What DO Accountants Do?
Are all accountants bean counters?
When I tell people that I am an accountant, the comments I typically get are:
“How do you choose the companies to audit?”
“What can I do to not pay tax?”
“You must be really good at math”
Common misconceptions…
It’s true, many of us start off as auditors. It’s a requirement for our experience hours.
BUT the vast majority of us don’t work for CRA (Canada Revenue Agency).
In the traditional sense, we provide financial statement assurance to lenders and insurance agencies so that your company can obtain a loan and/or get bonded. WHOA that's intense.
I just recently came back from an Accounting Technology conference in the US and the first thing my mother-in-law asked me was “what relevance does learning about US federal policies and budgets have to do with Canadian tax?”
WHAT?!?
Sure, accountants should understand tax to better serve their customers and help them reduce their tax liabilities.
BUT... Shouldn't there be there more to it?
I'm Asian AND an accountant. Where do stereotypes come from anyways?
If you know me personally, I cannot add nor count if my life depended on it.
OK. If my life depended on it… MAYBE…
But why would I need to? Technology does that for me. EXCEL is my best friend.
My brain power can be put to better use in more important matters such as helping business owners increase their profits.
How?
Stay tuned for my next blog post – If I’m making a profit, where’s my CA$H?
Can't wait? Contact me