Feed the pig

Why doesn’t the ICAEW have a similar initiative to that in the US where the AICPA, the equivalent of the ICAEW has created a web presence called feedthe pig.org designed to help the American people better understand their finances.

Financial literacy is seriously lacking in every income group in America. Family deficits, lack of savings and planning for retirement, college student credit card debt and students’ poor performance on finance-related tests indicate an emerging crisis. Alarmed by these statistics, the accounting profession has pledged the support of the country’s CPAs to help Americans become more financially astute.

It’s a really smart idea but is only the starting point. Bill Sheridan, who runs CPA Success, the blog for Marlyalnd CPAs believes the time is right for professionals to get more involved in the legislative process:

We need people who are able to explain to lawmakers how new legislation and regulation will impact the nation’s financial institutions, its small businesses, the clients of small businesses. And believe it or not, most lawmakers — the good ones, anyway — crave that kind of feedback from their constituents.

I believe the same holds true in the UK. The amounts involved in the current bailout are so staggering that the man in the street can’t but notice that our financial systems are in peril. The attempts to pare back audit power may be a short term releif for the Big 4, laden as they are with pending law suits, but the reality is that now more than ever, auditors need strong powers, coupled to a crash course in double entry book-keeping. That’s what I’ve been engaged in this weekend, attempting to unravel complex SPV transactions. It ain’t pretty.

Auditors need to be in a position where they can do the right thing and if that means some of the big players take a beating then why not? The rest of us are. In the meantime,, feed the pig. You’re going to need it.

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Tagged as: AICPA, ICAEW