December 2007
61 posts
Twitter from the Canadian Perspective →
Do we have a software valuation issue? →
Soumitra Dutta of French business school Insead thinks so, as reported in this story on CFO.com:
Insead has developed a “novel technique” to value software assets. Using conjoint analysis — “a time-tested and widely used robust technique in marketing science,” Dutta claims — companies can place a value on software by identifying its individual attributes, compiling trade-off data from employee...
Two types of accountants →
A theory on the two types of programmers has parallels in the accounting profession:
There are two “classes” of programmers in the world of software development: I’m going to call them the 20% and the 80%.
The 20% folks are what many would call “alpha” programmers — the leaders, trailblazers, trendsetters, the kind of folks that places like Google and Fog Creek software are obsessed with...
Audits don’t happen randomly →
Commissioner and chief executive of the Canadian Revenue Agency reminds us in a story in the Financial Post that there are no random audits in Canada.
If your tax return is selected for audit, the CRA has identified some aspect of your return, be it a deduction claimed or an industry that it is focusing on, for additional scrutiny.
This should be reassuring to the majority of filers, since most...
Cigarettes and the complexity of the tax code →
Sometimes people wonder why the legislation surrounding various taxes is so complex, given the relatively straight-forward nature of those taxes. The Tax Foundation provides a telling example in a recent post about the definition of a cigarette:
Cigarettes are taxed in New Mexico, as everywhere else, and at a pretty hefty rate. As the tax goes higher and higher, there’s more of an incentive to...
Enron chronicle provides some holiday reading →
I have been on vacation for the last half of this month, and that along with Christmas has resulted in much less activity on this blog than is normally seen.
Additionally, I have been immersed in a great book on the Enron scandal, titled “The Smartest Guys In the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron.”
The book was originally published in 2003, but was recently republished with an...
Experience requirement completion date nears →
Earlier this month I received a letter from the governing body of my profession in this province, the ICAO. I wasn’t expecting it so naturally I was pretty curious. It turned out to be great news:
“According to our records, your estimated completion date of the 30-month practical experience requirement is 12/7/2007.”
Even before I had opened the letter I was treated to the new CA branding on the...
Bloggers push email taglines that promote less... →
Lies, Lies and Adobe Spies →
Delete My Bleeping Account, Facebook! →
“Tax compliance is paying the right tax at the right time in the right place in...”
– Richard Murphy
Tick Marks: Accounting for Middle Earth: Jackson... →
Internet Explorer 8 passes the Acid2 mark →
Why I’ve Decided To Abandon (Virtually All) Ads On... →
Hedge funds looking for accountants →
According to this recent post on JobsintheMoney’s CareerWire blog, hedge funds are looking for accountants and paying top dollar for them:
The Rothstein Kass report, The Compensation Conundrum, makes clear that even for non-investment professionals, hedge funds pay better than both Wall Street and corporate America.
For instance, senior accountants at surveyed firms earned $71,000 median salary...
Bamboo PC is eco-friendly and looks nice too →
“Humans are a social species, and our greatest achievements are all...”
– Edward Glaeser, professor of economics at Harvard
Grant Thornton UK swallows Robson Rhodes whole →
Grant Thornton in the UK merged earlier in the year with RSM Robson Rhodes, making it “a leading player in the mid-market and the provider of non-audit services to one in four of the FTSE 100,” according to GT’s chief Michael Cleary.
The board of the merged entity makes the transaction look more like an acquisition:
Michael Cleary heads up the board as chief executive, but, of the former Robson...
WatchGrand Theft Auto 4 Trailer! Video
SEC delays Sarbanes-Oxley requirements for small... →
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has provided small businesses another 1-year delay to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 requirements. Section 404 is the part of Sarbox that requires management to attest to the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting.
“This will help ease the burden on small firms and help encourage more small businesses to become public...
Backbone Magazine - BDO chooses blogging partner... →
“And what could be better than especially satisfying consumption? …...”
– Extremely personal investment | Free exchange | Economist.com
“If you worry about fairness when it comes to taxation it becomes difficult to...”
– The end-of-life tax | Free exchange | Economist.com
PCAOB issues alert re: fair value of financial... →
New Ways Facebook's Beacon May Have Broken the Law →
Why do Chinese leaders all have dye jobs? →
Ten principles of sound tax policy →
The Tax Foundation’s Ten principles of sound tax policy are a must-read for those influencing tax policy. I think the list can be further refined down to about half that, but maybe they wanted to get an even ten.
For instance, maintaining the neutrality of the system (#2) will result in broad bases (#3). It’s when the system gets less neutral (i.e. favours certain groups or behaviours) that the...
Subways: The New Urban Status Symbol →
White House press secretary admits she didn't know... →
“Whoever imagined that you would hear from the United States and from Britain the...”
– Desmond Tutu
MoCo Loco: weeHouse →
25 Easy Ways to Fit in 10 Minutes of Exercise →
“But economists, like accountants, are artists. They have a tendency to paint...”
– The Long and Short of It at Goldman Sachs - Ben Stein in the New York Times
BDO chooses blogging partner to head up... →
Jeremy Newman of BDO Stoy Hayward in the UK is a trailblazer as a managing partner who blogs regularly, primarily about the audit market in the UK. He’s recently won the job to be BDO International’s new CEO starting in October 2008.
Jeremy has been emphatic about getting the message out about audit choice and pushing BDO further into the market for large public company work.
A post he made...
Huckabee: NIE on Iran? Never heard of it. →
“I came to recognize I was ensconced in the accountant’s worldview, a belief...”
– Verasage Institute
Web Worker Daily » Archive Open Thread: Have You... →
Protecting the public interest, Web 2.0 style →
Richard Murphy’s on fire these days, taking it One World Trust, explaining the power of blogging and giving it to New York CPAs.
Too many in accountancy see their role to be increasing the wealth of the wealthiest in our society… and they’re politically cynical enough to pander to their clients and ignore the ethics of their duty to society as a whole.
That’s part of a scathing response to the...