey results can be found here.