A Counting School - Hardcore Chartered Accountancy : Statistics

Record voter turnout by Ontario Chartered Accountants: by-law on the new CPA rules passes

Krupo — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 05:33:00 GMT

The results came in wicked-fast: earlier this afternoon the viral video-supported campaign by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario bore fruit. They scored the highest ever turnout, a record of 27.6% of the membership, with 85.4% voting in favour. Here's the press release explaining what the ICAO intends to do with its win.

I won't bore you with the details, there's more than enough bureacratic bylaw details and associated nerd rage to go around if you're into that sort of thing, especially the counter-argument. The video itself was a pretty good summary of the proposal, though.

The ICAO tried a few things to deliver its message. Aside from a series of webcasts and free breakfasts and lunches, the video was no doubt the biggest hit - there's now been over 11,000 views, up from 3496 when I started tracking its virality. Despite it making ICAO Chair Rod Barr feel deservedly silly - he chose not to play it at the breakfast I attended, despite it being in his agenda - it looks like the controversial video succeeded in delivering this dark scary topic out to the masses in its bizarrely happy, bouncy way.

Darkness descends on Toronto

It's cheaper to contact a space telescope than to text message people

Krupo — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:34:00 GMT

BBM station domination campaign at the TTC's Yonge-Bloor subway station

Having alluded to Eurocents, I managed to trip over an interesting little article that came out two years ago and yet is still oddly relevant: a scientists decided to poke the cell phone industry with a sharp pointy stick and calculate the price per megabyte for transmitting a text message.

He then compared that to the cost of transmitting data from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Verdict?

“The maximum size for a text message is 160 characters, which takes 140 bytes because there are only 7 bits per character in the text messaging system, and we assume the average price for a text message is 5p. There are 1,048,576 bytes in a megabyte, so that's 1 million/140 = 7490 text messages to transmit one megabyte. At 5p each, that's £374.49 per MB - or about 4.4 times more expensive than the ‘most pessimistic’ estimate for Hubble Space Telescope transmission costs.”

Transmission from space only costs about £8.85 - the scientist used a worst-case scenario to estimate that perhaps it costs 10 times as much to move the data from the space-to-ground station to a research lab. In reality those costs are probably lower. So we have math showing that the cell phone industry in Canada prices messages outside "unlimited" plans at frankly ridiculous rates.

No only is it good to see new entrants trumpeting their "all inclusive" plans, but it makes perfect sense for RIM to be embarking on a rather clever campaign to promote their BBM service as a selling feature for the Blackberry.

If you don't have unlimited text messaging, BBM is a fantastic substitute - plus you can send files through BBM as well, something a regular text message can't exactly handle.

Not to mention that all the cool Audit Kids are using it: that was no doubt the runner-up idea as a killer marketing campaign.

You're looking for the 2009 UFE results? You're a half year late

Krupo — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:06:00 GMT

I understand people travel, endure busy season, perhaps get kidnapped, and sometimes forget they spent 13 hours in an exam room, but I took a quick look at this site's visitor statistics for kicks - and people are still showing up, asking "When will the ufe marks be posted 2009".

You have to share some of my awe, considering that the results are out, and they have been out for half a year.

A s I already stated, results came out on December 4, 2009.

If you're still checking, I'll simply presume you must be stalking a CA student.

Good luck with that.

"You told me this ride would take us to the CA students. We've been circling the town square for five hours now. When will we arrive? You owe me an explanation before I pay you another Eurocent."

November hits 302, the waiting continues

Krupo — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:31:00 GMT

This week the 2009 UFE results come out and I'll try and follow along - as long as you are in touch with CA students, there'll be people you care about who are waiting for CA exam results at the end of November, or beginning of December.

I'll no doubt be slow in conveying my congratulations though, as I'll be on vacation starting tomorrow, far away from here. This may give me time to catch up on my writing here, maybe not. We'll see how relaxing the trans-Oceanic flight will be.

And when you find out you passed, go celebrate, in whatever way you choose.

There are stories of adventures in CA volunteerism and other fun topics coming.

In the meantime, some Statistical Adventure news: spam filters must be getting increasingly effective - traffic has fallen to what must be an all-time low - and 332 in October wasn't bad either.

Dark days at PwC advisory: word of layoffs leaked, chaos ensues

Krupo — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:52:00 GMT

PriceWaterhouseCoopers Advisory has made some significant cuts to their US workforce, as mentioned off-hand by Francine and discussed in detail here

Skip down to comment 4 in the post for an interesting dissection of firm revenue math and the possible impact it'll have on partner income. It's a topic everyone seems to be curious about knowing more about, gets very little information about, and is often to afraid ask questions about - so go check out "TT"'s breakdown and the follow up if you want to know more. Or skim all the way down to comment 114, which points out that while the cut of roughly 300 people is small compared to the size of the entire US firm, the internal PwC webcast apparently stated that this represents a cut of 6% of the affected group - one value provided by a commenter is 260 of about 4300 people.

I spent way too much type going through all the other comments, and things did in fact get kind of dark. Consider this post - it's anonymous, but let's play along and assume there's no false identities at play, particularly with what follows.

"Francine - Current Pwc Director here in another line of service. I can only tell you that my Advisory friends are “freaking out” by what has been published by you. You have definitely made your mark with this posting. The level of unrest that you have caused should make you proud. One of my friends told me last night that he heard that one of the Advisory Directors is so stressed out that he was talking about taking his life if he loses his job. If that happens, the sky is the limit for you and your little blog!"

Nothing to make light of, sadly - this is dark stuff. At least that's what it sounds like when the commenter goes on to add:

"Had you let this RIF run its normal course, it would have been done confidentially and all affected parties would be notified on the same day and only those impacted would have the stress. But you like to cause unrest and panic…as it is obviously what drives you. You were like a little kid announcing this on your blog Tuesday morning….”look at what I know….I’m am so important!”"

I appreciate the sentiment expressed, but I think it's a little naive to think that the plan as described above really would work as claimed. Any major layoff causes unrest and panic, in the firm affected, and in competing firms, even among people who feel their positions are secure. "If it can happen there, it can happen here," can cross peoples' minds.

Is it really beneficial to bury this news and leave people blissfully unaware?

No, it's not.

Starting off with university students, you need to take your intelligent young professionals, open their eyes, and make them realize that they're starting off on careers at highly respected firms which will give them lots of opportunities. But they also need to know and understand the risks that are tightly linked to the rewards which they are pursuing. Your better university professors may point this out to you, but these warnings can sound empty and hollow without facts to back them up.

Clever young Commerce students may think they're dodging bullets by avoiding the General Motors of the world. But even the Big Four can be perilous places - sure you can prepare yourself by saving up your salary, keeping your resume up to date and making yourself an indispensable member of your team. But you're never truly secure, unless you live in a country like France which has renowned job security rules. Out in Canada and the US the realities of "at will" employment are something you should never overlook, and sharing news like this is an uncomfortable but also equally indispensable way to educate people.

Given all this turmoil, entrepreneurial types may roll their eyes, but is it any wonder that the Government of Canada is considered a top employer of choice by risk-averse students around here?

The other bonus to reading about these posts is to be reminded about your rights - including avoiding being pressured into signing the severance agreement until you've had a chance to review it with an independent adviser!

And if you're just starting out as a student, you see eye-opening comments such as this:

"I got a whiff that I dodged the cut. And honestly, I feel cheated. I want my severance and an excuse to leave this place on good terms."

Contrast that with someone who didn't dodge the cut:

"Confirmed. I was axed today and appreciated the advanced notice from the blog so I could bring in an extra bag this morning to take things home.

Folks, the blog is like listening to the weather forecast the night before……."

Finally, just scroll down to comment 103 which offers advice for people trying to get their final paycheque - and which also provides this handy link to the USA's state regulations on final paycheques.

At least if people were writing their UFE exam they got that out of the way before these announcements came out, but that's probably the only bitter ray of sunshine available. Well that, and the fact that many of the people who are laid off manage to find more interesting jobs. Wel, if they've already achieved their professional designation in accounting or audit - be it the CA, CPA, CIA or CISA. I feel worst for people who have to start looking for work with only a year or so of experience under their belts.

Good luck - if there's any consolation, recruiters have suddenly ramped up their efforts - my voicemail was getting hit daily this week as I'm often away from my desk for extended stretches auditing this, analyzing that - so there seems to be a ready supply of jobs for clever experienced people out there and available.

And what exactly does this arrow symbolize? The recent frequency of posting? I really should take detailed notes about all the clever topics that come to mind for me to write about, as it'll probably be far too easy to forget lots of intelligent tips and tricks as time goes on. I would share them now, but the typical excuses associated with busy season are still present. Which is why it took me an entire week to note that I got hit 332 times last month, a fall from September's count of 376. I try to be prompt in reporting that total, so at least I won't lose track of it - anyway, that's your statistic for October nestled in with a much more substantial post.

The only good thing to report is the 376

Krupo — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:13:00 GMT

The month before, the count was 416; in September the total count was only 376, that's an improvement.

Accounting firms continue with dismissals as they welcome new hires and prepare for another busy season. After condemning the day-of-UFE terminations, a week later I heard that more terminations went through. Exact numbers are, as usual, hard to come by, since each firm is understandably secretive - but the carnage seems to be less severe than last year - if you had a chance to spot the warning signs, and had an escape route, it was a good time to transfer out of regular audit as soon as you could.

As anyone would, I feel bad for everyone who was sent home, especially those who haven't completed their CA student programs, since your options are a bit more limited. The big upside is that lots of small and mid-sized firms still need people, even in a lousy economic time. Hopefully they'll all find a good new home.

Some people find a job that's less stressful than audit and accounting too.

The August 2009 Count - 416

Krupo — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:51:00 GMT

The number of spam e-mails hitting me continued their downward trend landing at 416, sliding even lower than last month's 437. Better spam filters at last? Wonderful.

I had several topics come to mind regarding how companies measure various metrics for success and failure, and of course they all slipped my mind, which points out a simple fact: I should really write down those errant ideas when they come to me instead of letting them drift off into the ether.

If it would be possible to get the electronic junk to disappear, and the glaciers to stay, we'd be set.

The Toronto strike is finally over

Krupo — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:50:00 GMT

I'm finally back from vacation while city staff continue to clean up after their labour action. Posting was sporadic lately due to real life intruding, and the next week is going to be quite busy.

In AuditLand the current crop of interns are going to be winding down their summer terms and the brave crop of 2009 fall hires will be showing up in an accounting firm office near you in a matter of mere weeks.

Enjoy summer while you can, and dodge the spam - last month's count was 437 which tells me that either the filters are getting better, or I wasn't the only person both on holiday and too usy to write.

June was busy, so Happy Canada Day!

Krupo — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:58:00 GMT

Happy Canada Day - 142 years young!

I didn't have much time to reflect on that or do much more than watch fireworks, since today was a relaxing catch-up day, after a hectic June, where I got hit by 612 spams - a fall from May's 768.

Busy season is a relative concept, based on how much of a crushing workload you're currently enjoying compared to other times of the year. Oddly enough I got to experience what's essentially busy season in what's usually the slow season for most people around here. But that's ok, now I get to enjoy a brief lull before the storm of 'real' busy season hits in the fall.

The other concept of "relativity" regarding busy season is that where you're busy depends not only on your job and department, but your hemisphere. It's winter in Australia now and from what I understand, the madness of busy season is in full swing there.

And yes, I don't understand how they thought "Fly Girls" would somehow make sense either. I guess that's the Canadian in me.

768 - the June total

Krupo — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:27:00 GMT

768 is a sharp jump from last month.

April 2009: Tax returns filed the wrong way, and less spam: 459

Krupo — Sat, 02 May 2009 08:40:00 GMT

Hopefully you've already filed your taxes and didn't just toss in a football-sized package of disorganized receipts in the mail.

Similar to tax cheaters, spammers continue their annoying work of clogging the internet - but their numbers fell to only 459 last month, a huge drop from the 684 in March, some happy and good news.

How I would picture fighting spam, in snow-form.

Google's 0.25 megawatt server farms and the March 2009 Count

Krupo — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 04:49:00 GMT

684 pieces of spam hit me in March.

One of the funky blurry pictures from Metric's Thursday April 2 secret show. The good stuff is loading up and will get shared soon.

That's an increase of 42 from last month. Wonder if April's massive worm attacks will exacerbate matters?

Maybe not.

But the information on that last link pointed me to an interesting article about Google's server containers - the computers are stored in a shipping container, making the whole operation nice and modular.

If you take 4 of these containers you have 4640 computers that can draw a peak load of a full megawatt.

Impressive - especially considering they have much than a mere four units running their very fat corner of the internet.

In comparison, the entire province of Ontario uses anywhere from 16000 to 27000 megawatts of electricity at the daily peak point

It's always fun to read the paranoid comments in response to an article like this - the news came out on April 1, and there's a tradition of excellent G-hoaxes, but Google confirmed it's not a gag the next day.

And I was simply way too busy this week to write something like this or that. Note - the former is apparently a real device. Wild.

Hit 642 times in February

Krupo — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:03:00 GMT

The spam tracking continues. 642 pieces of junk mail hit me last month, a very similar count to the 639 in January.

If I had more time I'd tie this into some sort of global spam tracking tool. But I'm sure someone else has already written up all this - I'm not really putting a huge amount of effort into this lazy little record keeping project at the moment knowing that there are much larger repositories of this sort of information. Yet it would be a pity to stop tracking my own stats for some reason.

January 2009: 639 pieces of spam

Krupo — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 07:37:00 GMT

The lazy stats project continues - 639 pieces of junk mail hit me in January 2009. Significantly less than the 808 from last December.

"You're posting less often than before"

Krupo — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:59:00 GMT

Happy New Year!

Starting off 2009 and saying goodbye to all that has gone by causes many to embrace looking forward to what's coming up, or to write up a retrospective. Since I've been asked about why my writing frequency varies, I figured why not add up the totals on the side of this page and identify the trends? After all, even Google is looking back at the statistics on their blog too.

How often I write depends on both a combination of how much inspiration and spare time I have. If I have plenty of both, I write more, not surprisingly. And while I wrote yesterday about the typical auditor's busy season, you can't assume it's the same period of time for everyone, in the same company and in the same country. It's easy to get hit with a heavy assignment that eats up all your spare time during an unexpected time of the year.

This blog got off the ground in the fall of 2005, and started to gather steam as I continued to prepare for the UFE - using it as an excuse to study harder and write about what I was learning. Follow the old posts to see the site's old home - where I realize my writing style, and overall focus, was a whole lot more different than it is now. I don't embed videos with anywhere near the same frequency - leaving that fun to Videosift instead, unless something particularly interesting pops up worth sharing here.

Anyway, on to the statistics: I posted almost 300 entries in 2006, split among the old site and The Steeple.

In 2007 and 2008, on the other hand, I wrote 124 and 119 posts, respectively. That makes sense, considering I finished with my exams by then.

But I continued to officially mentor writers for the following exams. Since the exam keeps changing dramatically over time - and other people need a chance to be official mentors - I won't be officially mentoring my friends at work, but I seem to have a way to keep helping people over time. So I probably won't let the whole process completely fall off the radar.

Although I wrote less posts, they tended to be on topic more often than previously - not always on topic, but the tone seemed to evolve nicely over time. Since I have my CA and CISA designations now, I'm also sliding smoothly from the place of being purely a "student" of accounting to embracing the "instructor" responsibilities more with increasing frequency.

Of course, you can't learn everything in just a few years - living the role of the "student" never disappears completely. This isn't news to anyone who tries to teach something to others - every time you teach someone a given skill or piece of knowledge, you're really learning it all over again. And given the developments you have to follow in this line of work, even if you're not teaching someone else, the learning still never stops, keeping the job interesting.

In addition to there being additional levels of complexity to master on whatever topics you specialize in, the rules for accounting keep changing. The upcoming adoption of IFRS - the International Financial Reporting Standards accounting standards - is an excellent example for those working in Canada or the United States.

Which is a roundabout way of saying that I probably won't run out of somewhat 'on-topic' things to discuss anytime soon.

My spam tracking also continues: I got pinged 808 times, a climb up from the 594 pieces of spam that hit me in November, but on par with the 897 that hit me in October. There was a major spam server shutdown in the middle of November, though, which no doubt goes a long way towards explaining that temporary drop.