Though we try to stay independent when it comes to making judgments on things like chutzpah, we concur with Audit Trail’s opinion:

Whoo boy. CNBC has some pretty disheartening video up this week that illustrates the findings of a recent GAO report that found some 1500 instances of people collecting Social Security disability benefits while continuing work – and not just in any old job, but in the public sector. Not that the working while collecting disability benefits isn’t hugely problematic on its own, but doing so while working for, say, TSA? Wow, that takes some serious chutzpah.

[Read more at Audit Trail]

Watch Banks Pull Rabbits Out of Hats, Ably Assisted by Their Auditors [Re: The Auditors]

If there’s one thing about TBTF Banks, it’s that…they’re TBTF.  But they have accomplices.

Have You Considered Becoming an Accounting Professor? [Going Concern]

Fed up with your career?  Miss school?  Pretty much got nothing going?  Become one of those profs the college kids rave about.

How to Guard Against Fruad [Journal of Accountancy]

Joseph T. Wells tells you how.

Blacks May Tilt Balance in Vote to Legalize Marijuana [NYT]

Prop 19 in California is going to be a close vote.  Whether or not it passes may depend on the seemingly divided Black population.

Anti-incumbent mood fuels term limit debate [CNN]

Do we really need the same, old unsexy representation in Congress for decades upon decades?

Bring Transparency to Off-Balance Sheet Accounting [Roosevelt Institute]
Frank Partnoy and Lynn Turner give you the lowdown.

Obama Signs Dodd-Frank Reform Bill [JofA]
The ambitious Obama agenda rolls on with Dodd-Act getting the John Hancock of #44 on Wednesday.

Congratulations, You Idiots, You Broke the Bond Market [JDA]
What?!? Are you saying Congress may have passed legislation that could unforeseen repercussions? GET OUT.

Aside from what it isn’t, be wary of people who seem too eager to describe a “typical” CA life.  I’m talking about the people who already know what they want out of the profession and the unfortunate subset of those, who’ve let other people decide for them.  These people can be tricky to deal with, only because they have bought into a single way of looking at things.  Their attitudes won’t necessarily be wrong.  They just may not be what you’re after.  And when you aren’t even sure what you want, buying into someone else’s “idea” of the way things are supposed to go can lead to problems down the road.  I know CA’s who want to leave the profession and do humanitarian work in South Africa; I wouldn’t consider that typical.  But there will always be people who want to make partner, have 2.5 kids and live in the suburbs.  It’s personal preference really.  Keep that in mind if you’re ever talking to someone who’s projecting their idea of a “CA life” on you.

The lesson? Your profession is only as good as the low expectations you go into it with.

Accounting nerds only, please.

(via Twitpic)

(read more at Going Concern)