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The best Xmas cards
TS has seen plenty of e-cards this year, and a good thing too - trees are good.
Unfortunately most of these virtual cards been pretty dull.
Some did raise a smile or two though. The Management Consultancies Association sent in a cracker, which involves throwing snowballs at the staff. Even the FT's Mudlark thought it was the best one sent this year. View it here.
ICAEW agitator Ken Frost sent in a nice effort as well, with him pictured alonsgide a lady friend. 
As for Accountancy Age, TS and Colin, view our card to you here.
Merry Xmas from Colin and Accountancy Age
View Colin and Accountancy Age's very funny Xmas card here.
Collier-Keywood dreams of 00 heaven
Agent TS has got wind of a shadowy plot in the highest echelons of power at PwC.
Operation Drinkup was launched to expose Richard Collier-Keywood aka the Blofeld of Embankment Place (according to terrified underlings) after whispers spread of his fiendish designs to nab the ultimate Bond-related accessory.
Intelligence suggests that the tax chief was holding off on picking up his latest plaything an Aston Martin - until next year when the 007 plates are released, but feared that his plot to secure his latest bauble would be derailed by having a P or an M prefix leading to a number plate possibly saying ‘AP007’ or ‘AM007’.
Agent TS uncovered the plot after pumping PwC top brass for information at one of the firm’s opulent receptions. Supplemental data hinted that the tax chief was also going for the convertible version because it was cooler.
Colin discusses car purchasing habits
See Colin's latest escapades by clicking on the image, or click here.
Whiting, Wyman and Warburton
Accountants are cast as pensive, bookish types who don’t like to draw attention to themselves.
There are of course the exceptions, as some crave the media spotlight like a senior partner craves his annual bonus.
Two who fall into this category are John (David) Whiting*, partner and tax personality at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the (in)famous Mike Warburton, tax partner at Grant Thornton.
TS always knew that the pair liked to see their names in print, but never realised that Whiting and Warburton actually got together to compare column inches from time to time to see who had the biggest.
John (Dave) has always been a solid performer, but will have to up his game going into Christmas to keep pace with Warburton.
But TS understands that John isn’t even at the top of the PwC internal league anymore, having been displaced by the ubiquitous Peter Wyman, who has enjoyed a good run after the Oxera report.
Come on John (Dave), we know you can capture the headlines in December.
* Last week TS revealed that Whiting’s first name was actually David.
Tilly the Tealeaf
TS broke one of its most sacred taboos of not working before 1pm to attend a pensions guidance launch by CIMA, with the prospect of a slap-up breakfast on the cards of course.
After throwing off the bedsheets at TS Towers at an unnaturally early hour to rub shoulders with the institute’s finest, TS made a beeline for a fortifying cup of tea before the briefing kicked off.
Snaffling CIMA chief Charles Tilley for a chinwag, TS chewed the fat before the big cheese had to take up his position as the briefing was about to kick off.
TS went for one last slug of tea for luck, only to find that Tilley had made off with the brew and left his own coffee in its place!
To add insult to injury the heartless head honcho made no effort to redress the balance, which literally left TS with a sour taste in the mouth.
TS advises everyone to keep a close eye on Tilley next time you bump into him in the dinner queue especially if he’s gone for the semolina.
IFRS rulebook: light reading
More than 8,000 companies have finally boarded the IFRS train, despite the complaints previously that IFRS was too long, complex and required far too many disclosures.
To help things along, TS was delighted to learn that E&Y has published a book with guidelines to applying the rules. But the book, GAAP 2007, by Allister Wilson, comes in at a whopping 2,600 pages.
TS was horrified at the thought of such a mammoth read, and equally shocked at the very passe ‘GAAP’ in the title.
Nobody refers to IFRS as GAAP. The people at E&Y should really be told. But at least the book’s length was justified, according to LexisNexis PR Josh Bottomley.
‘It’s like this. A book on how to play golf is no doubt going to be longer than a book on the actual rules,’ he said. Now we know.
Doing it for the kids
Financial literacy for youngsters. An important topic, and one that should be considered by the finance profession in particular. And it is, it would seem.
Not only has KPMG, the FSA and R3 made it clear that they’re on the financial literacy bandwagon, but ACCA and the ICAEW are also punting this line through their respective parliamentary lobby groups in the corridors of power.
Can’t they all work together on one project, TS mused.
The institutes in particular spend so much time differentiating themselves from each other that they’ve clearly missed the wood for the trees on this one.
But TS is sure that ACCA and the ICAEW will argue about who came up with the idea first.
ICAS, by the way, is looking to educate kids in all matters debt-related, and are working with Glasgow City Council on the project.
Now who’s brave enough to join up with the Scottish institute on this one?
Anstee walks off into the sunset
So ICAEW boss Eric Anstee completes his handover today to new kid on the block Michael Izza.
TS certainly feels some pangs over this, because Eric was a character. One that a fair number of ICAEW members and staff weren't too keen on, but a character nonetheless.
Michael is pushing on with the strategies that Eric was instrumental in formulating, but has given himself a three-month honeymoon in which he will stamp his authority and announce some new and exciting things.
As far as some of the more vocal members of the ICAEW are concerned, only a turnaround on its attempts to mere with CIPFA will cut any ice, and there have already been sticks thrown at the new boss.
TS recommends you strap yourself in and enjoy the ride, the next three months could be bumpier than expected.
As for Eric, well he won't need a safety belt on his search for a non-exec post or two.
