Bernanke says the recession is likely over, according to a story today. Take that as you will, but in any case, I predict another 18 months will pass before the Big Four catches up to the news. A few other things will happen in those 18 months:

1) Next fall (2010), when bonus checks clear, you’ll see a mass exodus for companies willing to actually pay their talent. If you think you’re doing more for less, wait until FY11.

2) Every month until then, we’ll see articles on our company website about the “challenges we face,” and an “attaboy” for all the great work we’re doing, blah, blah.

3) More audits will be messed up, but we’ll still have that super high success rate some find so relevant.

4) We’ll be admonished by some B4 apologists that “the firm exists to make a profit,” ignoring a fact that the companies poaching our talent (see #1) are also in it for the money, and are better at exploiting the less than savvy Big Four partners.