Accounting

Rich Dad Poor Dad – from overrated to trash

| Entertainment, Finance, Investing | , , , , , , ,

After reading the book (or rather, listening to the audiobook) of Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, I thought it was overrated. After listening to the If Books Could Kill podcast episode about it, I realized it was a total piece of trash.

From promoting illegal investment and business activities, to selling MLM or Ponzi scheme products, people should already stop quoting passages from this book. Forget about assets and liabilities, or shaping people’s mindset about it, other than those taught in accounting classes.

Listen to Michael Hobbes & Peter Shamshiri as they break down the faults in this book:

How would you like to be an ACPA?

| Finance | , , ,

If you are a Philippine CPA, did you know that you may now apply for the ACPA (Asean Chartered Professional Accountant) title? Jun Cuaresma writes, in The Manila Times article, “And the Asean CPA is born . . .”

To get the ACPA title, the provisions of the recognition agreement state that Filipino CPAs have to undergo initial qualification and eligibility screenings through the local Board of Accountancy (BoA) and/or the Philippine Institute of CPAs and then the ACPA Coordinating Committee would make the final approval.

Upon successful approval, the Filipino CPA will acquire the ACPA title and be accorded as a Registered Foreign Professional Accountant (RFPA) who then can, in all other nine Asean member states: (1) work as consultant or employee of commercial, industrial or educational entities, or (2) work as external auditor but in collaboration with designated external auditing firms in the host country.

Currently, Filipino CPAs can already work as accountants, auditors, consultants, etc., in countries among the Asean member countries and beyond, even without the ACPA title. Thus, I can’t imagine how this title can enhance one’s résumé.

So, unless a new and separate governing body is tasked to conduct qualifying exams (board exams) in lieu of the PRC (Professional Regulation Commission), I can’t see how else Filipino accountants will flock to acquire this title.

Deception

| Entertainment, Finance | , , ,

The life of an accountant[1. In this context, we will refer to all accountants in different fields/practices as accountants, including general accountants, auditors, tax practitioners, finance, etc. ] is boring. Let me tell you why:

We have seen blockbuster movies telling stories about the lives of lawyers, doctors, military and police personnel, sales people, and even stock brokers. But how many movies have you seen that feature the main character playing the role of an accountant?

Not too many, right? That is, if you can remember one at all. The life of an accountant is so dull that scriptwriters can hardly think of an interesting storyline about it.

However, in the 2008 movie, “Deception“, starring Ewan McGregor (as Jonathan McQuarry), Hugh Jackman (as Wyatt Bose), and Michelle Williams (as S):

An accountant is introduced to a mysterious sex club known as The List by his lawyer friend. But in this new world, he soon becomes the prime suspect in a woman’s disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist.

Source: IMDB

Ewan McGregor played the role of an Audit Manager for a fictional accounting firm “Worth & Berman”. Yet, the movie paints a typical accountant/auditor as living a boring life, working late most of the times, zero social life, and a monotonous home-work-home routine. I believe the movie even portrays accounting as not-so-lucrative profession. …

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The Three Types of Client Attitudes Toward Auditors

| Finance | , , ,

Just in time for the busy season, or at least for Philippine-based external auditors from the Big Four (or Five) or even smaller firms, here’s an article dedicated to my auditor friends and colleagues.

Having been in the audit for almost 6 years, I was able to draw some conclusions about the types of client attitudes toward auditors: …

The Three Types of Client Attitudes Toward AuditorsRead More »

The Big Four

| Finance | , , , , , ,

It’s interesting to note how the Big 8 was cut down into the Big 4. Read how.

The firms were called the Big 8 in the 1970s and 1980s, reflecting the international dominance of the eight largest accountancy firms:

  1. Arthur Andersen
  2. Arthur Young & Company
  3. Coopers & Lybrand
  4. Ernst & Whinney (formerly Ernst & Ernst)
  5. Haskins & Sells (merged with the European firm Deloitte Plender Griffiths to become Deloitte, Haskins and Sells)
  6. KPMG (formed by merger of Peat Marwick International and KMG Group)
  7. Price Waterhouse
  8. Touche Ross

…

The Big FourRead More »

Accountancy-Related Youtube Videos

| Entertainment, Finance | , , , ,

Deloitte Tax Level 4
DNN (Deloitte News Network) patterned to that of CNN. I like best the weather report.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozuNdfsOxRQ]

Sarbane’s Oxley Film Trailer
What happens when you mix a little corporate misconduct with a lot of misconduct of your own? …Mistresses, Mergers & Mayhem! According to IMDb:

Sarbane’s Oxley is set against the backdrop of today’s top business headlines and highlights the lives affected by the acquisition of a Wall Street technology startup. Robert, a young attorney new to the Wall Street scene, must grapple with his inner conscious and the invisible forces of corruption surrounding him while dealing with the equally challenging and deceptive forces taking hold in his sordid love life

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4opn7E0pPo]

Funny Accountant – Rufus Payne
Accountants One’s 2006 Search for Atlanta’s Funniest Accountant. Rufus Payne, is the comedian/accountant in this clip

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QdL1K48K2s]

And finally, my favorite:

Auditor has the Will to WIn

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuGBEhGj6DM]

Purpose of Financial Statements

| Finance | , , , ,

According to paragraph 7 IAS 1, Presentation of Financial Statements,

The objective of general purpose financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of an entity that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions.

Yeah, that’s right, it should be useful to a “wide range of users in making economic decisions”, and not to “an auditor in forming an audit opinion”.

You don’t make the financial statements a working paper to document your understanding of the business. Sometimes it pays when you just stick to practicality.

I hope I made myself clear.

Cebu CPAR Center

| Finance | , , ,

I didn’t know that such review center, Cebu CPAR Review, exists until of late. I’m not sure how they are related to CPAR in Manila, as they adopt the same name CPAR. But at least they have a website to offer some information about the institution, unlike its Manila counterpart and even the other review centers in Manila.

Browsing through the site, I’ve noted that:

  1. They are using Mambo as their CMS platform.
  2. It was their second batch that took the October 2006 exams.
  3. The roll of reviewers include former CPAR-Manila reviewers as well, namely:
    • Jekell Salosagcol
    • Hilario Tan
    • Michael Tiu
    • Almanzor Macmod
    • Apolinario Bobadilla

The CPA Licensure examination is one of the most difficult professional examinations in the Philippines today. Considering the gap between your undergraduate preparation and this licensure examination, successful completion of the 4-year BSA Course could not guarantee your passing. It is therefore our great honor and pleasure to fill this gap, serve you and help you become a CPA.

Searching Conrado Valix

| Finance, Technology | , ,

Yeah, sounds like a movie (Searching Bobby Fischer). I should have changed the title to “Googling Conrado Valix”. Nah, nevermind.

bookI was wondering of late why there were just too many people who maybe were lost in the cyberspace and found their way to my entry regarding the Financial Accounting I, 2006 Edition by Atty. Conrado Valix and Jose Peralta. These visitors are mostly students from schools in different parts of the country (Philippines), who are (maybe) fanatics of Atty. Valix (okay, I am a fan myself). My blog was even mistaken for a fan site or something like that.

Then, I tried googling for the keyword “Conrado Valix” and guess what I discovererd:

  • Google – No. 1 in the search result page.
  • Yahoo! – No. 1 in the search result page.
  • MSN – No. 3 in the search result page.

Refining the search query yielded in a more interesting result. For a keyword “Financial Accounting by Conrado Valix”, my site ranked simply number one in all the big three search engine sites! (Note that these results change over time)

So that explains it, huh!

That should surely explain The J Spot’s entry on “Why Celebrities Should Blog“. He also cited another reason here.

Conrado Valix, being a public figure especially to accountants from college students to professionals, should start blogging. By this manner, it will pave the way at which students and professionals alike can contact him. It can be a ground where he can solicit feedbacks from readers of is “renowned” books on accounting.

Nonetheless, it’s even more ironic to note that CPAR (CPA Review School of the Philippines), being an established institution in the world of Filipino Accountants where Atty. Valix is one of the founders and the current director, doesn’t have a website (I think I’ve already said before). It’s one of the review centers that has produced and is still producing the best accountants in the country (or maybe even in the whole world), and yet it doesn’t yet have a space in the world wide web. (Or maybe it has, but it was not just optimized for search engines, I don’t know. If that’s the case, time to hire an SEO professional.) Imagine just how many students are maybe searching for its site everyday. Thus, maybe lost reviewees (and revenue).

Access to internet nowadays are becoming more widespread and cheaper. One should really reevaluate its marketing strategy.

(What do you think Domeng? –if you read this post)

Overtime Once Again

| Finance | , , , ,

I’m just having my first taste of Doha overtime today. I thought when I get here in this place, in this foreign land, there’ll be no more overtime, I have to say goodbye to overtime, but then here I am 12:30 in the middle of the night here in the office! I guess it’s only “Goodbye, Obeertym!”

Just would like to report also that in the Popular Posts race, “Financial Accounting I 2006 edition” has just overtaken “Inventories at Net Realizable Values” for the number 1 spot. This is because of so many comments I received mostly from accounting students all over the country. The post must be becoming very popular in search engines for the keyword “Conrado Valix”.

That keeps me wondering, why CPAR (CPA Review School of the Philippines) don’t have a website? It should help more on their marketing campaign.

New Office Accounting Software

| Finance, General | , , , ,

I have had small clients before that utilizes spreadsheets like mirosoft excel (or even worse, manual journals) to record accounting transactions, out of which they prepare financial reports.

Why not yet automated? There can be three possible reasons:

  1. Their transactions can be very simple and volume of transactions very low that it renders more efficient to use spreadsheets rather than use any simple software (like a GL system) available in the market, to process those transactions;
  2. They don’t have enough fund to invest in a fully licensed GL system; or
  3. A conservative accountant who’s not willing to adopt the latest technology.

Sad to note, though, that the last reason is often the case for these companies, or maybe a combination of any or all of the three, but that the third is oftentimes present.

For companies that cannot afford a system, especially for those that are on the start-up phase yet, Microsoft has the latest (announced just this week!) special offer:

…

New Office Accounting SoftwareRead More »

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