The following is (attempted to be) re-published every summer

*************************************************************

I took the family (or they took me) to the Asbury Park beach this past week.

For those who do not know of it, it is a historically rich seaside city on the Jersey shore.  Its heyday clearly occurred in the first half of last century and by the 1970s, I recall it, as a very young child being taken there by my grandparents and parents, as being virtually dead, at least by the boardwalk.  The Great Society had taken its toll.

But about 10 or so years ago a transformation occurred.  Businesses moved in because, in part, the city government became more friendly (less hostile) to them.  Liberals could take note from such example as they constantly wield the populist sledgehammer against this country’s wealth-creators.

The beach is brimming with people of all walks of life.  And the influx of the alternative-lifestyle (read: gay) community deserves great credit for the transformation that seemed decades away, if at all.

Here are some “beachside observations”:

• Why are gay men more affectionate to each other than heterosexual couples?
• I have no problem with the fact that for some women, I cannot compete for their affections like other women can.  I do, though, feel extremely threatened when such women can throw a football far better than I could ever dream of.
• While slouched and slovenly in my beach chair, a solid 30 pounds overweight and not caring about such, I realized, and pointed out to my wife, that many gay men have everything that a heterosexual woman would want in a man: sensitivity, good grooming, and good looks.  Yet they lack that one critical ingredient: interest in females.  God truly does have a sense of humor, or at least a sense of irony.
• Was Judy Garland gay?
• As a big Civil War fan, I can appreciate the reverence for Confederate General Thomas Jackson (perhaps America’s greatest General), but I didn’t realize there were so many followers of his in Asbury Park as evidenced by their “Stonewall” t-shirts.  Perhaps we, as a society, are more connected to history than I thought.
• Sitting on the beach…closing my eyes…I hear Paul Lynde on Hollywood Squares (a comedian and show I greatly enjoyed watching).
• Why is the Greek way even considered by anyone? Their fiscal house is a mess! Who would want to emulate that?
• I think I saw Ellen Degeneres on the beach….2 dozen times.  Or was that Rachel Maddow?
• I saw some stunningly attractive blondes in (barely) swim wear and I will never understand why they choose to dye their roots dark.

I.M. Windee at the beach….in a few years

*****************************************

Perhaps it’s best that the beach season is only 3 months a year: at middle-age with a family, I don’t think I could handle any longer.

-I.M. Windee

The following is one of a series published here every graduation season

*****************************************************************************

The following is one of a series of speeches published here every graduation season

• Some clients you must gently warn of the potential downsides of aggressive tax positions; others you must read the federal sentencing guidelines to.
• The public accounting analog to “will you love me in the morning?” is “will you still employ me after April 15?”
• (client) “Mr. Windee: in response to your request for my wage statements, I enclose all of my charitable contributions. I trust you now have everything and can complete my return.”
• Perhaps more than any other industry, CPA firms go all-out to be named “one of the best firms to work for.” An excellent rule of thumb is when you see a firm with one or several such awards, avoid it like the plague…at least as an employee.
• (client) “Hi. I dropped my taxes off this morning and was wondering if I could pick  up my returns now.”
• “I wasn’t expecting such a high quote of $400 to have your firm do my taxes. I think I’ll just go back to H&R Block and pay $500.”
• Being a public-accountant is the art of wanting to tell some of your clients “go &@%#!$%!* yourself!!!” but instead saying “thank you for being my client.”
• (partner) “Look, I know that Widget Corp. is and has been a tough client who had 3 bookkeepers last year, multiple staff turnover on our side and their books are a mess; not to mention that the owner is recalcitrant and disagrees with everything for the sake of disagreeing. BUT WHY ARE WE OVERBUDGET WITH THEM AND THEIR TAXES NOT COMPLETED??!!??”
• During tax season, snow days reveal the inherent dichotomy of mindset between staff and management. For staff, a light dusting means staying home for a week and hoping the apocalypse will pass. For management, 3 feet of snow can be easily driven in if you have 4-wheel drive and good tires.
• (partner) “I’m glad you came in on the new daylight savings time. But remember: at the end of the day it is really an hour earlier under the old time so feel free to stay and make it up.”
• (to client): “We need your brokerage statements to complete your return.” (client): “Okay. What do you need to complete my return?”
• (client e-mail) I still have to get you the remainder of my tax papers. :) And the deadline is only 2 weeks away. :)  I’ll be on vacation next week in the Bahamas. I’ll get you everything when I get back. Boy, I bet you could use a vacation!
• (client) “I only gave 4 of the 24 pages of my brokerage statement to you as I did not want to overwhelm you. I also figured that this would keep the bill for your services down. You’re welcome.”
• (client) “Is a deposit on my grave tax-deductible?”  Yes, in the after-life.
• (client) “I tagged and identified what each self-explanatory document is (1099, w-2, etc.) just in case you couldn’t understand them. But I threw my receipts in an envelope and assume you can figure them out.”
• (client) “Mr. Windee: I got your voicemail about brokerage statements and to answer your question, I included the food store flier as I took advantage of their 10% Off Sale and wasn’t sure if that had tax implications.
• (client) “This is unbelievable. You mean I owe $200,000 of taxes on 1 million dollars of income??!!?? I can’t comprehend this misfortune!!! WHY??!!??”
• For a deceased client’s final return, what address do you use? Heaven? Hell? How about their occupation? Corpse?
• (I.M. Windee after a performance review): “That which does not kill you puts you in the ICU.”
• (a partner): “I am sensitive to the fact that you are commuting 3 hours a day and am granting your request to work at home 1 day a week: Sundays.”
• When the recruiter who has been non-responsive to you puts a video on LinkedIn using a sock-puppet to explain the recruiter-candidate relationship, you quickly come to the harsh reality that the sock-puppet will find a job for you far quicker than the recruiter.
• (client) “IT’S %^&%%#%$#-ING PALM SUNDAY AND YOU WANNA TALK TO ME ABOUT TAXES THAT I OWE??!!??  THIS IS HORSE-&$%&%!!!! I WANTED TO SPEND THIS @%$&*%$%-ING HOLY DAY WITH MY FAMILY!!!”
• (a partner in a performance review): “Look, I know you do not want to exceed budgets but you MUST record all of your time. Now, about the Widget Co. return, YOU BLEW THE BUDGET!!!  WHAT HAPPENED??!!??”
• Most public accounting firms have a two-prong employee retention program: high unemployment and the counter-offer.
• (client) “I know you might be busy as it’s April 10 but I got the 17th and final notice before levy for me to file a franchise tax return for 2 years ago. I didn’t give you the prior 16 notices as I assumed this would all blow over. They gave us 10 days from receipt to file which means it must be submitted tomorrow.”
• (client) “I don’t mind [sort of] paying you for your services but my refund was only $300; isn’t your fee of $200 a bit much compared to my refund?”
• To the client who generously gave $20,000 of non-cash donations in the form of various household items: “Your New Jersey return shows a refund, would you like to donate to any of the charitable causes listed on it?” The answer is predictable.
• (the client from March 25 above) “I haven’t heard from you. May I presume Friday night, April 1?”
• (client) “Is there a box I may check on the return that switches me from Liberal to Conservative so I may pay less? Those wild-eyed Conservatives are starting to look more reasonable.”
• (client) “My taxes this year should be easy as there’s not much to report: most of my income was paid in cash.”
• A power outage made me appreciate auto-save and document recovery in many programs. How was it done before computers? A power outage meant all work on paper was lost, no doubt.
• (client) “It’s so stressful trying to get my papers to you. How do you do it?”
• When a partner tells you that you’re not paying for yourself when you work 50 hours a week and are billed out at 3 times what you are paid, you feel like the $4 candy bar that hotels claim they lose money on.
• (the wife when working home): “DON’T TELL ME IT’S MARCH 30 AND YOU’RE BUSY WITH TAXES!! I SAW YOU GO TO THE BATHROOM WHICH IS NOT EXACTLY ‘WORKING FROM HOME’! Now the garage needs painting; put on your overalls and grab a brush. After that you’re take me shopping.”
• (client)  “Did you e-file my returns yet?” IMW: “No, did you send back authorization to do so?” Client: “No, but why didn’t you e-file my returns yet?”
• (an accounting firm partner calling on the phone) “I’m looking at line 17 of Schedule E of the Smith return. How did you get to that amount?!?…..What do you mean you can’t recall?!?….YOU PREPARED THE RETURN ONLY 2 MONTHS AGO!…..You want to refresh your memory?!?…..What do you think this is, the courtroom?!?…..I think you’re suffering from memory loss!”
• (virtually any accounting firm partner, in the full-heat portion of their career, e-mailing a staff member) “We are in the business of providing answers to our clients. If every time they came to us with a question and we responded with a deer in the headlight look, they would not come back to us. Which means they would not pay us. Which means we would not pay you. I trust you see the interrelationship. If you are unable to immediately provide answers to complex, arcane and often unexplored questions of tax law, may I suggest another shop? Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block come to mind. At least there you would be only asked what the standard deduction amount is, although I’m not sure you could even handle that one given your recent performance. Please take this as all my remarks are intended: constructively.

…and a donor worthy of a urinal

************************************************************************

Dear Alumnus-

I write to you with both an update and a challenge.

In regards to the update, it has been a good year for the return on our endowment which has exceeded the Dow Jones average by 3.68%. Additionally, alumni generosity has been robust. Still, there is much to be done.

As many of you might have heard, Charles Herbert (“Chuck”) Hedgecroft XVII embraces this university’s vision for greatness and donated 15 million dollars to us for our Make the World Great fundraising campaign. Because such gift helped us to exceed our 75 million dollar goal sooner than expected, we have increased it to 100 million dollars to allow others to follow the inspirational lead of Chuck. We have re-named the Mortimer Bancroft (“Bo”) Buckingham XIV School of Business to the Charles Herbert Hedgecroft XVII Center for Business Studies and Human Advancement (Mr. Buckingham, who had donated 10 million dollars prior, declined to get into a bidding war given mounting legal bills for his insider trading indictment). As part of Mr. Hedgecroft’s donation terms, a lottery will be held to select 10 people from those currently receiving scholarships who must name their first-born “Hedgecroft.” Additionally, each individual must serve as a human lawn jockey at his estate for 2 of Mr. Hedgecroft’s social gatherings (I will be serving 3).

Other donors who received recognition are as follows:

• Salvatore Giancome had all of the dumpsters on the undergraduate campus named in his honor for a $5mm donation and will attend a ceremony marking such once he is on parole.
• George Mellencup Winthrop XXVII donated $3mm and will have a row of urinals in the Henderson Hall male lavatory named after him. He remarked that he’s not sure he’s worthy of such but embraces this honor nonetheless.
• Roger and Mitzi Howell will have the stalls in the Ezekial Vance Capote Trans-gender Bath and Reflection Room named after them for their $2mm gift.
• James Arthur and Catherine Elizabeth McDowell gave $1mm and will have all of the feminine napkin dispensers in both male and female restrooms on campus emblazoned with their names. Catherine said they now feel they have made a difference with this honor.
• A number of devoted alumni, too numerous and anemic in donation to mention, have shown their loyalty and will be having desks, staplers and hole-punchers named after them (for 1 year and then such will be up for bid again).

There are plenty of structures left on the campus for your name to be on so I ask that you consider such. Note also that there is an upgrade program so if you can only start out at the soap dispenser or trash can level, there are ways to enhance your status.

The George Mellencup Winthrop XXVII Honorary Urinals display a commitment to Currencia U. that all alumni should aspire to and represents the very best of his and the university’s values 

***************************************************************************

The “Save Africa from Famine” fundraiser was a huge success that brought in $2.5mm which allowed us to airdrop 3 pallets of Cup-O-Noodles and a case of wet-wipes into the most needy part of Africa. The remainder of the funds went to administrative costs and a rainy-day fund for urgent needs that may arise.

Now to the future.

The Phillip Winthrop Jones building on the Charles Herbert Hedgecroft XVII Center for Business Studies and Human Advancement has now been officially declared obsolete by the Board of Trustees. Built 7 years ago at a cost of $72mm, it was state-of-the-art. But as the demands of education evolve, existing structures like it become outdated and I almost feel ashamed to see our students have to trudge into it each day, as I’m sure you would too. To replace it, we will require a fund drive (named “Great Hearts, Deep Pockets“). It will kick off with a donor’s conference in which anyone who wishes to donate at least $5,000 is invited (the fee to attend has yet to be determined, cash bar).

And as you may know, the proliferation of all of our financial needs has created the necessity for an infrastructure to administer these drives and funds received. I thank the board for its foresightedness in approving a fund drive that will allow us to have a world-class fundraising staff. I am always amazed at, and grateful for, the vision that our board displays when it comes to dealing with financial challenges. I know that the donors who created the administrative burden through their contributions will step up and help us deal with it.

To that end, the Board hired a consulting firm to study and advise how we can further encourage our alumni to show their loyalty and spirit. This firm came up with 2 cutting-edge ideas that we will implement immediately. First, we have decided to offer to our generous donors the option of buying enhanced-fonts for their names when we publish the donor lists in our alumni magazines. For a further showing of loyalty through gifting, their names can be in bold with a pronounced background color. Secondly, we have decided to issue a “non-donors” list. The consultants say this will encourage those who are unsure about whether to support advancing the cause of humanity by contributing to Currencia to do so. The Board wholeheartedly agrees.

Finally, it has come to my attention that society focuses far too much on materialism and the accumulation of money. This must change. Currencia University, through a soon to-be-announced fundraiser, will hold a study and symposium on how our culture can move away from its obsession with acquiring wealth and instead allow us to devote ourselves to advancing the causes that Currencia University does, such as eradicating overseas poverty, ending world famine, eliminating armed conflicts, and addressing global warming, to name just a few. Such an agenda requires a strong financial commitment from you, as I’m sure you’re aware.

St. Igantius said “Act as if everything depended on you.” I and the board read such to mean give profusely to Currencia University. I’m sure you share our interpretation and will donate to help us make the world, and the universe, a better place.

Always in God’s name,

The Very Reverend Phineas Taylor Barnum, S.J., CFO, MBA

President

(with clarity provided by I.M. Windee)

************************************************************************

While this should be published every time I.M. Windee thinks he has received far too many alma mater solicitations, such would occur every week. So it is posted at year-end when these fine institutions appeal to the personal tax-reduction benevolence of donors.

************************************************************************