Letters

About Technology Advice
Especially in light of the deflection in the author’s reply to accurate criticisms of “Remote Accessibility Revisited” (JofA, Oct.02, page 11), I feel it imperative to reiterate the comments in those letters.

Consultants have a tendency, as an extension of being overexcited about “doing it best,” to ignore the corporate economic benefit when implementing many infrastructure investments. While the solutions the author proposed, if done right, can be reliable and fast, they rarely are simple or inexpensive to implement in any size organization.

In keeping with Mr. Melancon’s renewed commitment in the same issue to “the accountant, to whom they turn for honest advice,” the JofA should make sure that even the technology advice it prints is realistic in cost and administrative impact, not just a hyped ideal.

Chaim Yudkowsky, CPA
Baltimore

Lottery System Would Help
I agree with the letters, “Disappointed with JofA News” and “Profession Needs Monitoring and Control” (JofA, Sep.02, page 13).

I, too, believe lack of independence is the primary problem in the auditing process. Our leaders have for decades foisted on the American public the folly that we are independent because we say we are. The SEC and the rest of government have bought into that notion. No auditor can possibly be independent when the auditee hires and fires the auditor. The fact that the client pays the auditor isn’t the problem; the core problem is the hiring and firing.

The conflict would be eliminated if the SEC instituted a lottery to pick auditors and, after the first one was held, rotated 20% of audits each year, getting every publicly held company on a five-year rotation, or rotated one-third of audits each year, putting companies on a three-year-rotation schedule. Price bidding should never be part of the equation. Qualifications bidding should be required to get into the audit lottery pool in the first place. For example, a firm that lacks the adequate staffing, experience and specialized education to audit WorldCom would not be allowed in the lottery for that audit. Also, failure to detect the incorrect capitalization of several billion dollars of expenses should be a clear sign the auditor isn’t qualified.

William E. Owens, CPA
Roswell, Georgia

Preparer Approach Lacking in Accounting Education
Like so many in the profession, I have been wondering what happened to cause the situation we find ourselves in today. While there are many different reasons and perspectives, I would like to offer what I see as at least a part of the problem.

I have been teaching accounting for more than 30 years and spent several more in public practice. I teach intermediate accounting, and this year, we adopted the new edition of the number-one best-selling intermediate accounting text. I suggest what I have encountered with this new book may be indicative of part of our current problems.

There has been a movement in accounting education over the last several years to go from a preparer approach to a user approach. This makes good sense for the introductory accounting classes made up primarily of nonaccounting majors. They need to know how to use accounting information more than how to create it.

In our school both the accounting and nonaccounting majors take the same introductory classes. However, when this new approach is used in intermediate accounting classes, the accounting majors do not obtain the foundation necessary to be good preparers of accounting information.

Here is what I have experienced using this new text:

Special journals are covered in two sentences. It is necessary to go to a supplemental CD to search for more information.

Case studies that allow students to apply the concepts are not included. While special journals are not the be-all and end-all of accounting, they provide a solid understanding of how transaction data are accumulated. If we don’t have that knowledge, it reduces our effectiveness when analyzing those data.

There are only two problems requiring the preparation of a worksheet. Accountants use worksheets to organize work and to analyze data. While it is a mechanical approach to problem solving, it provides a vehicle for students to learn and practitioners to apply critical thinking skills.

I think I am seeing a discipline that has started to throw out the foundations upon which the subsequent analysis rests, reducing the time and effort spent on problem-solving approaches and perhaps not even recognizing obvious errors in the data.

Has the vision of the profession changed from trusted, knowledgeable accounting experts to high-powered consultants and advisers? I believe one cannot become the consultant/adviser without first being the knowledgeable accounting expert. We are starting to skip very important steps in preparing those entering the profession, and it will continue to suffer as a result.

C. James Buckley Jr.
Professor of Accounting
Mesa State College
Grand Junction, Colorado

A Principle to Live By
Several times during the past few months, JofA articles and editorials about ethics caused me to pause and thank my mother for teaching me a simple rule: When you are stumped about what to do, pretend that your peers will know about your actions. Will you be embarrassed or proud?

A simple but effective rule to follow in even the most complex transactions.

Laura Steenwyk, CPA, MST
Grand Rapids, Michigan

An Excellent Learning Tool
I enjoyed “Push-Button Spreadsheets” (JofA, Sep.02, page 35). The authors did a fantastic job with the lesson, which I’ve just completed.

I would recommend the article to any spreadsheet users, even those who are wizards. Here is a realistic situation that shows how to prepare the type of spreadsheet that nonspreadsheet people can easily use for day-to-day business.

Russ Erickson
Vice-President, Finance and Administration
LignoTech USA
Rothschild, Wisconsin