Good old stereotypes

Last night, I got a really good laugh out of last week's episode of Parks and Recreation, especially the part where a stereotypical accountant discusses taxes and Quickbooks.

The premise is the town of Pawnee, Indiana holding an all-night telethon. When the scheduled star doesn't show, they get really desperate, and the tax guy in front of the camera is evidence of their desperation. As the accountant drones on: "When it comes to preparing taxes..." the main character then observes: "This is a disaster."

What, people don't think accountants teaching how to prepare taxes makes for entertaining television?

TV really has fun with the accountant stereotype. Kay Bell has blogged about a comedy in the works about IRS agents. I'm guessing they won't all be perky and engaging.

This clip below has the second bit with the CPA, starting at around :50 seconds, as he concludes his "Quick look at Quickbooks." Classic! I just wish I could get both clips of him. (The first clip of him is at around 13:15 of the full episode here.)

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Under Pressure

Dan Meyer of TickMarks pays me a huge honor in yesterday's post: Too Long Between Posts--Apologies ..

I look forward to seeing the posts of Robert Flach (Wandering Tax Pro), Monica Lavwer (Confessions of a CPA and the Tax CPA)and others as they return to blogging after their working hiatus. Major applause to Joe Kristan, Russ Fox and other working tax accountants (yes, and Peter Pappas, Kelly Erb and tax lawyers too) who were able to post in the midst of the maelstrom.

First off, I've got to agree 100% that the practitioners who blogged through the season quite simply rock. They are definitely in a league of their own. And in this league we can't forget Trish McIntire, who's April 14 "A Little Rant" made me smile. Stacie Clifford also managed to keep posting throughout, though she admits most were borrowed from the IRS.

Second, I must say I am pleasantly surprised that Dan would look forward to my writing. Few things feel as marvelous as respect from one's mentors and peers.

Last, but not least, to have my name even listed in such an impressive group, I feel like I better step up my game! It would sure be a shame if, a year from now, bloggers wrote: "Remember that blog that seemed to have good stuff, then completely choked?"

So with that classic CPA perfectionist thought in mind, I thought I'd share one of my favorite songs.

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You know you're addicted to Twitter when...

You're checking Twitter while sitting in the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco waiting for Wicked to begin.

In my defense, I had not been on Twitter for two weeks. That's a lifetime in tweets.

While waiting for the show to begin, I stumbled upon an update from favorite @taxtweet with a link to her post Another top 12 holiday tax countdown. As she notes, I was lucky enough to make Dan Meyer's Twelve Blogs of Christmas. What a pleasant surprise!

Dan is a blogging veteran at Tick Marks. I'm honored to be included in his list. In all honesty, I fear that it won't be long before top bloggers like Dan and Kay discover my secret: I really don't know what I'm doing out here in the blogosphere.

I owe a few more thanks to people smarter than me who take the time to converse with this blogging novice...

Thank you to Stacie Clifford Kitts at Stacie's Tax Tips for saying I have wit. What a lovely compliment! So much nicer than some of the things my 6 year old says to me.

Thank you to Wandering Tax Pro Robert Flach for giving this "new girl on the block" such a warm welcome. I can even forgive him often calling me Marilyn instead of Monica. :)

Thanks to Joe Kristan for saying my blog is worthy of making Dan's Top 12. I'll take "worthy!"

Happy New Year, everyone!

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Who can you trust?

The world is a scary place, and Congress makes it even scarier for taxpayers with the insanity called the tax code.

And of course, there is much more to life than tax. (Many are likely shocked to hear me say it.) To function with so much variety in life, our modern economy relies on specialization of labor, so that different people become educated and trained in different things, and we trade.

Each day, we decide what to trade for. Perhaps the most important decisions we make are related to choosing service providers: doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, and so forth. These can also be the most challenging decisions because human beings are much more variable and unpredictable than a simple widget.

When you choose a service provider, you do your best to find the right person, and hope you choose wisely.

The more time I spend in our profession, the more I come to realize that clients are looking for someone to trust. That's why referrals are usually the most successful way to generate new business. Stacie Clifford Kitts has a good post on the topic of referrals.

Of course, the biggest hurdle most people face is that they cannot afford the best service providers. And some people who can afford them are just too cheap. And so, for everything from medicine to tax, people turn to the Internet.

Robert Flach provides and interesting discussion on the issue of tax advice online in his post: Who can you believe? Jim Maule also provides a great discussion in Tax Illiteracy as a Threat.

Alas, I do not have the answer for how to ensure people get access to credible tax information. Robert provides some good tips for people to use in evaluating whether a person espousing tax advice is trustworthy. If I didn't need to earn a living by charging for the value of my services, I could spend all of my time combating tax illiteracy. Instead, I'll need to settle for doing what I can to educate in my own communities while working around "my day job."

I do hope that people can start to do a better job of simply using good judgment. It's amazing how much trouble can be avoided by making good decisions.

In a barely related note, often when I think about choosing wisely or poorly, I remember the line at the end of this gruesome scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. "He chose poorly." Gotta love the understatement.

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Accounting Cheese

Just catching up on the blogosphere, and came across this post from Joe Kristan (originally from Taxprof) with two of the worst accounting videos ever.

I watched a few seconds of each, then had to stop because it was just too painful.

I guess I'll just have to get used to being one of the few cool accountants in existence.

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