Travis H. Long, CPA, Inc. Blog

May 27, 2015

Sometimes people ask me why I am a tax accountant.  This question seems to have different colors to it when asked. Sometimes it is an interest in me – what things I find enjoyable about the profession or how my particular career path led me to where I am.   Sometimes it is an interest in themselves as they are “trying on” my work clothes to see if this field may be of interest to them in some capacity.  And other times it is an interest in the general human condition probing for answers to: “How in the world could anyone in their right mind, voluntarily do what you do?”

Well, I certainly hope I am in my right mind.  Contrary to the stereotypical image of a reclusive, socially awkward bean counter that maybe wears a pocket protector, I actually find most of us do not carry that stigma! Okay, I admit I wear bowties, but these days in a scene where formal business attire inevitably includes a necktie,  I submit to you that a bowtie is more the shtick of a rebel than a conformist.

Let’s see, what else can I tell you to debunk the nerdy, ill-equipped-for-life-but-good-with-numbers typecast. Well, I recently flew across the country to play in a soccer a tournament with a bunch of teammates that I played with in college.  I pretty much built a house with my own two hands (actually four when you count my wife’s) – everything from bending rebar in the foundation to nailing the shingles on the roof.  Oh, and I ride a motorcycle (albeit cautiously).  So you can add sports, construction, and motorcycling to your list of accountant hobbies.

So what part of me is driven to debits, credits and taxes?  Well, there are various skills in my life that I have seen as a recurring pattern ever since I was a child that are applicable.  I have always enjoyed: 1) organizing and classifying information, (like counting coins and bills which was a favorite activity when I first learned to count, or endlessly sorting, organizing and valuing baseball cards in elementary school), 2) solving problems (like figuring out how to turn on all the pull string lightbulbs in our basement in middle school all at once), 3) creating things (like a Christmas light display in high school that soared 35 feet above our rooftop, or writing software code – one of my first jobs out of school).

I was also entrepreneurial growing up.  I can remember when I was in third grade, I located some really neat and colorful mechanical pencils.  I found that I could buy a ten pack for $1 and resell them for 25 cents each making a $1.50 profit on each pack.  I can remember the teacher having to tell everyone to sit down one day because I had a swarm of kids around me buying pencils. I had a few other small retail ventures like that in elementary school and I had a yard and odd job business in middle and high school as well.

Throughout it all, I enjoyed people, and I liked helping people.  That is what really landed me on the tax side of CPA life.  I did financial statement audits about half-time for the first six years or so of my accounting career.  I felt it really used my full skillset as an accountant, which I enjoyed, but I felt more like a necessary evil than someone who was being voluntarily employed to help.  Not many people hire auditors because they want to!  And who likes someone who is basically looking over his shoulder to report any mistakes he is making!

I have enjoyed tax preparation because there is a high degree of interaction with individuals, and I truly feel that I am able to help people, and they are generally very grateful for the help.  Since most everything in our lives (good or bad) has some kind of tax impact at some point, conversations with clients become very personal at times, and there are deep bonds that can form.  I find it is a very honorable and rewarding feeling to be entrusted with an understanding of someone’s personal and financial matters, and to try to help them either save tax or be a general financial (or personal) sounding board.

Plus, while doing this, I get to use the various skills I have enjoyed in my life.  Tax accounting certainly employs organizing and classifying information.  Preparing a tax return or tax plan for an individual, trust, estate or business is almost always a problem solving and creative activity as you try to piece together a mountain of facts and rules to come up with the best scenario you can.

Having my own firm also fulfills my entrepreneurial craving and gives me flexibility of time and the opportunity to do a variety of things, which I also enjoy.  So why am I a tax accountant?  Because I love it!

Prior articles are republished on my website at www.tlongcpa.com/blog .

Travis H. Long, CPA, Inc. is located at 706-B Forest Avenue, PG, 93950 and focuses on trust, estate, individual, and business taxation. Travis can be reached at 831-333-1041. This article is for educational purposes.  Although believed to be accurate in most situations, it does not constitute professional advice or establish a client relationship.