#13 Acronyms, What are your favorites?
Feb 2nd, 2009 by pfi
From GAAP to GAAS, CPA to CPE, and AICPA to PCAOB, accountants feel the need to shoehorn as many acronyms as possible throughout their workpapers and professional lives. While accountants are busy trying to save the world, the fact remains that accountants are incredibly lazy people.
Acronyms, as you are well aware, are words formed from letters in each word. For example, “w/o/m/e” stands for without material error. When accountants need to state clearly on each workpaper (read: write the same thing twenty times) what has been done, they rely on tickmarks and acronyms.
Across all industries of practice, accountants have an endless alphabet soup of acronyms to pick from. Not only that, but new acronyms are created each day to ensure accounting remains undecipherable to the masses. This also helps maintain the steep learning curve for all newcomers.
Instead of StuffAccountantsLike listing acronyms specific to one office, we want to encourage you to post your favorite acronyms in the comments.
We use SALY quite a bit in our workpapers. When I first started, I was thrown off… who is this SALY and how come she’s got her hands in so many projects? Come to find out later that SALY is actually Same as Last Year.
WTF – no explanation necessary
NCN – not considered necessary
pfr = pass further review
w/o/e – without exception
ttaw – traced to and agreed with
At my firm I find the acroynms used outside of the workpapers most frustrating. And the love to change them every year.
SOX – SarbanesOxley
SDLC – System development life cycle
PBC – provided by client
BRB – favorite sametime saying
CISA- Certif. Info. Systems Auditor
PY – prior year
SAD and SUD – Summary of Aggreg. Deficiencies, and Summary of Unadj. differences
MF – Mainframe
Also have acronyms for all my engagements, of which some do not translate nicely to the actual name, ahem, they are creative.
We’re not lazy. We’re efficiency-focused and deadline-oriented. But I do love using TLA’s to make life tough on the interns. About the time they get the system committed to memory, their internship is over.
1. s/b = should be (because it’s never correct when you get it)
2. TTB = tax trial balance (because unless you’re working an SEC client, what other trial balance matters?)
3. fb = facebook (just because)
4. BV = buisness valuation (usually synonymous with $0)
5. h/h = happy hour (not this time of year)
6. KM = knowledge management (often ignored by management)
7. CRAP = Conveniently Rationalized Accounting Principles
8. TLA = three-letter acronym (just to drive the point home)
CPA – Cut and Paste Artist
My favorites although they aren’t used in workpapers:
NRL – No Return Lunch
CLM – Career Limiting Move (e.g. telling your Partner that you don’t feel competant enough to audit the tax workpapers)
CEM – Career Ending Move (e.g. telling your Partner to take her review comments and shove them up her a$$)
s/h/b – should have been
ERP – Estimated Realization Percentage
PBIAD provided by internal audit department
PAJE Proposed Adjusting Journal Entry
and the most delicious one,
BOLI Bank owned life insurance
NFWR – no further work required.
JFDI – Just F**king Do It (usually more common a few days before a press release or report date)
OSIDT – Oh S*** It Doesn’t Tie
nfwdn – no further work deemed necessary
UFD – un-F*** this
PIDB – Partner in Database
TBD – to be done
NQA – no questions asked
e/w/p – external work paper
TTUFT – Time to Un-F*** this
We used NFWR (no further work required) and WFI (waived further investigation) until we were told we couldn’t. I guess someone sued someone and the auditors got in trouble because both of those implied “we could have tested more if we had wanted too, but didn’t…”
CYA – Cover your A**
Hasn’t anyone else met SALY’s evil cousin, SALY CBW?
SALY CBW – Same as last year, consistent but wrong
Maybe it’s just us tax geeks.
NTK-nice to know
WTF – Wednesday Thursday Friday
Sub. Anal – Substantive Analytics
MOE – Memorandum of Examination
I hate seeing w/o/e.
The best TLAs are those that summarize jargon. Such as NRV. Net Realizable Value. Not only do we create acronyms, we create them to further confuse a (usually) stupidly confusing subject in the first place.
I flipped through the file I’m currently working in and found the following in 5 minutes:
AJE: Adjusting Journal Entries
RJE: Reclassifying Journal Entries
CTB: Client Trial Balance &/or Consolidated Trial Balance
WIP: Work In Process
NRV: Net Realizable Value
CoGS: Cost of Goods Sold
NI: Net Income
TOR: Turn Over Ratio
EBIDTA: Earnings Before Interest, Depreciation, Taxes, Amortization
If it were up to me, I’d restrict the usage and come up with acronyms that reflect how we truly feel:
LMAOATCBS: Laughing My A** Off At This Client’s Bull Sh**
WFC: Who ****ing Cares
DIAB: D*** in a Box (…just because)
DODR – Do it Over and Do it Right
(best left as a review comment on a first-year’s work)
The most fun to explain during QCPR (Quality Control Peer Review) are:
AR/PFR – Appears Reasonable/Pass Further Review
WAG – Wild A$$ Guess
CAKE. Cummulative Audit Knowledge and Experience.
No further work required, per CAKE.
Not to mention the Mystical FSDCL, the financial statement disclosure checklist. And yes, it is pronounced such that it rhymes with Mystical. I think this is w/o/e the weirdest.
POA – developed this one for a client, who when we asked him how he came up with a figure, admitted that he Pulled it Out of his Ass.
FUBAR = F***** Up Beyond All Recognition
^ Love the FUBAR. Accountants like to adopt military acronyms like this for our use “in the trenches.” like:
SNAFU: Situation Normal, All F***ed Up
TARFU: Things Are Really F***ed Up
SWAG: Scientific Wild Ass Guess
All have roots in military jargon. Speaking of, I would like to officially add “REMF” to accounting jargon. Means “Rear Echelon Mother F***er.” Refers to supporting officers who are safely away from the danger. Like Generals. I want to call Partners REMFs. Do it.
FNG – the new guy
DILIGAF- Does It Look Like I Give A Fuck
NFR: Not Fucking Right
My firm generally doesn’t use normal acronyms in our workpapers. Instead, we refer to everything (including items that have standard acronyms) by the step number in our two audit programs (for profit & ERISA). I personally hate it when they change the step numbers. So just to name a few prime examples:
ERISA = 401k, pension, ESOP plan audits; officially, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
104 = FS = financial statements
200 = TB = trial balance
325 = materiality
8101.10e = contributions workpaper
….and on the list goes. (Frankly, the acronyms would be easier to learn than our random list of step numbers.)
GFY = Good for you or Go F*** yourself.
What about PURE– Previously Unrecorded Recruiting Error
A few of my favs…
AG – Audit Girls
PPA – Prior Period Adjustment
HC – Handicapped bathroom stall (larger than regualr stall)
PYTR – Prior year tax return
BD – Business Development charge code (when u are non-billable)
GFR – Go File Room
RTFWP – Read the F***ing Work Paper (typically responding to a manager that leaves stupid notes, and rarely actually sent on)
FTD = F*cking Tax Department
SMALY = Same mistakes as last year
S/B = should be
I’ve thought about making t-shirts that say: I live and breathe SLQ (same as last quarter) , SALY (same as last year), and MICOR (make it come out right) and do it all in a JIFT (just in f/n time)basis…
But that would just be plain stupid, really…
“TMI… Too much information. I used to say ‘don’t go there’, but that’s lame.” -Michael Scott- (the dundies episode)
WTF = What The F*** ?!?
Review comment often left on first year’s workpapers
NSFW
NFWCN – no further work considered necessary
T&A – traced & agreed
Used often in IM conversations:
TWSS – That’s what she said
TBTT – Too Busy to Talk
I was told that SALY doesn’t work here anymore…
E&Y , PWC , D&T , KPMG
f/i/w – Further Investigation Waived
PYF – prior year fiscal
PYE – prior year excise
W/S – wash sales
QBOE – qualified board or exchange
EBITDA – Earnings Before I Trick the Dumb Auditors
I would love to see a write up on “Plugs”. We accountants love our plugs especially after a 14 hour work day.
Similar to CYA…
JIC – Just in Case
SNU – S*** Not Used
FISEWDIL – F**K It, Someone Else Will Do It Later
WTFE = WTF Ever
TAR = That Ain’t Right
lldcb = late lunch, don’t come back
Showing my age with with one: PA – Paper A$$hole, aka paper reinforcements
imm – immaterial
PD – Practice Development (the codes that happy hours are run through)
p/f/i = pass/f***/it
w/s/s = what/she/said
This year, my firm developed a new spreadsheet that is a tool that tracks financial ratios for our clients. We call it the:
Financial Analysis Ratio Tool (FART)
CWS = Clint’s Work Schedule. Corporate Tax Senior who decided to take off on September 14 to Vegas without getting approval…..
PURE = Previously Unrecognized Recruiting Error. Anyone have one of them working on your jobs?
LAF – Lazy Ass F*cker….related to PURE
In regards to Software Revenue Recognition SOP 97-2:
RTFC – Read the Full Contract
RTFC – Read the Final Contract
And when it’s late at night and you’re still reading contracts…
RTFC – Read the F*cking Contract
How about where to eat lunch? What’s for dinner? This is the topic daily especially when we order food in.
WAPOS – What A Piece of S***!
Review comment for staff workpapers.
CAKE: Cummulative Audit Knowledge & Experience
DBR – Done by reviewer since the prep f-d up the budget
PDOOMA– Pull Directly Out Of My A$$
NM, NCNTPF = Not material, not considered necessary to pursue further
WITTB – What it takes to balance
FNTB = figure needed to balance
SWP (“swoop”) – Superceded Workpaper; similar to CYA
GROTS = Get Rid of This Sh*t
Term used to define client-provided support that is required to be shredded at the end of every audit engagement.
Example of use:
“Put that stuff in your GROTS box”
“I lost my GROTS”
SS- Sh*t show
CYOA – cover your own ass (“your” is NOT referring to the collective plural – this is an individual sport)
CPA – cut, paste and attach
and my favorite research memo… “per XXX, pass” (insert partner’s/manager’s initials here)
Have you met SALY’s evil cousin WALY…Wrong as Last Year
SCTW – Shit Can This Workpaper
FITI – F*ck it, tick it
Nobody mentioned the SURL…(rhymes w/ Earl)…Search for Unrecorded Liabilities
FML: Best summed up by a late night discussion between two auditors:
Auditor 1: “Hey what time is it?”
Auditor 2: “12:40, why do you ask?”
Auditor 1: “FML.”
TLAR = that looks about right
My favorite… and ID 10 T error (idiot)
ARF:
Accounting Review Form
ITCWYE:
Is This consistent with your expectations?
CA:
Call Janky
… What about the giant question mark?
w/n/m/e/n/ with no material exception noted
LGNW – Looks Good No Worries
OTP – on the phone
ERP – engagement revenue percentage
AABS
My least favorite – PDW – per discussion with – in other words, I’m a conversational auditor and I don’t want to take the time to find out if this is true.
Fresh grads are told their primary responsibilities are CCCD
(photo)Copy
Cast
Call
Delivery
HB – Honey Brown
NSNSNP: No shirt, no shoes, no problem.
A few years ago, required workpapers from an unnamed Big 4 firm (you know who you are):
BUD: Business Understanding Document (there used to be two BUDs, which were described as BUD 1 and BUD 2).
RAD: Risk Analysis Document
PAD: Process Analysis Document
SIDD: Significant Issues and Decisions Document
Etc.
You can imagine the conversations:
Have you finished the RAD yet?
No, I’ve been working on BUD 2.
FIDO–F*ck it, drive on
pfa–pass further analysis
SYN file–save your neck file
A personal favorite of mine…
PDW – Per discussion with
Often used to throw someone under the bus.
During recruiting events – as written on the evals:
CI – Continued Interest
NFI – No further interest
and the one I sparked off: NFW – No F’ing Way
PURE – Previously Undetected Recruitment Error
hands down.
[...] new tax or related blogs. That is how I came across STUFF ACCOUNTANTS LIKE by pfi and the post “Acronyms, What are Your Favorites?”. I have always been a big user of acronyms. Clients and readers of TWTP are aware that GDE is [...]
I have to admit that now that I don’t have inventory to deal with I can’t shake LIFO and FIFO which I use as euphomisms for puking (last in fist out – think about it) and diarrhea (FIFO)
NFNY: Note for next year (maybe then we will do it right if this note isn’t burried)
ATTA – afraid to throw away
SDI – System Does It
MIGA: Make it go away (from Seniors to Associates)
SIUTR: Sweep it under the rug (this is mostly a joke)
My favourites:
FISH (an inventory flow method) – first in, still here
Code 8 – the object sitting 8 inches in front of the computer is causing the IT screwup
Mean things we stay at the office:
FA- Fat Ass!
FML- F@#$ My Life
BOMM – Board Out My Mind
Troll – Ugly Chick
FT – F$^%ing Ugly Chick
The Devil – VP of our department
Doors – Managers and above
Tea – Coffee break and gossiping in the breakroom 3 pm everyday
Tax department:
TSWAC – Tough S***, write a check.
SHIT- Shareholder In Training
DFQ – Dumb F*cking Query
CF – Cluster F**k
I can explain more acronyms like NGO = non govt. organisation
and INGO = international non govt. organisation
, BONGO = business oriented non govt. organisation
CAPEX – Capital Expenditures
OCBOA- Other Comprehensive basis of Accounting
Can you have your CAKE and eat it too?
we put WGAF next to small differences. it stands for Who Gives A F**k. to which the reviewing senior would respond “I don’t.”
PIOOMA – Pulled it out of my a$$
WITTB (What it takes to Balance)
NFC (No fu**ing clue)
FINCN – F#&* it, not considered necessary.
My first year told me our senior was wearing GP….
granny panties.
There seems to, There seems to?There seems to, There seems to.There seems to, There seems to.There seems to raquo Autos, There seems to There seems to.There seems to, There seems to.,
CARINBIG!
My favorites from my days as a Big 4 audit intern:
WFP = waive further pursuit
w/o/e = without exception
CWPY = consistent with prior year
TGIF = thank God it foots (not in the wps. but something I’d always think to myself after adding a 50 page document)
wps. = workpapers
And finally, although not an abbreviation, I always liked the term “Appears reasonable,” which would invariably be followed by “WFP.”
FAM it – Fancy Accounting Maneuvers
DTMS – Does That Make Sense
NC – No Clue
GR’d – Got Reviewed
EBITDA – I can’t believe all you accounting-types haven’t posted this one yet. I love this one. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amoritzation. This falls under the category of ‘accountants are not boring people – they just get excited about boring things”.
The reason for making too much acronyms is to do our job faster but yeah, in short, accountants are lazy on that matter to write the exact words again and again so its shortened. But its cool right?
if there’s PAJE (Proposed Adjusting Journal Entries), what does CAJE mean?
CAJE=Client Adjusting Journal Entry.
[...] 13 Acronyms, What are your favorites? – Stuff Accountants LikeFeb 2, 2009 … Instead, we refer to everything (including items that have standard acronyms) by the step number in our two audit programs (for profit & ERISA). [...]
Remarκable! Itѕ trulу remarkablе
article, I have got much clear іdеа about from this
pοst.
Hello Sir.
Would you mind explaining the acronym of CAJE and PAJE in detail,
Thanks and Best Regards
Sokun