WTF! CPAs React to Money Crisis

Finance and accounting professionals are gaping in awe and astonishment at the worldwide financial unraveling.

To capture some of the sentiment and maybe a few useful ideas, we floated a query on LinkedIn. If you’re not already on LinkedIn, please join us. We’ve been asking, “What should finance and accounting professional make of the crisis?” Here are some comments from some LinkedIn users…

Peggy Ireland, Consultant at Investors Group and Board Member at Consumers Association of Canada, Ontario, Canada:

What the hell were they thinking?

Greg Steinbrenner, Assistant Vice President at Guaranty Bank, Milwaukee:

GM just recently tapped a line of credit. They say its not because a crunch of their working capital but because the line may not be available much longer.

Joe Eckelkamp, President and Owner at Eckelkamp & Associates CPAs, St. Louis:

The single most critical action is to capture all of the liquidity you can NOW. Draw down and arbitrage at as small a net carrying cost as possible any cash you can reasonably foresee needing because it may not be available when you need it. You cannot be too liquid right now in a business. It is liquidity to a greater degree than actual asset quality that is causing the crisis at present.

John A. Wheeler, Founder & Managing Principal, Wheelhouse Advisors LLC, Atlanta:

They need to review incentive programs to determine whether employees are continuing to be rewarded for taking excessive risks. This is one of the tell-tale signs that a company is headed for trouble.

Chris Kelly, Partner at Kelly Partners LLP, United Kingdom:

Largely I agree with Joe Ecklekamp above. Co-incidentally I wrote an article for audit executives on the same topic which you can access at the link below. In summary it highlighted the following as areas that should be of concern to executives:

1. rising cost of debt & therefore cost of capital rendering some projects unviable

2. pressure on employees who may be suffering their own personal hardships

3. action to take on working capital (creditors and debtors)

4. ensuring cash & management information is up to date and reliable

Download Chris’s article: Surviving the Credit Crunch

60 Best CPA Firms to Work For

Accounting Today Announces the 2008 Best Accounting Firms to Work For

Sixty accounting firms have been honored as the Best Accounting Firms to Work For in an inaugural program created by Accounting Today and Best Companies Group.

This survey and award program is designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in the accounting profession, which benefit the nation’s economy, its workforce and businesses. The Best Accounting Firms to Work For list comprises 60 firms organized into three size categories: 5 small-sized firms (15-24 employees), 40 medium-sized firms (25-249 employees) and 15 large-sized firms (more than 250 employees).

Firms from across the country entered the two-part survey process to determine the Best Accounting Firms to Work For. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated firm’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration, survey and analysis process and determined the final rankings.

The List: 2008 Best Accounting Firms to Work For
(alphabetical order, no ranking)

– Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP
– Barfield, Murphy, Shank & Smith
– Bartolomei Pucciarelli, LLC
– Berlin, Ramos & Company, P.A.
– Bernard Robinson & Company, LLP
– Berntson Porter & Company, PLLC
– Biscotti, Toback & Company, CPA’s P.C.
– BKD, LLP
– Bland, Garvey, Eads, Medlock + Deppe, PC
– Bond Beebe
– Boyer & Ritter, CPAs and Consultants
– Briggs & Veselka Co.
– Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz
– Brown Smith Wallace, LLC
– Burr, Pilger and Mayer, LLP
– Citrin Cooperman & Co.
– Clifton Gunderson LLP
– Cohen & Company
– Cowan, Gunteski & Co., P.A.
– Daszkal Bolton LLP
– DiCicco, Gulman & Company LLP
– DiGiovine Hnilo Jordan + Johnson Ltd.
– Ernst & Young
– Frazier & Deeter, LLC
– Friedman LLP
– GALLINA LLP
– Garcia, Espinosa, Miyares & Company, LLP
– Glenn M. Gelman & Associates
– Heinfeld, Meech & Co., P.C.
– Henry & Horne, LLP
– Johnson Lambert & Co. LLP
– Kaufman, Rossin & Co.
– KPMG LLP
– KraftCPAs PLLC
– Kreinces Rollins & Shanker, LLC
– Lanigan, Ryan, Malcolm & Doyle, P.C.
– LaPorte Sehrt Romig Hand
– Mahoney, Ulbrich, Christiansen & Russ PA
– Mark Bailey & Company
– Martin Starnes & Associates, CPAs, P.A.
– McKonly & Asbury, LLP
– PETRINOVICH PUGH & CO, LLP
– PKF Texas
– Porter Keadle Moore, LLP
– Presser, Lahnen & Edelman, PA
– Rothstein Kass
– RSM McGladrey/McGladrey & Pullen
– SAS 70 Solutions
– Sharrard, McGee & Co., P.A.
– SingerLewak
– Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk & Loyd, LLC
– The Rehmann Group
– Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer, P.C.
– Whitley Penn LLP
– WHITLOCK, SELIM & KEEHN, LLP
– Wilkin & Guttenplan, P.C.
– William Vaughan Company
– Windham Brannon
– Wipfli LLP
– WithumSmith+Brown, P.C.

For more information on the Best Accounting Firms to Work For program, visit www.BestAccountingFirmstoWorkFor.com.