AccountingWEB presents our favorite funny, quirky quotes of the year to give you a good feeling for the debates and discussions that have gone on around the accounting profession in 2003.

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1. "I have a problem with Walden Pond being turned into ‘Wal-Mart Pond.’ " Greg Butts, Arkansas state parks director, on his concern about a proposal in Massachusetts to solicit corporate sponsorship for state parks, landmarks and buildings to offset budget deficits. FULL STORY

2. "Not sustainable over the long term," the conclusion of the Social Security Board of Trustees in a report on the Social Security program. FULL STORY

3. "Stunning." Sen. Charles Grassley on the news that IRS employees are using computers for personal mail, reading news, listening to music and visiting other questionable sites. FULL STORY

4. "Now we can go back to looking forward to opening our inboxes in the morning because we'll have notes from our friends rather than herbal supplements and mortgage offers," said Rep. Heather Wilson (R, N.M.), in discussing the bill passed by the House of Representatives to limit e-mail spam. FULL STORY

5. "I'm surprised [Deloitte] reached that conclusion. We felt that the market was sending a clear message," PwC chief Samuel DiPiazza on Deloitte’s decision to keep its consulting practice in-house, instead of selling it off as all of the other Big Four firms had done. FULL STORY

6. "The anxiety levels of this group are quite high," said Paul Napoli, executive vice president of U.S. Trust, on a report that wealthy investors are reluctant to invest. FULL STORY

7. "Heads should roll," New York attorney General Eliot Spitzer on the SEC oversight - or lack thereof - of the mutual fund industry. FULL STORY

8. "It's unprecedented, illogical, and extraordinary, and we see little chance it will withstand appeal," Noah Hanft, attorney for MasterCard, responding to a California judge’s order to refund hundreds of millions of dollars in fees generated from currency conversion charges that were not properly disclosed to customers. FULL STORY

9. "We've had it with repurposeable, value-added knowledge capital and robust, leveragable mindshare," said Deloitte Consulting partner Brian Fugere in announcing "Bullfighter," a new tool to cut the, er, "jargon" out of business reports. FULL STORY

10. "So what can you do with these?" Business 2.0 winner of the "Dumbest Moments in Business" was Midas Muffler who had a television ad featuring an elderly woman baring her chest off camera to a supposed Midas mechanic. FULL STORY
11. "The charges for murder these days are less than for doing a bad audit." Louis Grassi, managing partner of Grassi & Co., a New York-based regional accounting firm, told the press that the company found a way to adapt to a wave of new regulations designed to clean up the industry: stop auditing public companies. FULL STORY