ICAEW Chartered Accountant. MBA. Ex-Big 4. I read the numbers behind the headlines. Author of From Auditor to Business Partner. David H. is a pen name.
Seven years at a Big 4 firm, then my third week in industry. I explained to a sales director, correctly, how a volume discount had been accrued. He let me finish and said: "Fine. So do we keep it?"
My book for auditors making the same move starts there.
https://t.co/y0CoievpF2
@BrianFeroldi The leak for me was raises. salary went up at work and home found a way to absorb it within a few months, so the part that actually converted barely moved
@EconomicTimes The comparative year is where it bites. the outgoing firm signed it in the old format, and the new one has to het comfortable with the same numbers moved into operating, investing and financing
@Reuters Awkward bit for a billable-hour firlm is that the best ai contribution usually cuts hour on a matter. so the award ends up paying for work that makes the invoice smaller
@mardehaym 1.5 fte where 5 people used to sit is a big drop in billable days. when the pod shrinks mid-engagement, does the fee shrink w it, or do u move clients to a fixed price ?
@johnarnold The cancellation fee also flatters the supplier for a quarter or two. income with no turbine shipped, right before the order book stops refilling, is the part i'd watch in their numbers
@BoucherNicolas My first check is always to see if a number can be reconciled w at least 1 other source, eg: Ledger vs Financial statement, balance vs confirmation letter.....
the question I ask most in a finance review is three words long: compared to what ?
Revenue up 8%. Against plan, last year or a year with a price rise in it ?
A correct number set against the wrong baseline does more damage than a wrong one. Nobody goes back to check it.
@PratibhaGoyal The firm already had 10 years of proof he knew the tax, accounting and compliance procedures. the corporate screen he was looking at still started with a qualified ca, so none if that proof travelled with him
@randgroup The 76% of comex and cbot vault silver sitting in their futures is the line that matters. Once a book is that concentrated, a retroactive position limit or a liquidation-only day can move the price more than the 9.8bn mark
@johnarnold They r already paying for it for many or all of the white collar seats. I'd ask which of the wow tasks those people were then told to stop doing, because thats the bit that usually never gets written down
@tax a critical thinking cert for more than 85k partners and staff will be easy to mark as complete. the harder bit is whether it changes the everyday tasks the post says ai is already transforming
@randgroup@richardseiler The 18.6% drop is the 22 to 25 line on this chart, down to 81.4. The 41 to 49 cohort is at 120.2, so this is not a broad freeze