As a former CFO of a publicly traded company, I know the importance of being able to rely on the integrity of professionals with whom one works. I have always had a positive impression of Deloitte as a firm, but recently had an extremely unprofessional experience with a Deloitte partner which to me should create a warning flag with respect to anyone looking to do business with this individual in any context.
Interestingly, my experience with this person came not out of issues related to revenue recognition or treatment of deferred tax assets, but rather through the rather mundane experience of trying to purchase his used Prius! Didn't someone say "How someone treats you when they don't think anyone is watching is a window into their soul?" If nobody did say that, they should have, so I'm saying it now.
Long story short, Bill Leimbach and I shook hands on a deal for him to sell me his car at his asking price on July 3rd, at which time I paid for an inspection and gave him a copy of it (at his request), left him with the deposit he asked for ($2,150; 10% of purchase price), and we agreed that I would come by first thing on July 5th (next time the bank would be open so I could get a cashier's check) with a cashier's check for the full amount and we'd do the paperwork. My wife was thrilled...as were my daughters who had already named the car Eli. We also passed buying a friend's Prius in LA since this was right around the corner.
On my way to the bank to get the check that fateful day, Bill calls to let me know he sold the car the night before to another party. Guess my $140 for the inspection (which he kept), $2,150 deposit check, our handshake and Bill's word collectively were not enough to offset the incremental utility of however much more money he made by selling to the other party. My guess is it was no more that a couple hours pay at his billing rate...I hope it was worth it. All I can say with respect to Bill Leimbach is: caveat emptor!
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