10 Ways You Know You Were Born to be an Accountant (OR NOT)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 11:25AM 
Tim at bestcollegesonline.net asked me to comment on a recent article there and after I read it I am happy to offer some counterpoint. I agree with some of the reasoning but not most of it. My comments below should be read in the context of the original article so you may want to start there.
Nothing really bores you-Disagree. I think this applies to private accountants who work for one company, but it definitely doesn't apply to public accountants, those that are hired by multiple clients. One of the most attractive aspects of public accounting is the constant variety of clients, problems and scenarios. If you are the kind of person that likes routine public accounting probably isn't the place for you.
You've always embraced technology-Agree. But then again, if you don't like tech you probably aren't interested in anything in the business world. Saying you are technology averse today is kind of like saying you dislike transportation. OK, but get over it because the reality you live in requires that you take advantage of it.
You've always loved dealing with numbers-Disagree. Some of the best accountants I know are wizards at addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. But so are some of the brightest fifth graders in the world. Math is not so important as a desire for semi-hard edges. If you like measurable, quantifiable results accounting is a world you will find comforting. If you love math become an engineer, statistician, or actuary. Accounting will bore you to tears.
You have an abnormal passion for tax law-Disagree. If you are passionate about tax law become a tax attorney. Accountants are great compliance experts but the attorneys are the ones who see all the action when it comes to architecting complex transactions. There are many frustrated tax CPA's who wish they would have spent another three years attending law school.
You always sweated the details-Maybe. There is a need for accountants who won't sleep until the bank account reconciles to the penny. But these people are easy to find, train and duplicate. Thus, they are not the top income earners in the field. Much more valuable to clients are accountants who can draw the line where information gathering and reconciliation should stop and decision making should begin. Business owners (your eventual clients) never have the luxury of making decisions with 100% of the information and analysis possible. Knowing when 80% is good enough takes experience and skill, but it also requires taking a little risk, something accountants are not known to embrace. If you can balance the two you will do well by your clients.
You've always welcomed the challenge of solving a problem-Agree. Your clients will bring them to you in spades so you better like it. Enough said.
You've always been conservative with your time-Maybe. True, accountants must juggle multiple projects and rarely get the luxury of working an assignment from start to finish without interruption. However, the world is changing. Accountants accustomed to measuring their time in tenths of an hour are finding themselves behind the curve. Clients care about what you accomplish, not how long it takes. Should you be able to handle multiple projects? Yes. Should you become dominated by a time clock mentality? Definitely not.
You've always been a people person-Maybe. The best accountants have this trait. But they also put in years behind the desk before they spend most of their days on client factory floors and in their conference rooms. The experience gathering or "seasoning" required to get to this level often stifles young accountants to the point they choose to do something else. However, business models are changing, and we are starting to see young accountants enjoy more client contact, earlier, in much more collaborative accountant-client relationships. Just beware. If you are an extrovert think hard before joining an "old school" firm where junior associates are expected to pay their dues before stepping foot into a client meeting.
You've always had a conservative appearance-Disagree. You need to make appearance a non-issue for your clients. It's not about a dress code. I've worn a suite and tie to meetings and I've met clients in shorts and flip flops. In both cases I wore what I wore because I wanted the issue at hand to be the focus, not my choice of wardrobe.
Your integrity has always been of the utmost importance to you-Agree. This is kind of like the technology point. Imagine a "10 Ways You Know You Were Born to be a _______________" article where one of the bullet points said "You're a no good scum ball people can't trust and integrity is not important to you." Integrity is important no matter what you do in life. Accountants are often vested with more integrity than other professions but the best clients will measure the integrity of the professional, not the profession.
I enjoyed reading the article from Best Online Colleges, but I felt it relied too heavily on stereotypes of accountants that do not ring true after fifteen years in the profession. There is a new breed of accounting professional that is emerging. Newcomers to the field have extraordinary access to leaders like @taxgirl @michellegolden @CPA_Trendlines @evenanerd @JodyPadarCPA @BillSheridan @DianeKennedyCPA @cfarmand @taxman45 @cpamom @DeepSkyAcc and @JasonMBlumer. If you think you are being called into the accounting field spend some time following these folks, read their blogs, ask them questions. Pretty soon you'll find out if you belong to this exciting community.
Reader Comments (6)
Wow, you nailed all of these, Joey! I would have to say that working in private accounting just about killed me, but the public side is innovative, creative, fun, challenging, people-focused and everything else which is the opposite of what people normally think of CPAs (long hours too, especially if you own your own gig).
There is a new day dawning, and this country better realize we CPAs are now cool, Mac-loving, flip-flop wearing, global-serving, math-hating innovators.
The future is so bright I have to wear shades...
I totally agree with your take on each of these points, Joey. Once you pay your dues and learn how to work that 10-key and locate a code section, you can take those accounting skills in a million different directions. We still need all kinds- the detailed back office types and the rainmakers in today's firms, but we're seeing the expectations grow so that everyone is expected to have a unique contribution that goes beyond their technical skills. Now is a great time to be an accountant - we can really help businesses who are struggling to survive.
And aabout that conservative appearance part- I started wearing purple just to be different in the days of boring grey suits. I think you need to be authentic in everything you do - speech, dress, writing. If your firm doesn't accept you for YOU, it's time to find another firm.
And thank you for the mention and endorsement in your post, Joey, you made this nerd's day!
Thanks Geni. You're the hippest nerd I know. I like the purple illustration. The age of cubicle grey accountants is definitely waning.
Thanks for the feedback, Jason. And thanks for the "Mac lover" moniker.
Fantastic response Joey - this is seldom the case for me but I found myself agreeing to 99% of everything you wrote up there. I think you spoke for many of us "new-age" accountants through this post and particularly love this comment:
There is a need for accountants who won't sleep until the bank account reconciles to the penny. But these people are easy to find, train and duplicate... Much more valuable to clients are accountants who can draw the line where information gathering and reconciliation should stop and decision making should begin.
Could not have said it any better myself and I've decided to steal it from you for future references/comments to make myself sound smart.
Absolutely agree with Jason that working in a single private entity bored me to tears after 3 months. Lucky for me, I was able to be in the comforts of the ever-changing public accounting scene for a few years - until it dawn on me to run a single private accounting dept like a public accounting firm - talk about change in the industry :)
Finally, thank you again for the public endorsement - you rock.
Signed,
The mac loving, could-careless-about-reconciling-my-checkbooks-to-the-penny new age accountant from a Starbucks half way around the world wearing his flip-flops
Thanks Michael. Envious of your Starbucks branch office. May relocate this afternoon.