Fall JOU225 Live-blog Demo

Sphere: Related Content

Sphere: Related Content

Google Alerts Never Takes a Day Off, So I Don't Either

I've neglected posting on 10KT for far too long so if nothing else, accept this as a token of my realization that this blog exists.

The one thing that has come about in my short time as a paid blogger (professional doesn't seem appropriate) is that I am overcome by the mass amount of emails that I receive on a daily basis. I receive so many that the mere idea of reading all them is an act in futility.

I should clarify that these are content related alerts that I receive from Google and not fan mail or hate email. The former being a delusion and the latter being suspiciously absent.

Google Alerts has easily become my best friend and my worst enemy all at the same time. Without this miracle of information, I would not be able to do my job, pure and simple. It provides me with some of the most bizarre stories that I post about it. Here's one that would not have been possible without Google Alerts.

At the same time, sometimes I wish Google Alerts would take a day off. Sadly, it never grows weary. Holidays, weekends, and snow days are all equal in the eyes of the almighty Google machine.

If my untimely passing were to occur, Google would never know and the unread emails in my inbox would grow, day after day, unless Google Alerts was able to reconcile my obituary with the email account and discontinue the service.

So I have to accept the fact that as long as I crave information for my work, Google will oblige without hesitation. I guess it beats the hell out of finding the stories myself. Sphere: Related Content

Hacks vs. Flacks

Becoming a blogger has forced me into a brand new world of vernacular and day to day interaction with all different types of media.

"Hacks and flacks" is a dynamic that exists in media that I am increasingly involved with. Hacks, in the traditional sense, are news reporters producing work quickly on a regular basis. Woodward and Bernstein types.

In the increasingly online media world, it appears that bloggers have naturally found themselves included in this group, regardless of their lack of journalistic background.

When I was first deemed a 'hack' it was not in the complimentary sense and we'll just leave it at that. After that, I began to notice term more and more and that it was used by many writers/bloggers/journalists (mostly on Twitter) to self-identify themselves.

So I had to do some research to get to the bottom of this. Definitions of a hack, as it could be possibly be applied to my trade as a blogger are as follows, per Wiktionary:

• One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work.
• A talented writer-for-hire, paid to put others' thoughts into felicitous language.
• An untalented writer.
• A political agitator.

It could easily argued that definitions 2 and 4 do not apply since I'm most definitely not a 'writer-for-hire, paid to put others' thoughts into felicitous language'. I am a writer, already hired, putting my own thoughts into felicitous language for a tabloid.

Additionally, while I'm clearly an agitator, a political agitator is quite a stretch. I've gotten to the point where I've been self-identifying as as either a 'trouble-maker' or when I'm feel like engaging in some self-loathing, a 'gossip-mongering whore'.

When I hear 'political agitator', I think of anyone related to the Nixon White House or Karl Rove (who might as well have been part of the Nixon White House).

So that leaves us with: 'One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work' and 'an untalented writer'. Both of which are at the very least, arguable and at the very best, spot on. Hence, the case for my "hack" status is pretty solid.

The "flacks" I have dealt with have increasingly lukewarm to my "hack" status. Either that or they just don't like talking to me as it's pretty difficult to get anyone on the phone or to respond to my emails. The reasons for this aren't quite clear but I have my theories, which I won't get into here because, simply, I'm paranoid.

What's also interesting is that when I Googled 'Hacks & Flacks' or some derivative, most results indicate that a adversarial or competitive relationship exists between the two groups. This makes me realize that A) my experience is normal, and B) it's basically a game between two groups of people that have very different interests.

Flacks are very good at discussing and promoting good news for their company. They're not so excited about discussing bad or unflattering news for said company. Since good news doesn't really lend to very good gossip or tabloid material I naturally drift towards the 'bad news'. I guess should probably expect more stonewalling... Sphere: Related Content

10-key Tramp: Cheerleader

Since GC launched in July, I've found myself taking on different roles as an editor. The one that I definitely did not foresee but find myself getting odd enjoyment out of is that of cheerleader.

I feel as though I can never hype the site enough and that I enjoy talking about it and what we're trying to do. Perhaps that makes me a little egocentric but I can't tell people that I don't want to talk about it, can I? That wouldn't make me a very good cheerleader or barker

The fact of the matter is, that the more people that I coerce into joining the group on Facebook or following on Twitter, the better for the exposure of the site and the traffic numbers. "Viral" is the word I keep hearing. I'm not a big fan of buzzwords but this sums it up better than anything else I can come up with.

Strange thing is, that I find myself being obsessed with the number of people in the Facebook group and the number of followers we have on Twitter. Sometimes checking both multiple times a day and secretly high-fiving myself when we get a big jump in group members and followers. So, I find myself being totally okay with this shamelessness.

This is very much a strange feeling for me because I've never been one to get to excited about anything to the point of where I would voluntarily promote it let alone jump up and down to get people to come look at like a barker at Coney Island.

I had jobs at three different companies plus an internship but I never bought into the rah-rah aspect of corporate life that existed at any of them. Maybe that's why I'm no longer part of the corporate world...I'd much rather hype something I actually believe in. Like a freak show. Sphere: Related Content

The Silver Lining to Nasty Comments

Things have been pretty fun over at Going Concern. It's never without its interesting moments and it's great to read the comments that are posted by readers both the praise and the hate.

The thing that I've found is that I can't really think too much about the hater comments during the day because I'm always in a race against the clock. Whatever is going on, I'm always trying to post as much material as possible in a day to see what works and what doesn't and to follow up on stuff that is working. With all that going on, I have very little time to think about Guest 9 @ 3:39 that called me a "huge dickbag".

There seems to be two types of nasty comments: 1) Nasty comments with legitimate criticism; and 2) Hater comments and I think I may have found the silver lining in both.

For type #1, most of the time there is an underlying critique that is expressed in a nasty way so I have to try and consider the writer's intent. I usually try to figure out the underlying criticism and if it is legitimate or not and forget that the comment started with "Caleb you dumbfuck". So nasty comments can be good but it's true, lots of them are just hater comments, which is fine, it comes with the territory.

And strangely enough, the silver lining in the hater comments is sharing with them with friends works as a great joke. When I share these nasty comments with friends, they start laughing so hard, that I can't help but laugh too. Laughing with friends is what's really important anyway and if it happens at my expense, well, then I'm okay with that. Sphere: Related Content

Thanks Everybody!

This is just a quick shout out to everyone that has kept up with this extremely obscure blog since its start last summer. It's been an exciting past three months as I have unexpectedly gone from extremely bitter bean counter to borderline workaholic blogger. Thanks to the two Davids at Breaking Media for giving me this exciting opportunity and thanks to Nick, our web developer who made the site look so awesome.

I want all of you that are readers of this blog to give honest feedback on Going Concern and the work we are doing there because it's really an outlet for all of you that work in the accounting and finance fields. I will continue to write here less mysteriously so that hopefully you will share without filters (hopefully constructively).

So, this is my mini-awards show moment: Thanks to the following people for their support: Re: The Auditors, Jr. Deputy Accountant, Razorback04, DailyAngst, MKraft, EdithO, Catch That?, all my NYC Peeps (too numerous to name), all my Mile High City Peeps (way too numerous to name), my SoCal Peeps (Krista & Matt, Jeff), and last but most certainly not least, all the Nebraska peeps. If I left you off, I apologize, I did my best. Let me hear about it at Going Concern!

Sphere: Related Content

ANNOUNCEMENT: Launch of GoingConcern.com

Readers! This announcement warrants your complete and undivided attention. I am happy to announce that today marks the launch date of Going Concern, an accounting and finance tabloid of which I am the founding editor.

Check out our press releases: MediaPost Publications and Talking Biz News

Going Concern will continue the tradition that we have built here at 10-key Tramp for the past year. The great folks at Breaking Media have blazed the trail in professional tabloid blogging and have decided that all of you in the accounting and finance need a site where you can find out all the latest news, gossip, rumors, that are occurring in your industry.

Going Concern will give us a bigger megaphone and I encourage all of you to share any information that you have with us there because we deeply care about all of you out there that are working in this demanding industry and we want to be a place for you to vent and share your thoughts and ideas about everything that is going on.

We need your help to make this blog be what you want it to be! You can send tips to tips@goingconcern.com and follow us at Twitter @going_concern.

Join us now and tell all you friends and colleagues!

Thanks for reading,

Caleb

UPDATE 3:44 PM EST: Another press release at Media Bistro

Sphere: Related Content

Review Comments | 07.17.09

• KPMG Suggests Goodwill Writedowns Doubled in 2008 - "The 2008 wave of goodwill impairments provides yet another disturbing piece evidence of the value that’s being wrung out of companies as a result of the recession." [Compliance Week]

• Companies Exasperate SEC Accounting Chief - "The Securities and Exchange Commission's new top accountant took a pair of swipes today at the corporate community, showing frustration over the response to two major accounting standards initiatives." Accountants are especially hilarious when they talk trash about each other. [CFO.com]

• Wow Factor Added To Corporate Presentation - It was the scrolling text with the "choo-choo" sound effects. Gets 'em every time. [The Onion]
  

Sphere: Related Content

How Does Your To-Do List Compare to That of the Goldman Sachs Spokesperson?

Apparently this was found in the trash outside of 85 Broad:

Courtesy of Reformed Broker via Clusterstock. What we really want to know is why "Imbed tracking chips in 1.2 billion Indians" not on the list? Sphere: Related Content

Madoff Auditor Pleads Not Guilty

Count us as surprised. After agreeing to not have the evidence against him reviewed by a grand jury, which led some (i.e. us, Bloomberg, others) to speculate that he would plead guilty, Bernie Madoff's auditor/alleged accomplice/number-maker-upper, David Friehling, plead not guilty today.

WSJ:

"[Friehling] entered a not guilty plea to securities fraud, aiding and abetting investment adviser fraud and four counts of filing false audit reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Friehling was originally charged in March. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Baroni asked the court for the next hearing in the matter to be scheduled in 60 days to allow the parties to continue discussion of a possible disposition of the matter. The next hearing scheduled in the case is Oct. 1."

This really doesn't make a helluva lotta sense to us but whatevs. If dude is looking to roll the dice, who are we to say "you're an idiot"?

UPDATE 2:25 pm: Because it's Friday and we are intent on getting the party started early, we just so happened to ignore that the possibility of a "disposition of the matter". Our bad.

Madoff's Auditor Pleads Not Guilty [WSJ]

Sphere: Related Content

Tchotchke Follow-up: What's with the KPMG Hand Gel?

A reader, a little late to the game, sent in another picture for our tchotchke contest from a few weeks back. Enjoy:

Look familiar? That's because this is our second submission of Radio Station hand gel. Which begs the obvious question: why the hell is KPMG handing out hand gel? Did Tim Flynn and the boys at the top determine that the touch of soft, creamy hands are the key to great client service? Was the constant high-fiving amongst team members driving many to complain of raw palms? Or perhaps, Bernie Madoff isn't the only one that enjoys a little rub 'n tug in the middle of a tough day?

Sphere: Related Content

Yes, the PwC/Satyam Story is Still Out There

We haven't shared any new bad news on PwC (read: Satyam) since, GASP, Monday but thanks to Re: The Auditors, who we'll point out, is on this story like stink on a monkey, we've got some thoughts:

1. It appears that PwC has a serious gag order on external communication re: Satyam. PwC has not held a single press conference in India since the scandal broke back in January. This is dubious for several reasons as you'd think there would some statement by P. Dubs but as we and others have noted, because no one seems to GAF here in the States, there's probably no rush to call attention to the pachyderm. The bigwigs figure that playing dumb will work in the West until someone starts making noise.

2. India's regulators and Satyam are playing hardball - Understandably, India is not cool with what happened and especially not cool with PW India's lack of admitting "yeah, our bad". "India's Enron" isn't a terribly flattering turn of events for a country that had been kicking ass and taking names lately so regulators and Satyam themselves is going on the offensive. The market regulator has announced that it will fund lawsuits on behalf of investors against whomever it has to. Plus, a big "Fuck you PwC" occurred in Forbes India where the Chairman of Satyam that took over after the scandal is quoted as saying "PwC messed up big time" noting that they didn't apply elementary auditing procedures.

3. When the lawsuits start, PwC will deny 'til they die - When it was reported that PwC could be banned from auditing in India it sent out "internal communication" to all employees (um, email) basically summing up the following:

• ICAI cannot ban the firm in India
• ICAI does not have power to act against firms
• Newspaper report on banning PW incorrect
• ICAI can take action only against partners
• Any action against partners a long process
• PwC was not contacted by ICAI high powered committee

So it's pretty clear that when PwC does decide to join this party, they'll be coming out swinging. This "communication" seems to be laying the ground work internally to rally the troops because this will surely get worse before it gets better and they're going to want some people in their corner.

Dreaming Of India: PwC and Satyam [Re: The Auditors]

Sphere: Related Content

Scoping | 07.17.09

• GE second-quarter profits fall by 47% - "Earnings at NBC Universal were off by 41 per cent as advertising revenue plunged." No details on what CNBC's details were but they're part of team GE so a little bit of schadenfreude is in order here. [FT.com]

• Paging Ben Dover To Provide Taxpayer Funded Workplace Humor - We figured those Treasury guys were a lame bunch but this is ridiculous. [Zero Hedge]

• D-day in Latvia - Note to Latvia: If you want to stay in the game, you better do what the overlords at the IMF say. [FT Alphaville]
  

Sphere: Related Content

Review Comments | 07.16.09

• Sears Tower Changes Name - WTG Eddie Lampert. Just lost the name on the tallest building in the U.S. Top notch. [Business Week]

• CBO Chief Criticizes Democrats' Health Reform Measures - "Instead of saving the federal government from fiscal catastrophe, the health reform measures being drafted by congressional Democrats would increase rather than reduce public spending on health care, potentially worsening an already bleak budget outlook, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said this morning." You mean spending more isn't a good idea? [Washington Post]

• Goldman Sachs in Talks to Acquire Treasury Department - "In what some on Wall Street are calling the biggest blockbuster deal in the history of the financial sector, Goldman Sachs confirmed today that it was in talks to acquire the U.S. Department of the Treasury. According to Goldman spokesperson Jonathan Hestron, the merger between Goldman and the Treasury Department is 'a good fit' because 'they're in the business of printing money and so are we.'" [Borowitz Report]
  

Sphere: Related Content

Better Hope those Treasury Dudes are Right

Bloomberg has some potential famous last words as CIT awaits its fate from its bondholders:

The U.S. spurning of CIT Group Inc.’s aid request suggests officials are betting they’ve fixed the financial system enough to withstand the bankruptcy of a mid-sized lender. “I hate to say this, but it was probably expendable,” said Dennis Santiago, chief executive officer of Institutional Risk Analytics, a Torrance, California, research firm that studies systemic risk. “It may have just missed the boat” on federal rescues, Santiago said. [Empahsis ours]

Doesn't mean people, ahem, and voters won't be pissed:

There will be “a lot of disruption and anger among voters, particularly among people who rely on firms such as CIT for funding,” said Sean Egan, head of Egan-Jones Ratings Co. in Haverford, Pennsylvania, which rates CIT below investment grade. “A major provider of capital in the middle market is likely to be out of business in the near future,” and investors will be concerned, at least in the “short run” about CIT, Egan said. [Emphasis ours]

See you on the other side.

Treasury Bets U.S. Financial System Can Weather CIT Collapse [Bloomberg] Sphere: Related Content

IASB Gets Some Backup Defending Their Turf Against France and Germany

Yesterday we brought up how some German and French insurance were less than cool with the new proposals put forth by the IASB that would make everybody's favorite valuation method, mark-to-market, pretty much mandatory on any investment that isn't a fixed income security (read: that's lots of stuff).

The Finance Ministers of those countries, on behalf of said insurance companies, decided to write a very cordial letter that probably went something like this:

IASB,

We're writing to inform you that the proposals you put out totally suck and you need to move up the review process so they can write more letters that will reiterate how MTM sucks and we're going to continue to write to you about it until we get our way, goddamnit. I think you know how we deal with things in France when we don't get our way and Germany, well, we won't go there.

Peace,

French and German Finance Ministers

Which caused the two professional accounting associations in Europe, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in English and Wales (ICAEW) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) to retort with:

Dear French and German Finance Ministers,

First: You guys are talking after the whole WWII thing? France, especially you...whatevs...

Second: BTFO of the IASB's biznass.

Late,

ICAEW & CIMA

'Hands off the IASB,' say institutes [Accountancy Age] Sphere: Related Content

Hank Paulson Only Speaks the Truth: LIVE!

Due to a sketchy Internet connection we didn't live blog Hank "Lead Pipe" Paulson's testimony this morning. They just broke for lunch and plus HP will be "taking care of something". To get caught up on the big guy scaring the coveralls off Ken Lewis, go to DealBreaker.

UPDATE: Round 2.

Sphere: Related Content

Silver Lining in the Recession: Follow-up on Crocs Edition

Many, many moons ago, we told you about the most hideous fashion creation ever, Crocs, receiving a going concern warning issued by their auditors.

Well now The Washington Post is putting the nail in the nail in rubber-foam coffin after publishing a eulogy-ish story for the company today and it won't be comforting for Crocs fans (which include former President GW Bush, who probably didn't do the company any favors by coming public with that fact).

Former unpopular presidents aside, the company has a growing inventory and a mountain of debt coming due in September and most see the end coming but it sounds like the company is in denial:

"The company's toast," said Damon Vickers, who manages an investment fund at Nine Points Capital Partners in Seattle. "They're zombie-ish. They're dead and they don't know it."

Ouch, not the zombie analogy! The story comes off a little sad but then we see someone wearing a fluorescent green pair and we're ready to dance on the grave again.

Once-Trendy Crocs Could Be on Their Last Legs [Washington Post]

Sphere: Related Content

We're A Lot Closer to "Big 3" Than "Big 5"

Reuters informs us that the Big 4 firms will likely continue their dominance of the audit market and thus perpetuate their very own version of the "vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity"

From the sounds of the piece, at least it appears that the EU sees the problem that four firms dominating the market won't cut it:

The current financial crisis makes it vital that we have a truly sustainable audit market, and the consultation results published today provide valuable insight into problematic issues," EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said in a statement.

So we'll interpret the phrase "truly sustainable audit market" as "four firms is not enough" because the "current financial crisis" could very well claim a victim that has KwaterhouseDeloitteYoung in the name. The Big 4 is cool with a little more competition but, not surprisingly, their solution is "let us do what we want do and if we mess up, things will still be cool":

"The existence of a liability cap which is proportionate to audit fees would remove one of the potential barriers to mid-tier companies wanting to penetrate the large-tier market," said Jeremy Jennings, chairman of the European Contact Group, which represents the world's six biggest auditors.

Proportionate to audit fees? Is this guy kidding? So even if a firm were botch the audit for every single audit client, they'd still be in business? The investment value lost in cases like Enron, WorldCom, et al. dwarfed the audit fees paid by those companies.

Liability caps will do very little except reduce their professional accountability and thus, make the large firms more bullet-proof and strengthen the stranglehold further. Same song and dance from the Big 4.

SIGH. There seems to be little hope for this particular oligopoly to foster any new competition until it's far too late. And with the piling litigation, often due to auditor complacency, that day of reckoning may be coming very soon.

Auditor ownership not top competition priority-EU [Reuters] Sphere: Related Content