The original authorship of the statement "Every nation has the government it deserves" has been disputed, like, forever. Some attribute it to Joseph de Maistre, others to Alexis de Toqueville... There are also various translations, interpretations, etc. And why not? It's logical and simple to blame everyone (and no one in particular). To take an individual stand, however - that's a different story: "Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under." H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956) Continue reading

"Scott Fitzgerald was, in his own words, 'a moralist at heart.' He wanted to 'preach at people,' and what he preached about most was the degeneracy of the wealthy. His concern, however, did not lie with the antisocial behaviors to which the rich are prone: acquiring their wealth through immoral means... Like many American moralists, Fitzgerald was more offended by pleasure than by vice, and he had a tendency to confound them. In The Great Gatsby, polo and golf are more morally suspect than murder. Fitzgerald despised the rich not for their iniquity per se but for the glamour of... Continue reading

Remember how in the beginning of the year, we got a cascade of breaking news about problems with Boeing 787 Dreamliners? First there was a battery fire, then an oil leak, a fuel leak, engine cracks, a damaged cockpit window; then an emergency landing of an All Nippon Airways 787 followed by the airline's grounding of all 17 of the jets. On the same day Japan Airlines announced that they will stop flying their 787s as well. It must've made Qantas's execs feel real good about the cancellation of the 35-units order ($8.5 billion list price - nearly 10% of... Continue reading

"Dear Marina, The owners have agreed to increase Ted's monthly salary from $9,000 to $10,000 due to his increased cost of living." From an e-mail exchange between a small company's CEO and her Chief Financial Officer The Frustrated CFO's reaction: What about other employees' with increased costs of living? "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Karl Marx The Definition of the Principle of a Communist Society "Critique of the Gotha Program," 1875 "I hate to be a kicker I always long for peace, But the wheel that does the squeaking is the one that... Continue reading

"Yes, you are absolute right. I don't even know what value a college degree has today. My son is graduating from The University of Tampa this year. He is having problems securing an internship. The job search appears to be hopeless altogether. So, I am like 'Why don't you go back to school and learn some plumbing? Because I just paid $1,000 to get my toilet unclogged.'" Michele S., CDCS Asst. VP Global Marketing PNC Bank (From a conversation during business dinner with The Frustrated CFO) Read more on Futurenomics of Higher Education Continue reading

When I was a little girl, a preteen, a teenager, my parents always teased me, "Why are you crying? Feeling sorry for yourself?" I could've been weeping about some really heart-breaking moment in my life or over a beautiful passage in a book - it didn't matter, their reaction was always the same. Well, if that was their way of toughening me up, it worked. But discouraging crying? Nah, their badgering wasn't successful - I'm still a crier. Blatant injustices, the disappearance of Earth's beauty, the unfairness of life; but also a goosebumpy music passage, a powerful piece of acting,... Continue reading

Scientists studying the processes of human decision-making (the likes of psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer and physicist Leonard Mlodinow) build research institutes, conduct experiments, write books, and give lectures to support their argument that our subconsciousness, our "gut feelings," our intuition - whatever you prefer to call it, has a fundamental impact on the way we come to vital conclusions, resolve personal and professional problems, make split-second choices in high-pressure situations, and generally conduct ourselves on a daily basis. But do we really need this much theoretically-substantiated convincing? Life provides us with tons of evidence everywhere we look. 99% of business decisions... Continue reading

Initiated into Free Masons Grand Lodge in 1909 at the age of 25; Grand Master since 1940 "I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell." Harry S. Truman 33rd President of the United States The Frustrated CFO's Comment: I've been experiencing the same reaction to truths all my life as well. Then again, I've always said that generally truthful people can get away with the biggest lies. And nobody lies better than politicians do, especially those who really have something to hide. Continue reading

So, that's how these people manage to live with their own shitty selves! They walk around with a clear conscience; with no doubt in their souls about their actions. They don't think about the injustices and the insults of different caliber they spread around with every step they take. They don't even qualify them as injusticies and insults. Instead, they pat each other on the backs and tell themselves that they are good bosses! Their self-delusion probably goes even further: I am terrified to think about it, but they might have convinced themselves that they are good people. Honestly, the... Continue reading

"Everybody in this room is going be dead in a hundred years! When a baby dies, people get very sad. But a baby hasn't yet fallen in love with the world. When we've fallen in love with the world, then what do we do? It's absolutely awful." Fiona Shaw Continue reading

"Lip Gallagher: It's like I said, the only way to make money if you are poor is to steal it or scam it. But, hey, let me know if the rules are changing..." Shameless, episode 3.2 Written by Nancy Pimental The Frustrated CFO's commentary: If you take this opinion of a 17 year-old genius with a 4.6 GPA and an IQ of 200 out of its literal white-trash, destitute, semi-criminal settings, you will find the undeniable metaphorical truth in it. Both Lip (too wise for his age, thanks to the middle-aged screenwriter) and I are aware of the American Dream... Continue reading

I am the biggest advocate of an entrepreneurial CEO's freedom from any administrative, technological, and infrastructural minutiae. They must not busy themselves with making their own reports or calculations in Excel, devising organizational routines, catering to bankers' demands, nurturing relationships with customers, etc. They have functional executives and senior management for that - CFOs, COOs, CIOs, Controllers, Sales VPs, etc. An effectual CEO should be focused almost exclusively on the strategic development of the business and the tactical decisions pertaining to the company's survival and prosperity. Therefore, he may be, but doesn't need to be an Excel pro, an IT... Continue reading

The Frustrated CFO's Preface: After reading my Means of Self-Therapy post from a week ago, some bleeding hearts felt obligated to ask me, "Why not conventional therapy?" I have to put my answer in a quote form, so that some TV addicts don't accuse me of plagiarism. This is what actually happened. I've been saying this shit for years and then one night, hit by insomnia, I accidentally stumbled on a random episode of The Mentalist, in which Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) repeated my sentiment about therapy (and doctors in general) verbatim. Whoa! It was eerie: the TV mentalist seemed... Continue reading

I remember a few years ago, during a business lunch, somebody was recapping an episode from one of the numerous crime series all networks are running to compete against each other. My head was preoccupied with the business purpose of the meeting, nevertheless I do recall that the murder plot turned on a discovery that one of the characters, a compulsive gambler, bet his classy wife's sexual favors in poker and lost. FBI questioned if the payoff actually took place. Of course, it did: the real gamblers are "men of honor." When asked how the pimped out wife handled it,... Continue reading

I was standing there at Terminal 5 yesterday, listening to Alt-J performing their 2012 Mercury Prize winning album An Awesome Wave live, cheering with the rest of the audience at the first notes of each song in recognition of their sublime quality. And once again a familiar notion formed inside my head. It happens to me every time I experience something that momentarily separates my being from all the negative garbage in my life. I think, "If I didn't keep on, I wouldn't have received this gift, I wouldn't have come to know these songs, I wouldn't be bobbing in... Continue reading

"High school is closer to the core of the American experience then anything else I can think of." Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 1922 - 2007 The Frustrated CFO Commentary: This famous Vonnegut's little pearl of wisdom also makes an appearance in Jennifer Senior's article for New York Magazine Why You Truly Never Leave High School. I have to say that, for a cover piece of a popular periodical, it has a substantial amount of scientific references, citing deeply rooted correlation between our adolescence experiences and our personal as well as professional track records. I highly recommend it to everyone. To spike... Continue reading

A bank's field examiner (read my previous joke if you don't know who that is) comes to review books and records of a company in the NYC's Financial District. The company leases space in one of those pre-furnished/pre-wired office suites setups with reception services, heavy-duty business equipment, and highly presentable conference rooms shared by various renters. (Educational Side Note: It's a very profitable business. I believe Regus, headquartered in Luxembourg, is the largest player in the world. Started only in 1989, today it has presence in 99 countries, operating over 1400 centers. During my career I have dealt with Regus... Continue reading

A lender's field examiner is sent to conduct a periodic review of a borrower's books and records. These exercises are regular occurrences in, what I call, the balance sheet financing: a company pledges its assets, receivables and inventories foremost, against a line of credit. It's only natural that the financial institutions want to make sure, from time to time, that the collateral securing the loans, letters of credits, bank guarantees, etc. actually exists and is properly valued. The banks used to be somewhat lax about it and satisfied themselves with quarterly internal financial statements and annual audit reports. Most of... Continue reading

"Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you." C.G. Jung The Frustrated CFO's comment: My mother, a doctor, always told me that one should be wary of psychiatrists, because they are just as crazy as their patients. I don't know about all psychiatrists, but it's definitely applies to Jung. I own his Red Book - going through it is a trip like no other. Then again, I think today it would be virtually impossible to find a truly sane subject for Jung's reformation. look around you - everyone runs in circles. It's a mad world. Continue reading

I already wrote about subsequent-events analysis during audits in my post Ignorantly Insolent Bosses. Payments received from customers in January and February prove the validity of sales invoices outstanding as of 12/31. On the other hand, if you made a payment to a vendor on 01/07/13 for an invoice dated 12/08/12, which wasn't included into your accounts payable schedule - that's an error: both the liability and the related expense should've been recognized in 2012. There are subsequent events tests for all accounting cycles - really useful, powerful, mandatory for any audit. If done thoroughly, they can uncover all those... Continue reading

Ok, I honestly thought that my post about the foreign press conspiracy was the last thing I would ever write about Lena Dunham, HBO's Girls, the unjustified and pervasive brouhaha surrounding them, etc. But I was never joking when I said that merit and objectivity were placed very high on my hierarchy of values. They are so important to me that I can even look at a pool of shit, notice a few specks of goodness there, and effortlessly say, "This is a pool of shit, but those couple of things are quite good." No, I didn't change my mind... Continue reading

"If you want to make it in show business, get the hell out of Oregon." Advice from Sophie Tucker (a Russian-born American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality, 1884-1966) to a young Johnnie Ray The Frustrated CFO's comment: Thank God, he paid attention to her. Continue reading

For a really long time now, I've been explaining (and so have other realists) that the overpricing of pretty pieces of paper (aka stocks, bonds, treasury bills, etc.) caused by the gambling games of cocaine-fueled, high-strung nitwits in high-rise brokerage offices and delusional day-traders glued to their hand-held devices has nothing to do with real production values, revenue growth, profit generation, and economy improvements. It's shocking to me that people seriously accept the stock market "rally" of the past few months as a sign of tangible fiscal gains. The same goes for the rise in housing prices resulted from the... Continue reading

Not quite Doctor Who just yet (it's not easy to compete with one of the top five grossing broadcasts in BBC's history), Downton Abbey is, nevertheless, an undeniable international success. NBC Universal estimates that in the past three years the show has been viewed by as many as 120 million people worldwide. Despite being a somewhat traditional British period melodrama, the hit series became popular in Scandinavia, Russia, South Asia, and the Middle East. Over 8.5 million American households tuned in to their local PBS stations to watch the Season Three finale. In January, an article in the New York... Continue reading

"If you can't annoy somebody, there is little point in writing." Sir Kingsley Amis (1922 - 1995) Continue reading