CPA Success

Just in time for Valentine's Day: An auditor's love story

More than 13 billion videos were viewed on YouTube in December. To the best of my knowledge, none of them were accounting-related song parodies recorded in Second Life.

But that's about to change.

Edith Orenstein and Steven Zelin spent some time recently on CPA Island, the MACPA's Second Life home, recording "If I Were An Auditor," a parody of Bobby Darin's romantic 1966 hit "If I Were a Carpenter." The result is a four-minute video that made its debut on the Financial Executives International Blog, which Orenstein writes and edits.

Orenstein, who wrote the lyrics to the parody, is FEI's director of Accounting Policy Analysis and Communications. Zelin, a CPA, is better known as The Singing CPA. He has recorded four CDs of accounting parodies and children's music.

Orenstein said the project allowed her to pursue her passion for music, work with an inspiring role model in Zelin, and promote FEI's blog at the same time. The virtual recording session, meanwhile, gave her an opportunity to collaborate with fellow accounting and finance bloggers from throughout North America.

"The song," she told AccountingWeb, "is meant to be in good fun, something interesting, and also to provide some visibility perhaps to the FEI blog, and everyone involved with the production team ... to perhaps cross-expose our audiences to each other and bring in some new viewers to learn about what our blogs and organizations have to offer."

More to the point, though, with Valentine's Day on the horizon, who can resist a good love story?

Among the bloggers on hand for the Second Life recording session were:

• Dave Albrecht of Concordia College, author of The Summa;
• Colleen Cunningham, author of the Resources Global Finance and Accounting Blog;
• Michelle Golden, who writes the Golden Practices Blog;
• Gail Perry, managing editor of AccountingWEB;
• Tom Selling, author of The Accounting Onion; and
• Darla Sycamore, author of IFRS News and Views.

The video was produced by the MACPA's Second Life team, chief among them network administrator Mike Tobias, conference manager Dee Day (who portrayed the bride in the video, opposite Shapiro Negotiations Institute's Mark Jankowski in the role of the groom) and CEO Tom Hood.

"It was just another example of the power of social media and virtual worlds to build and strengthen real relationships," Hood told AccountingWeb. "... It was chance to do something really fun amid all of the angst over the economy -- a bright spot, if you will."

• Watch the video here.
• Read the lyrics.
• View photos from the virtual recording session.

Happy New Year from CPA Success!

Ever heard the expression, once in a "blue moon"?

Well, tonight you will get to experience a blue moon on the eve of the beginning of a new decade. The next blue moon will not be until 2028 and the last one was in May 2007. (See this article in Yahoo News Canada from my Twitter friend, @darlascamore.)

Some have said the year of the moon (2009) is fraught with catastrophe, ups and downs and uncertainty. Could it be that the year of the moon defined the entire last decade and gives us hope for the new decade?

I am taking this as a positive sign as I reflect on the last decade and look ahead into the "teenage" years of the new millennium. Could it be that we begin to mature a bit more in this interdependent, global economy? Will we focus more on things that really matter? Will we figure our more sustainable business models that take care of our people, planet and profits?

Several things are certain. Change will continue to accelerate and challenge us. The future cannot be predicted. Even more things are out of our control. We are in a period of permanent whitewater.

So what?

We think you can must do several things to help you navigate this permanent whitewater:

1. Look around to see emerging patterns and trends (backward, forward and side to side).
2. Seek high-leverage opportunities that fit your core purpose and values.
3. Create the future you want. Take some time to boldly envision what you want to create in the world you can control.
4. Build on your strengths. Look for your unique and distinct strengths and build on them.
5. Inspire others to action.
6. Be grateful every day.

I also have faith in the CPA profession, that if we stay in the boat together, we will figure this out together.

Wishing all of you a healthy, prosperous, and happy New Year!

The mother of all year-end lists

What better way to ring in the new year than with the traditional year-end list of the good, bad, best, worst, most, least, wildest, coolest, lamest stuff from the previous year?

I've got a list of my own, too. It's the Top 21 Year-End Lists of 2009. I've been collecting them for a few weeks now, and it's time to dust 'em off and get rid of them before they get all moldy and stale.

So here's one last look at 2009 before we kick its butt out the door. Enjoy ... and Happy New Year!

• The top 10 of everything in 2009 (from Time)
• Best of 2009: Accounting | Careers | Capital markets | Risk management | Budgeting and planning | Employee benefits (from CFO.com)
• AP's top stories of 2009 (from the Associated Press)
• Biggest tax and accounting stories of 2009 (from WebCPA)
• Top 10 small business stories for 2009 (from BusinessWeek)
• 100 things to watch in 2010 (and 40 that might matter to your business) (from Open Forum)
• The best of 2009: Three CFOs share career wisdom (from Business Finance)
• Dumbest business moments of 2009 (from CNN Money)
• The decade's 10 biggest financial crimes (from LedgerLink)
• Top business school stories of 2009 (from BusinessWeek)
• Top 10 IFRS stories of 2009 (from Accounting Principles)
• 2010: The year of the Roth conversion? (from the Journal of Accountancy)
• Top 10 New Year's resolutions for small business (from CPA Trendlines)
• Top 10 wacky taxes of 2009 (from the Big Fat Finance Blog)
• 2009 recap of celebrities with tax woes (from AccountingWeb)
• 2009 year in review: Web technology (from ReadWriteWeb)

And that's just for starters. What did I miss? What were your favorite (or least favorite) moments from 2009?

UPDATE: I knew I missed something. Check out these extras:

• Top 10 tax stories of the decade (from the Tax Foundation)
• 2009 Darwin Awards (Sorry ... I couldn't resist this one.)

Season's greetings

Warmest wishes for a joyous holiday season, from all of us at CPA Success and the MACPA.

Volunteers needed during holidays ... and beyond

Sometimes inspiration comes from the most unlikely of sources.

This week, it came from an intern at a Baltimore homeless shelter.

To call the Helping Up Mission a homeless shelter, though, doesn't really do it justice. The 125-year-old mission supports poor and homeless men in Baltimore through a "spiritual recovery program" that centers specifically on drug and alcohol addiction. The year-long program addresses "the intellectual, physical, social and spiritual needs" of each man enrolled and boasts one of the highest recovery rates in the country.

So said Barry Burnett, the intern in question. A team of MACPA staffers -- myself included -- spent half a day at the mission as part of our first-ever MACPA Volunteer Day. (A second team helped out at Our Daily Bread, which serves more than 250,000 meals to Baltimore's hungry each year.) Burnett guided us through our orientation.

Then came the surprise. After orientation, we asked Burnett what he did before coming to work at the mission. "I was on the street," he said. "I came here as a member of the program."

And he's not alone. The mission's staff is dotted with graduates of the recovery program -- men who came to the mission in a desperate search for help, found it, then decided to stay so they could help others through their own recoveries.

Talk about inspiring.

There's no denying the importance of volunteers. They fill a huge need by giving their time and talent to worthy causes. In the MACPA's case, we made a few beds, mopped a few floors, handed out a few meals. At the end of our all-too-infrequent good turns, though, we get to go home, warm and well fed, where our own problems pale in comparison to those of the people we just helped.

Then there are folks like Barry Burnett, who admits that he probably owes his life to the Helping Up Mission and willingly pays that debt through service to the mission. "It has changed my life and given it purpose," he told us.

So what can we learn from folks like Burnett?

For me, the lesson is this: The need doesn't start during the holiday season, and it doesn't end when we volunteers go home. The challenge is to keep that spirit of giving throughout the year, to lend a hand as a matter of course, not just as an annual event.

How are you doing that? Tell us your volunteer success stories, then find out more about the value of volunteerism in this AICPA / MACPA video:

Check out these other related resources:

• Photos from MACPA Volunteer Day: Helping Up Mission | Our Daily Bread
• Business Volunteers Unlimited Maryland: Volunteer Central
• Volunteer opportunities for CPAs

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my personal favorite of all the holidays -- that uniquely American holiday devoted to the single concept of counting our blessings and giving thanks.

This year continues to be a difficult one for many who have been caught in the turbulence of the recession. It is our hope that through the adversity, many will still find gifts to be thankful for and the comfort of friends and family — the hallmark of this holiday.

Seth Godin captures the sentiment well in his Thanksgiving post, The only holiday that really matters:

"Whenever I sit down at this keyboard, I feel humbled and quite lucky to have the privilege. Every day is Thanksgiving, because without the people we love and depend on, there'd be nothing."

I agree and echo those remarks!

We at the MACPA are thankful for the opportunity to work with so many volunteer CPAs who give their precious time and energy to help us promote and protect this wonderful profession. We are thankful that our reputation and image as the "most trusted advisor" has never been stronger. We are thankful for all CPAs who go to work every day and "do the right thing," making our economy stronger and helping employers and clients grow and prosper. We are thankful for all of our members who give us the resources and strength in numbers to represent the interests of CPAs and make a difference in Maryland.

We are also thankful for the freedoms and safety we enjoy. We remember the men and women who are fighting in lands far away and standing guard close at home while we celebrate this national day of thanksgiving. Please take a moment over the next few days to reflect and remember our fallen heroes who have paid the ultimate price.

Finally, we want to close with the words of a 14th-century prayer: "If you only know two words of prayer, 'thank you' — they are enough."

Have a safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving from CPA Success!

The key to recovery? Make 'em laugh

There's a charming Halloween tradition in St. Louis unlike any other I've come across. When St. Louis kids come to your door on Oct. 31, they're expected to tell you a joke before they get any candy.

Younger kids usually stick with something simple like, "Why did the chicken cross the playground? (Answer: "To get to the other slide!")

Older kids, meanwhile, like to try more sophisticated variations. Here's one of my favorites: "Why did the man cross the road?" (Answer: "Why do men do anything?")

What's cool is that the kids are as excited about telling their jokes as they are about getting another handful of chocolate. Usually, the jokes end up producing more Halloween smiles than the candy. In the end, everybody wins.

Who says the best things in life are free?

When we give something of value and get something of value in return, that's gold. That goes way beyond mere commerce. That, in fact, is how trusted relationships are built.

So why haven't more companies battled the recession that way?

It seems as though many businesses think they can coast into economic recovery simply by cutting costs -- slashing jobs, payroll, benefits, services. They're basically thrusting their hands into the economic candy bowl and coming out with as much sugary goodness as they can hold ... and they're not giving their clients or customers anything in return. Not even a joke.

I think the St. Louis kids have it right. As the recovery starts, the businessess that get the most candy will be the ones that make their customers smile most often. That might mean focusing not on short-term economic survival, but on long-term economic growth.

At the same time, sharing a good joke or two can't hurt.

Happy Labor Day: CPAs buck employment trends

It's Labor Day, but I'm not going to give you a hard time if you don't feel like celebrating.

The Department of Labor released its latest employment figures recently, and they aren't good. As of Sept. 4, 2009, the unemployment rate stood at 9.7 percent, its highest level since June 1983.

Kind of puts a damper on the backyard barbecue, doesn't it?

The news isn't all bad, though.

For starters, the DOL reports that the pace of job cuts has slowed considerably -- which, I'll agree, is a pretty laughable bit of good news. But hey, beggers can't be choosers.

The news is considerably better if you're working as (or studying to become) a CPA.

First, according to Rick Telberg, the same DOL report shows that "total employment in the nation’s accounting and bookkeeping services sector climbed by a seasonally adjusted 2,300 jobs in August, to stand at a head count of 943,900."

Next, there's BusinessWeek's annual "Best Places to Launch a Career" survey. The top four companies on the list: Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG. "With rich benefits, extensive training programs, and a combined recruiting effort that makes more than 10,000 hires even in a tough year, the Big Four are hard to beat," BusinessWeek's Lindsey Gerdes writes.

Combine that with Telberg's report and you find that there's a lot to like about all areas of the profession.

Maybe you should fire up the grill and crack open a cold one after all ...

Map The Fallen: A Memorial Day tribute

I couldn't let Memorial Day pass without sharing a very cool tribute to our fallen troops.

It's called Map The Fallen. Created by Google engineer Sean Askay and featured prominently on CNN.com, this Google Earth project maps each of the nearly 5,700 American and Coalition troops who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The servicemen and women are mapped according to their hometowns. Click on an individual and you'll get a window with photos, memorial sites, details about where and how he or she died, press coverage, Department of Defense news releases and more.

You'll need to download the latest version of Google Earth to view the maps.

And don't forget to check out these other tributes to those who have died in service to our country:

• In Memory of Our Honored Dead
• Honor the Fallen
• Faces of the Fallen
• Legacy.com
• A note from the MACPA

Stuff those stockings without going broke

Sundays are financial literacy days here at CPA Success, and with the holiday season in full swing, I figured it's a great time to talk about one of our favorite money management topics.

Namely, how to make it through the holidays without going broke.

First, let's hear from CPAs themselves. The AICPA has compiled some great advice from CPAs nationwide about how Americans can manage their finances during the festive, yet expensive, holiday season. Among the advice:

• Create a budget and stick to it.
• Use cash whenever possible, and leave those credit cards in your wallet.
• Shop around for bargains.
• Get creative. It's possible you can create a perfect gift yourself at a fraction of the cost.

Speaking of getting creative, there are plenty inexpensive holiday gifts out there. You just have to look a little harder to find them. This Money Management column offers details.

And one final note. Watch out for gift cards. They're nothing but trouble.

Shop wisely, everyone, and happy holidays!