Sometimes bumpy relations with outside auditors

The Fulton County Daily Report, May 2, 2008, has an article by Katheryn Hayes Tucker that comments on the Association of Corporate Counsel Eighth Annual Chief Legal Officer Survey, released last month. The ACC invited 5,355 U.S. members holding the CLO or GC title to participate in the survey and 1,166 responded.

The data from late 2007 shows that 85 percent of the respondents expressed deep satisfaction with their career, according to an executive summary released by ACC. One downside, however, are independent auditors.

The top lawyers don't appear to be so fond of the outside auditors with whom they work. “While 59 percent of GCs said their relationships with outside auditors had not changed in the past year, about a quarter of the respondents said those associations had been difficult.” The reason cited by some GCs is that the dynamic had become more adversarial. I can imagine heads butt when the accountants take one position and the lawyers take another.