I’m an Accountant, Not a Public Relations Person!
Jacob Marley is the controller for Dickens Company. Marley has been with Dickens for more than 30 years. Marley is a dedicated employee and prides himself on the efficiency of his accounting department staff. Over the years, Marley has received many inquiries and suggestions from the board of directors of Dickens Company about appropriate accounting treatments, the magnitude of certain accounting estimates, and so forth, but he has never paid the slightest attention to any of the suggestions. Marley’s view is that the process of generating the financial statement numbers is simply a matter of rigidly applying certain predetermined mathematical rules, and he does not welcome the input of the board of directors or anyone else. Marley also refuses to communicate with analysts, pension fund managers, and business press reporters who call to make inquiries about Dickens. Marley believes that the financial statements speak for themselves and need no clarification or amplification. Comment on the costs and benefits of Jacob Marley’s approach to financial reporting to Dickens Company.