B-List

I spent last Sunday afternoon preparing my annual tax return.  Doing so
reminded me why I cut short my accounting career :)  Here are some recent
news items on the topic of accountants.

1. "Fly on the wall has firm's e-mail abuzz for four hours"
   <http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=717522005>
"In the latest embarrassing e-mail chain to leak out of the corporate world,
 it seems a team of London accountants spent more than four hours debating
 what to do about a fly buzzing around their office... 'It's hard to believe
 such a minor issue has troubled the brains of one of the most successful
 firms in the world'"

2. "Accountants struggle with creativity: study"
   <http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1447754.htm>
"Two Hong Kong researchers have concluded that accountants use anything but
 flowery language in their work and have immense difficulty when creativity
 is required"

3. "Extreme accounting"
   <http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1327454.html>
"Accountants visit challenging locations like mountain tops, seabeds, caves
 and rollercoasters. And, inspired by the extreme ironing craze, they take
 their work with them"

4. "Blokey jobs encourage baby boys, study says"
   <http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200505/s1374229.htm>
"Couples desperate to produce a son could boost their chances if one or both
 of them switches to a 'masculine' profession such as engineering or account-
 ancy, a report has said"

5. "Accountants are kings among U.S. 2005 graduates"  [expired link]
   <http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050605/bs_nm/economy_jobs_dc>
"Hot degrees in 2005 included business administration, management and elect-
 rical or mechanical engineering, according to a survey by the National
 Association of Colleges and Employers. But no degree is more in demand than
 accounting, where the starting salary averages $44,564 [US]"