The Sharblog

Remember Those Who Died In Service

Memorial Day was this past Monday. Initially, it was called Decoration Day and was started after the Civil War to honor the Union soldiers who died in that conflict. After WWI, it was expanded to include soldiers who died in other wars and finally in the late 1960s, Congress passed a law declaring the official name of “Memorial Day” and also moved the observance to the last Monday of May from its traditional May 30 date.

I recently finished watching the multi-part series The Pacific on HBO. This Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg production was a vividly realistic portrait of the incredible bravery of our fighting men and women who served in the Pacific theatre during WWII and the abject horror of that period. Prior to each episode, there were brief interviews with real veterans from WWII who clearly still had strong memories of that time even after 65 years. A common theme in these interviews and in the story-line of the series was the soldiers asking – why me? Why did I survive when so many of my comrades died? Their feelings of guilt over surviving were very strong, and many veterans do not like to talk about that time period as they do not want to bring back the memories.

It made me think of a CPA I knew when I was the Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of CPAs about 25 years ago. His name was Ken Spruill, and he was as fine a man as I have ever known – a true southern gentleman. Ken served as President of the NCACPA and I knew him for several years as he worked his way up in the leadership of the organization. Yet, I never knew he had fought in the Pacific until his wife mentioned it in passing when we were having dinner one night. It got my attention and I started asking Ken about it. Quickly, I recognized that he did not want to talk about it after he made some comment about it being the most horrible experience of his life and the fact that a lot of his friends did not make it back. Ken is no longer with us having passed away in 1995, but his comments and his reaction to my questioning are still clear to me today. It is understandable when you realize that according to experts, there were around 100,000 U.S. military casualties in the Pacific during WWII.

I hope that this Memorial Day we all paused and gave thanks to all the soldiers that have died in the service of our great country over our history. Yes, we have a great country, but freedom does have a price – it isn’t free. We should all thank and remember our soldiers who paid the ultimate price, so all of us can enjoy the freedom and benefits of being Americans. 

 

Skepticism Versus Wisdom

I was recently talking with a member about the potential of “sustainability.” He asked me if I thought the concept of sustainability really had legs and could be a new practice development area for CPAs. This is an issue that AICPA has recently been promoting, and the current AICPA chairman is a big proponent for it as an opportunity for CPAs.

I paused as I was thinking about how to respond to the question, and then said that while I thought sustainability really did have potential for the future, there was a part of me that also questioned whether this was just one more fad that was being hyped by people who were either dealing from self interests or true believers.

As someone who will soon be celebrating a significant anniversary on the age scale, this is the classic dilemma that we all face as we get older. We want to be optimistic and enthusiastic for new ideas and ways of thinking, but we have the burden of all the experiences we have been through where things didn’t work out as people had claimed they would. It is the dichotomy between youthful exuberance and senior skepticism.

Of course, it is not a given that with age comes wisdom. I have met some old people who didn’t seem very wise and some young people who acted beyond their years. But I do think that in general the experiences of aging (I guess the politically correct term is maturing) do give a leg up over younger folks. As they say, experience is the greatest teacher. But the downside to that experience is if we develop an overt skepticism toward anything that comes along. If we harden ourselves to new possibilities, then we will miss the real opportunities when they do arrive. And I guess that is what wisdom is really all about – knowing the difference and keeping an open mind.

So, I am trying to keep an open mind about “sustainability.” I think it will be around for some time to come. It combines the benefits of helping improve our environment while, at the same time, saving money through the more efficient use of resources. That sounds like a winning combination to me and one that CPAs can actively participate in by helping clients understand the cost benefits of implementing sustainability programs and quantifying the savings for those programs.

Of course, I could be wrong. And if so, it certainly won’t be the first time in my life. But I would rather be an optimist and wrong at times than a permanent skeptic. It’s a better way to grow old!

Note: To read more on this topic, please see the Emerging Issues column in your May/June Today’s CPA magazine.

Ethics in the Real World

 

This past week, I had the opportunity and the pleasure to speak to the ethics class for accounting majors at SMU. This is the required ethics cIass that was implemented in all Texas colleges and universities as a result of the Enron debacle a few years ago.

I was accompanied by Jim Smith, CPA-Dallas, who is a Past Chairman of TSCPA. This was the second year now that Jim and I have had the chance to address this class thanks to the invite of their professor Bob Rasberry. Bob thinks it is important for his class to understand the purpose of professional organizations like TSCPA and AICPA and also wanted to bring some “real life” discussion to his students. 

For those who have never heard Jim Smith speak, suffice it to say I was the “set-up man” in baseball terminology. I spent my time explaining to the class what TSCPA is, its core functions/services and why they should consider joining to enhance their professional careers. Then I got out of the way and turned it over to Jim, who shortly had the class on the edge of its seats and listening intently. Jim is sort of one part Elmer Gantry and one part stand-up comedian. He could talk about assembling a lawnmower and make it sound interesting and passionate.

Jim began to frame the discussion of ethics in real-world terms that the students could understand. He told them that while the focus on rules and regulations and theoretical discussions they were having in  class were fine, it wasn’t going to be that simple out in the workforce.  Instead, when they were faced with an ethical challenge for real, it was likely to happen when they were married with children and a house and car payments. In other words, a much bigger deal than when they are sitting in the comfort and safety of their classroom.

Jim also advised them that no one was ever going to approach them and say, “Hey, let’s commit fraud today” or “I’ve got it - why don’t we do something unethical.” Instead, he advised that the challenge would be presented by a living, breathing human being who was faced with a problem or dilemma and was looking for them to help them out of a jam. Often, it will be clients who are in trouble and as Jim explained, “as their CPA, it will be your job to help them make the right choice and do the right thing.” Jim gave the class numerous real-life examples of ethical challenges that he had faced during his career and got them discussing what would be the appropriate response or approach to deal with each one.

The class really enjoyed Jim’s comments, and they had lots of questions when he finished his formal remarks. You could tell that they were very interested in what life was going to be like when they moved from the classroom to the real world. Clearly, they were a bright group, and I am sure the future of the profession will be in good hands with young men and women like these folks coming up the line. And they will be helped in that process in no small part because of good men like Jim Smith and Bob Rasberry.

3D Dilemma

It took me a while, but several years ago I finally figured out that when it comes to technology, you can never keep up with the latest and greatest - not a chance.  I got my first inkling of that truism back in college when I invested in a great eight-track tape player and thought I was now at the head of the class looking back at inferior audiophiles who were still relegated to a turntable.   But in no more than a year, the eight-track was headed for the dustbin of history, outpaced by the cassette tape player.  And the list just goes on with things like Beta tapes being replaced by VHS; CDs being replaced by iPods and digital downloadable music; DVD players being replaced by Blu-ray players; and so on.  The list just keeps on truckin’ as they would say back in the day.

I was recently reminded of this phenomenon when I heard a news piece the other day about the – drum roll please – 3D television that is now coming to the marketplace.  Didn’t we just get HDTV?  I can remember in my youth the transition from black and white TV to color TV.  My father fought it as long as possible.  I swear, he purposely waited until after I left the house to get a color TV set.  So, as a kid I was forced to visit the neighbors to see what all the fuss was about in the second part of The Wizard of Oz where “Oz” was in technicolor.  Seeing the entire “Oz” movie in black and white just doesn’t have the same dramatic effect, but if you never knew it was supposed to change color, you really didn’t know what you were missing.

That would also be true for the new 3D TV except for one minor problem - nearly the entire world population has now seen the movie Avatar, so we know in our heads what 3D looks like.   Its one thing if you don’t know what you’re missing; it’s quite another if you know how cool it would be to see something in 3D.  So thanks to James Cameron and Avatar, we will now all be salivating about getting a 3D television.

This technology race isn’t just relegated to entertainment.   The same is true for technology in the workplace.  First, you had your mainframe computer, then you had your mini-computer, followed by the desktop computer, laptop computer, notebook, tablet, pocket, PDA, wireless with telephone, music player, and downloadable applications.  We walk around with more computing power in our hand than the world’s largest computer had just 30 years ago.  The guys who flew to the moon had less computing power than I now have in my wrist watch.

The good news in all of this is that we can do, see and hear so much more than we could just a generation ago.  Technology has certainly helped us advance as a society.  The bad news is that we often feel like we are on a treadmill where we can never catch up with whatever the latest and greatest offers.  In my case, I plan to emulate my father.  No 3D TV for me.  Now, if I can just figure out which one of my neighbors gets one of those sets…