Life of an auditor

Thought this question in the comments section was a good one to blog about - " What is training week like as a new associate like at a big 4 firm. I have heard some crazy party stories and was wondering if you could share your experience with us. I have also heard is lame with a bunch of "team building" exercises. I'm especially interested because I start next fall with a NYC big 4 firm in the fall and want to know what to expect." My training weeks prior to officially starting work were my best weeks at the firm. Sad, isn't it. All downhill from there. We went off-site for an entire week, and that played a huge role in increasing the levels of debauchery. Think about it, a bunch of kids right out of college are put up in a hotel for an entire week, and we don't have to study in the evenings. It's a thing of beauty. If you're 21-23, your energy and tolerance levels are at an all time high. A huge group of us went out every single night, even pul...

Thought I'd take a second to answer this question posted in the comments section - " how much work do u realistically expect an intern to get done?" Well, if you can perform tasks that require common sense and logical thinking, that's good enough. We really don't expect you to dive into revenue recognition, and totally understand that interns have no prior audit knowledge since we've all started at the bottom of the audit pole. But when it comes to formatting something in excel, and performing other simple tasks like tying out numbers from one sheet to another, we'd expect you to do that, (as long as your seniors are half-decent at explaining tasks). If your senior can't explain how to fit a key into a lock, then it's on them. Hope everyone's enjoying busy season so far!

" U.S. accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP has won a lawsuit against a former top executive it accused of improperly trading in stocks and options of the firm's clients, including Motorola Inc and Best Buy Co Inc. A Delaware court sided with Deloitte in the case in an opinion dated Dec. 29, saying the former executive, Thomas Flanagan, had "obviously" been in violation of his employers' independence policies in making certain trades. Deloitte had sued Flanagan in Delaware Chancery Court in October 2008 for breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and breach of contract, saying the 30-year partner who had risen to vice chairman of the firm had secretly hidden trades in shares of Deloitte's audit clients and lied about it to the firm. "Because an auditor sells, at base, its independence and integrity, the firm relies heavily on the purported honesty and independence of its professionals," Vice Chancellor John Noble, of the Delaware ...