In the beginning, there was the entrepreneur.

(A note for tax accountants)

I want to start this article with a little disclaimer. This is my opinion. Sure, it’s based on years of observation and biting my tongue while office personnel rail on and on about stupid clients and annoying businesspeople with their “questions”, but still… opinion.

OK. With that done, I’d like to say one thing. Get off your high horse. If it weren’t for a very few factors, we wouldn’t be in business.

1. Tax law requires all businesses to keep accurate accounting records.
2. Businesses are too busy with their own business to worry about tax law.

In the beginning, there was the entrepreneur. The one guy in the community with the guts to say, “You know what? I have a skill for making more that I can use. That guy has what I need. I’m going to see if he wants to trade what I need for some of my extra stuff.” Then money was invented so that you could trade what you needed to that guy that didn’t make what you needed but needed what you made and ….. the small business was born.

Sound confusing? Naw. That’s nothing. It only got confusing when tax law came into effect. Now you have to record things in a certain way, you have to file tax returns, you have to protect assets, and the list goes on.

A short (and extremely summarized version of) history later, and there you go. The only reason you, as a tax accountant are alive.

So be grateful. Be gracious. If businesses knew about taxes and tax law the way you constantly complain they should, well you wouldn’t be as necessary as you claim you are. Would you?