Windy City Denial

For the past decade, late August for me meant an 11^th hour family vacation sandwiched between attending the annual Midwest Accounting and Finance Showcase in Chicago – well, technically Rosemont, the burgh just off the runways of O’Hare.

True to form, this year was no different — a whirlwind college tour/vacation in Virginia and, just days later, off to the Windy City for a two-day tour of booth duty and conversations with attendees about their succession planning and transition needs that will hopefully come to fruition in the form of an M&A deal or consulting agreements.

Over Here We Have a Lovely Refrigerator Box…

The undisputed king of the one-liners, Henny Youngman, used to say that his accountant assured him that he had enough in his retirement savings to last him the rest of his natural life. That was provided he died by 5 o’clock that afternoon.

With one daughter in college and the other about 365 days away from her freshman year, you can imagine thoughts of retiring to an abandoned refrigerator box and toasting squirrel for dinner isn’t all that far from my daily train of thought.

Letting Go and Knowing Who to Let Go To

Recently, I was speaking with the managing partner of a CPA firm who indicated that he wanted to begin slowing down in about five years and then continue on a part-time basis until his spouse dragged him out of the office or carried him out – whichever came first.

That’s fine, I assured him, but did he have someone in-house that could assume the reins or was he looking for an affiliation opportunity? He stared at me like a contestant on Final Jeopardy who was just asked to name an 11-letter world capital.

A Taxing Curriculum

This Friday, the Carlino clan (at least those of us still living at home) will pack the car and head down to the mid-Atlantic region for that education ritual known as college visits.

Firing Ferguson

Legendary Hollywood producer, agent, and ultimate insider, Jerry Weintraub, who handled the careers of such superstars as Frank Sinatra, Elvis, and Led Zeppelin, also counted folksy balladeer John Denver among his client roster.

Once during a concert tour in Europe, the moody Denver complained to Weintraub that every facet of the tour was unacceptable — from the hotels to the food to the concert venues — and demanded that Weintraub fly over and rectify the situation.

When Did You Stop Beating Your Wife – Err... I Mean, Paying Your Taxes?

In the nearly quarter century I spent as a journalist, I only wished I could write or say what I wanted against people I didn’t care for (and trust me there were plenty) while never having to substantiate said statements  and skating off with relative impunity.

If only a job like that existed in America.

Oh wait!  It does.

But unfortunately, the title of Senate Majority Leader is currently occupied by one Harry Reid, who last week leveled charges against Mitt Romney accusing the GOP Presidential hopeful of not paying his taxes in 10 years.

Why We Need Tax Reform in Black and White - Actually in Gold, Silver, and Bronze!

Imagine spending five to six hours a day in a pool for the better part of a decade, honing your aquatic skills to the point where you earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team and then achieving what a scant few have throughout the history of the games – a gold medal.

First come the throngs of interviews, the inevitable appearances on The Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman, and perhaps your image on a box of Wheaties. Then, when the excitement eventually wanes, your mailbox contains a bill from the IRS asking for a payment of $8,936 as a result of your dedication and untold miles in a self-contained rectangle.