Yep, I believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Leprechauns, Elvis is Alive, Clinton DIDN”T inhale, Obama was born in the USA, the Scores were going to be released on March 17, etc., etc. Like real! I am in California., and even last year, I was not getting the results back until AFTER the 21st of the month post test window. So, when, a release date of March 17th was predicted, I just laughed and thought “this is going to be good.” So, now that I was able to crawl out of bed after a four-day St. Patricks Day bender, I was not at all surprised that people have their panties in a pinch because scores are still pending. Even on a good day, the AICPA (and NASBA for that matter) are lame!
So, with a new exam, new statistics to accumulate, and more data to analyze, there was no way that the the third-graders at the AICPA would get test results out sooner than during a “regular” cycle. Heck, for all I know they are still using 486 processors( heck maybe even slide rulers???), wear pocket protectors,use coke-bottle spectacles, and wear pants that end above their ankles! The private sector can spin massive amounts of data and analysis in a matter of minutes (hedge funds ring a bell?). Yet, the clowns at the AICPA take weeks to analyse a very limited data set. It is is absolutely laughable that these people are in charge of the examination process not to mention standard setting. Half the stuff they issue is a ridiculous joke (hedge designation comes to mind); yet the profession, industry, and the general public has to lap it up just because the elitists at the AICPA have a stranglehold on the profession.
I can say this because I am an outsider looking in. I work in industry actually creating value and profits for shareholders; and I don't give a rats *ss about being a CPA. The CPA designation is just a feather in my hat to say: “..been there, done that.” The whole process is a sick joke and doesn't prove anything. I have dealt with plenty of idiot CPA auditors from the Big4 who can't even work an Excel spreadsheet much less unwind a credit default swap. It appears that most people on the CPA track, suffer from pollyanna syndrome. Yet, the CPA, a four years of college, and some Big4 experience doesn't mean squat when it comes to a paycheck! Early, 20-something software engineers are raking in $130K+ in Cali with massive stock options, Hard-Core Quants, such as myself, rake in much more than that + bonus and laugh all the way to the bank at the busy work created by the AICPA that makes us very well-off!
In any case, I don't recall of any mega-massive swindle that was “caught” by the accounting profession;in fact, the accounting profession was complicit in many of the massive accounting swindles: Enron,Madoff, Global Crossings, etc. So to me, it is like the wolves guarding the chicken coop! At the end of the day,I just drive up to my place in the hills, have a beer, call up a $500/hr Asian hottie , and laugh it all away.
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