Hiring Hall

As the post-tax season morphs into what I fondly refer to as “graduation season,” a time when many of us are forced to write hundreds of dollars in “good luck” checks to 21-year-olds we see about on about the same average as Halley’s Comet, I wondered what the accounting and finance profession holds in terms of job prospects for those armed with a diploma, ill-fitting mortar board, and an un-jaded work ethic.

Lo and behold, financial staffing concern Accounting Principals has unveiled a list of  the six most in-demand finance and accounting posts for those with skills in those fields and attached the median salaries to each position.

Going Mobile

Now that many of us — including yours truly — no doubt ingested enough protein and side dishes over the long holiday weekend to film our own  reality TV  versions of “Super-Size Me,” it’s probably sage advice  to get some distance between the refrigerator and outdoor grills and return to our collective for-pay pursuits.
 

Last week, before I attempted to out-eat the entire five boroughs that comprise New York City (and you can toss in Long Island for good measure), I hosted back-to-back webinars on the trends and issues that are currently making more than a slight dent on the public accounting profession and in not-so-subtle ways are basically reshaping how CPA firms conduct business.

Those CPA Firm Nuptials Just Keep Coming!

Having covered the public accounting arena for nearly a dozen years, I was fairly certain I had developed a keen ability to monitor the pulse of the profession. More often than not I was proactive regarding many of the big headline stories, but just to keep me honest, every so often a blockbuster event would blindside me.

He’s Outta Here (and I Can’t Say I Blame Him)!

Outside of the first time I tried swinging a driver, there have been few examples of ineptitude that could match the much-anticipated and far more disappointing IPO of Facebook. As of this writing, the social media platform had dipped below $34 a share, and NASDAQ had to answer a whole lot of questions from angry investors about how well prepared it was to handle one of the largest initial public offerings in history when internal glitches delayed information about whether trades had been executed.

But one of the far more interesting sub-plots amid the company’s recent Wall Street frenzy was the fact that Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin renounced his U.S. citizenship in an effort to save himself $67 million in capital gains taxes. Saverin, who had been living in Singapore since 2009, abdicated his citizenship last September, no doubt buoyed by the anticipation of someone from the IRS knocking on his door claiming to be his new best friend.

Reforming the Tax Code – Not!

As you can imagine in my 12 years at the helm of Accounting Today, stories that were tax-centric in nature surfaced a time or two. 
 

We covered tax cuts, tax bills, tax avoidance schemes, prison terms for violators and what appeared to be every reader’s favorite – stories of celebrity tax troubles.

Fraud Comes In All Shapes and Sizes

A number of years ago, I remember reading about how a small cadre of science geeks used their way-above average IQs to “game” a significant number of arcades in the Northeast.

This legion of Intel Award winner hopefuls, no doubt clad in ill-fitting chinos, baggy cardigans and soiled pocket protectors, ventured into a local office supplies store, purchased a ream of paper as close to U.S. Treasury grade as legally allowed. They then walked over to the copy machine, plopped a $5 bill on the glass and proceeded to Xerox hundreds of actual sized Lincolns.

"Don't Worry Dear, Our 201(k) is Doing Fine!"

With each passing payday I feel a stronger  kindred spirit with Al Bundy - the browbeaten and underachieving character of Married With Children fame - holding up crisp dollar bills in an outstretched hand as each family member helps themselves to their bi-weekly largesse, whether deserved or otherwise.

His Scariest Writing Yet

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Stephen King fan.

I, along with millions of other theater-goers, levitated when the supposedly dead Carrie reached through to ground to grab a mourner at graveside during a bizarre dream sequence. And a year later, I may have broken Olympic records for the in-seat high-jump when a crazed Jack Nicholson smashed through the bathroom door with an ax in “The Shining,” in an attempt to turn his family into steak cubes.

A "Taxing" Flight Delay

I often wonder how  residents of  say  Missouri  and Oklahoma  would  react if their respective state governments implemented an income tax of roughly 9 percent  as a reward for funneling more of their paychecks to the state coffers, were rewarded with pothole-laden roads and crumbling bridges long overdue for repair, both of which brazenly commanded  $6.50 tolls.

Can anyone spell R-I-O-T?

I say welcome to life in New York.

Have We Got A Deal For You...

During my formative years, I  was not what you would call a natural born salesman.

For example, I was the only Cub Scout in my troop who actually owed money when given my annual candy consignment to sell door to door. When the troop switched to marketing light bulbs, I sold two packs-  one to my parents and the other to my grandmother, whom as I remember, was still using oil lamps.

A number of other potential prospects threatened me with an order of protection if I ever rang their doorbells again.