When new team members join our firm today as junior staff, I often think of the steep learning curve they have ahead of them. Back in the early 1980s, when I first entered the field of public accounting, some rudimentary business tax returns were truly as simple as transcribing the general ledger onto the return, with relatively few tax/book adjustments. With many tax returns still being done manually, that was a good thing. With the advent of the desktop computer, things should have gotten significantly easier… with tedious rote calculations now arrived at in milliseconds. Unfortunately, the availability of technology has allowed the government to complicate that which was simple to a degree that today’s laws would be virtually impossible to comply with were it not for said technology.
Fast forward to today, as of the time of this writing, the federal tax code is 187 times longer than it was a century ago in 1913 when the 16th Amendment to the Constitution brought it into existence.
While the question of whether or not today’s income tax code operates under the intended meaning of the 16th Amendment is a subject for another day, let it suffice to say that tax law is now more like a game of chess, with each move requiring consideration of a seemingly infinite amount of outcomes. Today’s tax concepts are so integrally connected to other tax concepts, only a seasoned tax professional could have the big picture vision needed to accurately assess the impact on a business or individual’s unique fact pattern.
This is the challenge facing today’s tax practitioner. So… back to today’s junior staff starting in the profession in the 2010s… my point is this. It is one thing to jump in today and read about the tax law as it exists today. It is quite another to have lived through it as it has evolved. Experiencing each change as it happened… having fully digested each new law and having had the opportunity and experience of applying it to clients’ fact patterns… before the next law is written, analyzed, and layered on top.
During my 30+ years in public accounting, I have been fortunate to have served a wide breadth of clientele such as franchise new vehicle dealerships, professional services, real estate, manufacturing, e-commerce, retail/wholesale, restaurants, construction, broadcast radio, farming, employee benefit plans, and industry associations.
Because your business is multi-faceted, I also partner with other top notch professionals (attorneys, appraisers, bankers, engineers, employee benefit plan administrators, and investment advisors, to name a few) that stand ready to assist you in their respective areas.
Topped off with my affinity for following federal monetary policy, I’m able to add an extra dimension to peoples’ understanding as to how activities of the federal government impact their ability to do business, make a living, and/or otherwise preserve their wealth.
From the established growing business that has outgrown its present CPA firm, to the up-and-coming entrepreneur ready to take the plunge, I welcome the opportunity to partner with you to create a business that is reflective of who you are and how you approach life.
