Are you a numbers person or a words person?

An article kindly contributed by Gina Lofaro aka ‘the wordmistress’

Are you a numbers person or a words person? … and does it affect the way you do business?

Left brain, right brain, we all operate more on one side of our cranium than the other. Some of us are more adept at handling complex mathematical equations whilst others of us are more proficient at articulating things verbally.

For me – a writer, copywriter, some-time stand-up comedienne – words are my easiest tools to work with. But put me in front of a pad of numbers, and I’m prone to panicking. Once upon a time, I was accused of not doing my best where my accounting paperwork was concerned. This was entirely unfair since I was doing my best, but my best was far, far inferior to his best paperwork efforts.

So I posed an interesting challenge. “How about you write for me, a 1,000-word article on any topic of your choosing? It has to be 100% grammatically correct with no spelling errors or typos and it has to be interesting!”

Well, he just laughed. At first. […]

Why are clients scared to talk?

A common situation I find on forums, and shamed to admit – with my own clients (sometimes!), is that they are scared to ask questions as and when they come up.

What’s your view? Do you contact your accountant as the need arises, or worse – when the transaction/event has already happened and nothing can be done?! […]

Accountants … Someone Has To Be!

Mention that you are an accountant at a dinner party and most people are unsure how to respond. Typically, people want advice on reducing their income taxes or how to open an off-shore bank account where they can secretly squirrel away their savings. It can also be a total conversation killer.

After all, I can’t think of many action/adventure film where the main character is an accountant. However in a world where there are two certainties – death and taxes – it really isn’t such a strange career choice. Somebody has to count the beans!

The truth of the matter is, most people don’t like the thought of having to keep accurate records and who has the time to read through complicated tax laws written in a language that vaguely resembles English? Enter: Your friendly local accountant.

When Governor Phillip came to NSW in 1788, he brought with him a Royal instruction granting him authority to impose taxes as a means of raising money to the benefit of the colony. Well, it seems that it was a success
because we’ve been paying taxes in one form or another ever since. Taxes were levied to help build the first jail in Sydney. Then, as now, accountants worked on both sides of the fence. […]