Coming Attractions

The use of promos is becoming pervasive and I don't like it.

Years ago, there were two places where you saw these promos. One was the movie theatre, when you usually would see one or two previews of movies that would be released soon. The other was television, where at the end of a show, there was a short clip shown from next week's episode. I usually found them entertaining and informative. Often I would make my decision to see the upcoming movie or television show episode based on what I saw.

But now we have coming attractions everywhere and they are definitely not informative. For example, on the television show Entertainment Tonight, a promo for an later segment in the same program is shown when the show starts and just before two commercial breaks. Adding insult to injury, when the piece finally comes on, it is basically the promo plus 30 seconds of new material.

The local news is no different. How many times have you seen the anchor come on and say something like, "The verdict in the mayor's criminal trial is in. Details at 11." Or my favorite "Bubonic Plague Breaks Out in New York City. Tune in at 7 to find out if your are in danger."

Well, promos have now made it to the accounting world. Not once, but twice. The first time was October 15, 2002 in the AICPA news release entitled, "AICPA Issues New Standard for Detecting Fraud." Here I was ready to read and analyze for Practical Accountant readers the standard which is effective for audits for periods beginning after Dec. 15, 2002 and the release states the standard "will be available at the end of October or early November."

Then there is the SEC November 19, 2002 announcement that it is proposing auditor independence and workpaper retention rules under Sarbanes-Oxley. Again with eager anticipation, I am disappointed as I read the last sentence of the release. "The full text of the detailed releases will be posted to the SEC Web site as soon as possible."

Upon reflection, am I getting what I deserve? I sometimes put a Coming in Future Issues box in the Practical Accountant giving the titles of three articles that will appear in future issues.

By the way, check out what's coming in Practical Accountant's 35th Anniversary celebration in January.

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