LETTERS

BUILD WEALTH, NOT CREDIT
The Top Line article, “Five Facts about Your Credit” (JofA, Nov.05, page 20), stated “Keeping active is key.”

While continuing to use credit cards may keep your Fair, Isaac and Co. (FICO) score higher, it does nothing to address the real problem for most people. Credit scores are irrelevant if you can get out and stay out of debt. Keeping credit accounts open just to keep up a credit score is simply irresponsible. Pay off the accounts, close them and build wealth with your income.

No one gets rich borrowing on credit cards. Success in financial management does not lie in managing a FICO score. The challenge is managing money to win. And that is done only when you can keep some of it for yourself.

Allen Priest, CPA
Louisville, Kentucky

USING VLOOKUP TO DO BANK RECONCILIATIONS
I enjoyed the article “Double-Teaming in Excel” (JofA, Nov.05, page 83). VLOOKUP is so versatile; I have used it to reconcile outstanding checks each month.

I download the checks that were paid for the month from our bank’s Web site into Excel, sort them by check number and list them in columns A (the check number) and B (the check amount) of a blank Excel sheet. Then I copy the checks outstanding from last month, put them together with the checks issued for this month and place them in columns C (holding the check number) and D (the amount). In column E I use VLOOKUP. It will return an “N/A” if the check has not cleared or the check amount if it has.

In column F I do a simple subtraction formula of the amount in column D less the amount in E. This will return a zero if there was no encoding error. However if there is an amount, then I know the check was cashed for a different sum than it was written for. Then, it is just an easy sort, cut and paste to my bank reconciliation sheet of those checks with an “N/A” in column E.

E.R. Carr, CPA
Brant Beach, N.J.

CPA SALARIES THEN AND NOW
While I appreciate what the JofA has done for CPAs over the last 100 years, I wish the anniversary edition had provided one more piece of information.

The issue did not provide information on how our salaries compare with that of our peers 100 years ago. At that time we made more than physicians. CPAs have had to dramatically increase their knowledge and broaden their skills to keep pace with changes in the accounting profession. It would have been nice to see a graph that compares what we are now expected to know and do with what we comparatively have earned over the last 100 years. I suspect we would see a big “X” on the chart. Increased knowledge and skill requirements would have zoomed up—earnings would have declined.

Lyn Richards, CPA
Columbia, S.C.

DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS
The article on decorating an office, “Feng Shui for Beginners” (Dec.05, page 36), is the most stupid topic I have ever seen covered in the JofA.

While the profession is still reestablishing itself as worthy, something like this gets printed. At my house we get Southern Living and Better Homes and Gardens. If I wanted decorating help, I would look to these publications.

Elvis Foster, CPA
Houston

“Feng Shui for Beginners” was an interesting and entertaining article, and it made some very good suggestions for a more pleasant and efficient workplace.

In my circumstances—working in a 50+ person office—it is not possible or practical to implement most of the suggestions. However, there is sound advice in creating a more eye-pleasing and clutter-free workplace.

My only problem is that I need to seriously take that advice.

Peter A. Weitsen, CPA
New Brunswick, N.J.