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Tag: Vote

Going Concern March Madness: Busy Season Survival — Food & Beverage vs. Technology, The Sweet Sixteen

If you picked upsets in your NCAA Mens bracket and all the favorites in your GCMMBSSF&BvsT bracket, then you're in pretty good shape today. My hunch is that you went for the opposite strategy.

While favorites Excel and coffee had no problems and the wins by Bagels and Key Shortcuts were very satisfying, the loss by Someone Else's Hotpocket from the Freezer was devastating. DEVASTATING. 

Public Accounting Exodus Watch 2011 (Poll)

Earlier I attempted to give a BDO senior manager some perspective on the how to deliver the news that he was jumping ship. Oddly enough, a friend of GC also sent us this message yesterday:

Since this ‘Tis the Season’ for attrition, it would be interesting to see a survey on who is looking for employment beyond their current employ.

So since we like to get a feel for such things, we’re putting on a little poll to see how many people are grabbing life preservers. Vote in the poll after the jump and discuss the particulars in the comments.

Going Concern March Madness: Moss Adams, Rothstein Kass Battle for the Title of the Coolest Accounting Firm

Well, we’ve finally reached the championship match-up and it’s a battle of the coasts. , NJ-based Rothstein Kass will take on Seattle-based Moss Adams for what will no doubt be the crowning achievement for either firm’s busy season. Moss Adams disposed of their rumored dancing partner Grant Thornton while Rothstein dismantled McGladrey. Rehash over; let’s get to the bracket.


Will Rothstein be the ultimate Cinderella? Will Moss spoil the ball? Will Reznick Group mount a firm-wide attack on MA just out of spite? WTFK? But vote so we can wrap this up. If I have to look at another bracket in next 365 days it will be too soon. Poll is open until FRIDAY at 11:59 PT.

Presenting Going Concern March Madness: The Coolest Accounting Firm

Now that the Sweet Sixteen is set, the general consensus here at Going Concern is to take advantage of the combination of March Madness and the plight of busy season. Accordingly, we bring you the first ever edition of GC March Madness: Coolest Accounting Firm. Inspired by our sister from another mister, ATL, we’ve decided that we’re looking to the GC readers to determining which accounting firm is the coolest of the cool by way of a democratic process but utilizing the seasonally appropriate method of a bracket. We opted with the prestige rankings determined by Vault to determine the seeds because…well, Vault has a prestige ranking and if we tried to come with a similar list ourselves, there would be rampant speculation of bias that we’re not prepared to address (plus we’re pulling this together on fairly short notice). If you don’t like your firm’s seed – or your firm is shut out of the tournament altogether – we suggest you speak up in next year’s Vault rankings.

Now, then. On with the bracket.


Obviously there are many compelling narratives here. Will the Big 4 be the Final 4? Will Rothstein Kass surprise everyone like they did in the premiere Vault Ranking? If McGladrey is victorious will they celebrate with punch and cake? So get your vote on and leave your thoughts on the match-ups or each firm’s chances (please consult your local bookie for actually odds) in the comments. And naturally, we’re rooting for underdogs in every single match-up (we’re looking straight at you, Reznick and BKD people)

The vote launched at 6 am this morning and it will close promptly at 11:59 pm ET on Tuesday. We’ll then update you with the winners at some point on Wednesday and then launch voting for the next round and so on and so forth. Voting for each match-up appears on the following pages. And don’t even think of skipping the match-ups that don’t involve your firm; A) that makes you a loser and B) you’re clearly working too hard.

Let’s get to the voting, shall we?

Starting with PwC vs. Reznick Group.

Next up is unfounded rumored GT merger partner Moss Adams and perpetual Fortune lister, Plante & Moran.

Moving on to aforementioned GT vs. CG.

Klynveld v. Crowe

The most interesting accounting firm in the world vs. the firm now known as EisnerAmper.

#1 in size taking on the up-and-comer.

Mickey G’s up against Julius H. Cohn

Finally we’ve got Lehman Brothers’s auditor vs. BKD.

Big 4 Violin Virtuoso Needs Your Help Winning a Trip Down Under

Because we’re more or less a family here at Going Concern, when someone needs our help spreading the word about anything from compensation news to winning a ski getaway, we’re happy to help.

Today’s accountant-in-need is Larry Chou (a partner who was desperate for a pianist, basically challenged his entire office to step up to the plate and, ultimately, had his prayers answered.

ANYWAY, as you can see, Larry has bigger fish to fry. Here’s his audition:

He also passed along some instructions just so you can get this ball rolling:

How do I vote?

1) It only takes 5 seconds! Between December 10-17 (inclusive), please follow the link below to watch my video and vote for Larry Chou (lchou008). You may have to scroll halfway down the page to get to my video.

http://goo.gl/xxdZs

(Note: You do NOT need a Youtube user account to vote. Just follow the link!)

I’ve voted…now what?

2) Vote some more! The voting period extends from December 10-17, and you can vote once every day. That means you can vote 8 times if you remember to do it every day. This competition is on Eastern time, so each “voting day” on Pacific time technically runs from 9pm to 8:59pm of the following day. Additional votes from the same user on the same day are thrown out.

3) Check out my Facebook group page or my Facebook fan page.

4) Spread the word! I’m going to need every man, woman, and child to get in on this. Tell your friends, your family, your significant other, your co-workers, your classmates, your barber, your gardener, and your waiter/waitress! Just kidding (but not really, I’m going to need all the help I can get).

Thank you for your support!!

Well. What are you waiting for? ‘Tis the season to help other people out or something or other.

(UPDATE) Accountants to Watch on Election Day 2010

~ Update includes the Michigan Governor’s race.

Here’s a rundown of some of the more prominent races that feature accountants. All of the polling information cited is the calculated average from Real Clear Politics.

• Wisconsin – Republican Ron “There are two many lawyers in the Senate” Johnson leads incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold by approximately 7 points.

• South Carolina – In the Governor’s race, Republican Nikki Haley’s tardy tax filings have not hurt her prospects as she leads Democrat Vincent Sheheen by approximately 11 points.

• New York – Incumbent Senator Kirsten Gillibrand leads Republican Joe DioGuardi by approximately 20 points. For those not familiar with DioGuardi, he is an Arthur Andersen alum who made partner at age 31, was the first practicing CPA elected to Congress and is the father of Kara DioGuardi (ask the person next to you if you don’t know).

• Virginia – Republican Keith Fimian (spent 7 years at KPMG) is in a toss-up race against Democrat incumbent Gerry Connolly in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District.

• Michigan – Republican Gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder (Coopers & Lybrand alum who made partner in six years) leads his Democratic opponent Virg Bernero by approximately 17 points.

So it looks as though your bean counter brethren will win at least two three races (Haley, Johnson, Snyder) with one certain defeat and one that’s too close to call.

If we’ve missed any accountants-cum-candidates in a Congressional or Gubenatorial race, let us know below or shoot us an email and we’ll update the post. Now go vote.

How Dissatisfied Are Accountants? An Unscientific Poll

On Tuesday we shared with you an article from Crain’s that quoted executive recruiter (and maybe former astronaut?) Buzz Patterson, “I’d say the dissatisfaction index would probably be at a 10-year high, in the high 60s or low 70s,” with respect to the accounting profession.

If this statement is even remotely true, this means those of you just getting your chops are seeing the worst morale in a decade. We’re talking pretty flippin’ epic misery here. For those of you that have been around for years (or even a decade or more) is this really the worst time you remember? If you’re a veteran of the biz, share your perspective in the comments below.

Also, to get things rolling on this second-to-last Thursday of October, we thought it might be interesting to gauge the crowd here at GC. After the jump, pull the lever for your level of satisfaction with your job. Use these explanations as a guide: 5 – “Hand me a cigarette”; 3 – “Take it or leave it”; 1 – “About to go postal.”

Prop 19 May Not Be Such a Great Way To Bring In California Tax Revenues After All

While California legislators may be licking their lips at the thought of taxing marijuana – should California voters go all in on Prop 19 next month – a new RAND Corporation paper points out that the revenue impact on Mexican gangs could make much less of a bang than assumed by Prop 19 proponents.

The reasoning behind 19 is simple: California prisons are already packed with all sorts of shady individuals and locking up small-time pot dealers with murderers, gang-bangers and child molesters really only creates a criminal factory that costs our already broke state way too much money. Eliminating a large chunk of the criminality surrounding pot frees up correctional resources to put rverts and killers. So far that makes sense.

Legalizing marijuana also gives our sneaky little legislators the chance to tax the shit out of a multi-billion dollar business; they have already done this in cities like Oakland where pot dispensaries are limited and closely watched by TPTB to assure they get their cut. Implement this state-wide and maybe we won’t be so desperate to get into selling our stuff off and mailing out IOUs instead of actual money.

Or were we totally high when we came up with revenue estimates that promise $1 billion in extra cash for the state?


The RAND paper argues that California accounts for 1/7th of marijuana consumption in the U.S., much of which is grown, cultivated and sold here in the state. That isn’t money that will be taken out of Mexican drug traffickers’ pockets if Prop 19 passes as we Californians are already weed snobs and don’t smoke the Mexican garbage. What we have is a large black market subsidized by semi-legal pot funneled through dispensaries. Some locales tax it while others don’t under current rules and it appears as though Prop 19 leaves the same door flapping wide open in the breeze. Not exactly the big tax boom we’d hoped for.

Opponents argue that legalization of marijuana will actually backfire as the free market price of an ounce could drop to $38; great if you’re the one buying but not so great if you’re the one trying to make money off of your crop and now forking over taxes to the state.

Is there anything in Prop 19 that would actually require growers and buyers to bypass the underground market they have known for so long and give their share of taxes to the state? Not as far as I can tell.

Think of it this way: if the state suddenly started taxing soda at 10 cents a can and you knew a guy in your neighborhood who happened to be sitting on a stockpile of Pepsi, why on Earth would you go to the store and pay the additional 10 cents a can when you could simply unload a case or two from your neighbor at a lower price? The difference being there’s already a black market for pot and introducing consistent tax issues into the matter is certainly not the way to legitimize said black market.

Governor Schwarzenegger has already signed a bill into law that makes possession of less than an ounce an infraction ($100 fine) while SFPD cops are already taught to ignore casual pot smoking on San Francisco streets (just like everything else they ignore including defecation and rampant dysfunctional drug use) so why 19?

I don’t have an answer for that. On the surface Prop 19 seems to be a no-brainer but like any other piece of California legislation, it’s all in the implementation and I don’t believe our state can pull off the tax revenue payday they are banking on should California voters vote yes on November 2nd.

Or maybe all the stoners will stay home and get high on Election Day instead, having already decided this is a bad idea and not at all what it seems to be at first glance.