A Counting School - Hardcore Chartered Accountancy

This is the last thing we need

Check out this post, exposing yet another crazy scam, "241 Financing." Here's an excerpt from their ad - with David Fleming's comments below each underlined segment from the ad: * Fully open line of credit from $10,000 to $250,000 So they’re not only going to approve your mortgage, they’re also going to give you access to a huge bank account full of money. So either the borrower will use the line of credit to pay make the mortgage payments, or they’ll just spend, spend, spend. Either way, I don’t like this idea one bit. * Poor or no credit Are we really in the point of the economic cycle where people with poor or no credit should be getting mortgages approved? Isn’t this where the United States went wrong? What’s worse: poor credit or no credit? Does it matter? * Beacon reject or scores from 400 and up When I see the word “reject” in the advertisement, I can’t help but question the calibre of clients they are actively TRYING to attract. So when you’re rejected elsewhere...

BCE sale falling through? Reporters' independence conflicts? Meh?

One of my friends just pointed out this article in the Globe, which explains how the buyout of Bell Canada by one of Canada's largest Teachers' Pension funds is on the verge of falling through completely. A teacher's pension plan buying one of Canada's largest corporations? Yes, our teachers have deep pockets saving for their retirements Of course I'm going to illustrate this post an artsy edit of one of my photos of the BCE Place atrium. I found it interesting to see this paragraph in the article: The helpful little solvency clause, however, became the deal's Achilles heel in recent weeks as financial market carnage sharply lowered solvency thresholds, leaving the company vulnerable to KPMG's stunning decision . I suppose "decision" is one way of describing an auditor's conclusion - unlike the journalist, auditors themselves tend not to think of their conclusions as "decisions" though - that smacks of a subjective call similar to that...

American Automakers: what are you on?

Flying to Washington on three private jets to ask for billions of dollars ? Clever. I feel bad for the workers in the auto industry, but if I was working in that field, I would be planning an exit strategy around now, unless I was in a position to improve things. Especially because the heads of the companies aren't exactly inspiring confidence right now. From the Dana Milbank article: But the executives were not helping their own case. When Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) tried to find out when GM would run out of cash, Wagoner hemmed and hawed until the lawmaker protested that "I don't quite understand what the hell you just told me." When Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) asked about GM's outlook for the quarter, Wagoner informed him that "we don't provide financial guidance in earnings." So it was hard to feel sorry for the executives when Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), late in the hearing, reminded them again that "the symbolism of the private jet is difficult...

Idiot managers amuse me

Fortunately I don't find myself working with idiots - but I did find them discussed in the august columns of the Wall Street Journal. Oddly enough the managers weren't being blamed. And to be honest, today our subject is more about idiot journalists, but they certainly air the views of people that I wouldn't want in charge of my company's HR practice. The WSJ article reads like something you would expect in the Dilbert universe - thanks to BD for pointing it out. It does a Pravda-worthy job of slamming young employees as a group. Yes, some people are stupid and aren't ready for the workforce. But trying to make it sound like everyone is like this is a complete abdication of personal responsibility - which the WSJ ironically trashes the young workers for not having - since it means you failed to find the good employees that you want to hire. Want a good example? Look at the last "CEO" hiring job done by the US public. Please please please don't screw things...

Looking for work? Always look your best, especially when you write

A typical CA's job is all about writing. So in that way it's probably identical to more than 90% of all the professional jobs out there. Not everyone writes flowing prose, but they have to get ideas across in writing, in a professional and consistent fashion. So why do people who are trying to get hired in such a place think it would be a good idea to send e-mails asking for help without taking care to use proper capitalization, spelling and generally decent grammar? How can you help someone land a highly competitive position if they don't make it look like they can handle it? A job interview is nothing like a jousting competition on an air fort, where your strong hand eye coordinate helps you overcome communications weaknesses. So why would you write like someone who just emerged from a kindergarten playpen? Keep these thoughts in mind - and if you're unsuccessful with a job interview and want advice on how to learn from your setback, read this excellent advice from 'Ask...

This is why I drove a rental car to my last client

Just when you thought Air Canada couldn't get any cheaper, or callous: sweet merciful crap. That link takes you to a CNN story this site picked up, explaining that Air Canada's regional operator, Jazz, has decided to save 25 kilograms of weight from each flight by getting rid of the life vests. The rules state that as long as your plane is flying within 50 miles of land, it's okay to do this - you can use the seat cushion as a flotation device instead. So as long as I can swim 50 miles I'll be okay? Oh sweet mother - I think I have to sign up for some advanced swimming lessons before going to my next client, which happens to be on the coast. Let's pray and hope - and assume for argument's sake - that in the unlikely event a plane needs to make an emergency landing it doesn't crash and crumple and otherwise disintegrate catastrophically. If you were to look for a place to land and there were no roads in the area, what would be a better touch-down pad? A bunch...

Memo to CA recruiters - if you don't sound like a professional, you're in trouble

If you're going to e-mail me a job offer - where'd you get my address from, anyway? - consider running a spellcheck on your announcement first. And hire a decent proofreader or editor to make your pitch look serious. If you can't even bother to do that, at least do something proper with your layout. Misaligned paragraphs and bullet points make me think you really have no idea what you're doing. I was thinking of demonstrating it myself with some funky formatting but the very idea hurts my brain and upsets my eyes. I'm sure you've seen ugly formatting before, no need to commit another atrocity of design No matter how tantalizing your offer is, nothing make me think of my friend's warning that "recruiters are there to help a company with high turnover and often unpleasant work environments" faster than a basic failure to look act like a professional. Instead, these small tragedies cause me to picture a greasy, dank boiler room where the product is people...

Deloitte joins the rest of the Big Four - staff to receive overtime

I'm not at all surprised that you'll find my site if you Google big four Canada overtime - I already pointed out that three of the big four are paying out overtime to their non-CA staff and seniors . n.b. provincial laws treat CA, CGA, CMA and CPA and students registered to study for those designations as "professionals" ineligible for overtime pay, regardless of rank. Well now it turns out that all of the big four are doing it - Deloitte & Touche has joined the party . A kind reader who worked for Deloitte pointed this out to me - Deloitte's non-CA staff's overtime hours are about to stop being "unpaid". The news isn't that fresh, but this isn't the sort of thing you see on the front page of the newspaper - unless you Googled "deloitte Canada overtime" you might not be aware of it. All the facts for Deloitte are available at the website they setup otplan.ca - a URL which redirects straight to a deloitte.com page . The general details...

No photos at the train station now? What for?

I'm not really in the mood to argue. I mean, I've had some excellent food lately, which should really put anyone in a good mood. But I'm still shocked and appalled. And I really should've replied to the news that photography is banned from the station with a chilly, "what for?" You see, according to the best guess of the Montreal train station's security, I apparently must look like a terrorist. Wow, they should've seen me when I was all scruffy and bearded in university. One of my friends from back then thought I was a History, rather than a Commerce student, for that simple fact. This is the second time in two months that I've been witness to an instruction from security to stop taking photos in a government-owned facility. And it's so stupid I wish I got drop the hammer on someone the way America's Henry Waxman does two and a half minutes into this video . Waxman is understandably annoyed with the stonewalling he gets from the EPA about...

Do you get interns in your office?

Here's a better question - do you pay your interns a decent wage? Accounting firms are decent in that their interns actually earn money . Contrast with newspapers and magazines like the Walrus which, from what I hear, don't. How. Dreadfully. Awful. With that in mind, I link to this handy little article from Ask a Manager sharing three tips on how to manage interns. The list clearly has a bias towards the mindset of the "I can't write humourous satire about foreign cultures to save my life" Walrus crowd - sharing the idea that you may have trouble criticizing someone if you're not paying them in the first place. I still have trouble with this "work for free" concept. It certainly explains why their interns might decide they don't have to call in if they're not going to show up. But I digress. The article is, however, universally useful when it continues to drive home the point that there are other things which aren't obvious to everybody,...

How to use e-mail properly - a very important lesson

Unfortunately you won't learn how to pass most exams with this knowledge, but applying the rules or tips in Dave Pollard's "When not to use e-mail" posting will make you a much better communicator. This list applies to all people, but there are specific insights for auditors. Especially when you're starting out, and you find yourself thinking, "this is great, I can just e-mail everything and wait for answers to come back." Although it can, funnily enough, often work in spite of Pollard's list, it's important to know how this can and will fail. Above: there are media other than e-mail which you can use for communication, more successfully too Remember, that time is precious, and e-mail can unfortunately waste it. Consider these two 'rules'. 3. When you are seeking information that is not simple and straight-forward 4. When you're sending a few people complicated instructions The rules are tightly linked - the more confusing something gets...

Don't you wish you could leave work anytime like American politicians?

Some thoughts on flex-time popped up after seeing a this clip on Videosift with a bunch of American politicians walking out after a grandstanding speech making some spurious claims of support for disgraced Bush administration officials. What amused me about the video was thinking, well, actually, I can do that too. Not so much defend disgraced officials, but make my own hours. Of course, I leave for home either because I'm done work for the day or because I can finish it at home if I need to, and it does eventually gets done - on time. That's the nice thing about working "flexibly", from management's point of view - I get stuff done well and on time. The upside to me is that if we have 30 cm of snow on the way, I can just go home, or stay home for the whole day, spending some time shoveling the snow, and the rest with my laptop getting work done. I've seen things done the wrong way - at least the way I've read Cordie present her situation at PWC: I would argue...

What's the worst recruiting site you've ever seen?

Easy answer. This one. My first response to his associated related "Recruit Genie" site was "BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA" coupled with, "was this designed by a 12 year old with too much time on his hands?" "Strange as it may seem, employees don't have many free speech rights, especially when it comes to making negative, public comments about their current employer. That's just fine with us..." No. No. Stop. Which former Soviet Republic did you grow up in? How many cold winters did you experience in Siberia? Yes, badmouthing your boss is not something that's a Good Idea, but coming out like the all-knowing Oracle with your own commentary is worse than amateur. It looks like the sit is really a Borat DVD easter egg or something similar. It gets funnier, though. This is worse than the sales pitches I attempted for my college newspaper back in the day: Job posts are always free, but you can enhance your presence and your recruitment brand with an inexpensive...

Do you want to write now with a 50% chance of success, or wait until next year and have a better chance?

Neil has a fun little conversation going on the topic of the 2007 UFE . The discussion branched off into the question of why Ontario did worse than the national average and what could be done to improve matters. Could forcing candidates into a 2-year program improve matters? Paul says no, " Low provincial/regional pass rates are always hard to swallow and can undoubtedly be improved by increasing the amount of screening and the length of the education period prior to allowing a UFE candidate to write for the first time. However, I question whether a higher UFE pass rate would make the program more attractive to potential entrants. After all, what’s the benefit of making it easier to get THROUGH the UFE if it makes it harder to get TO the UFE in the first place?" Assuming pass rates of 80, 80 and 75% on the three exams, the average first year writer has a 48% chance of passing, and Paul says that this is still better than the 0% chance you have of "passing" in your first...

Good news everyone: iPod earbuds are weaterproof

The ones supplied with the iPod Nano I scored this year survived a surprise visit to the laundry . The sound is also much cleaner now.