It’s as common as breathing. You cannot discuss accounting without bringing up “The Work” — how much there is, too little time and too few to do it, and of late, how technology may replace it. The real question is, what is ‘work,’ and more importantly, how can it change for you?
Not a month, season, or year goes by without hearing an accountant talk about their issues with the work and all of the things that complicate it. Rarely do we hear about what “the work” actually is and solutions to change the very nature of what work is. Moreover, I’d like to see that conversation more to the forefront than just a seemingly understood aside.
Certainly, in recent years there have been moves made to change ‘work’ from being less transactional to more consultative, even personal, in nature. My purpose here, in the end, is not to be prescriptive but to encourage real conversation among accounting professionals, to hopefully evolve what it even is to be an accountant.
The hope, at least from me, is that there is more enjoyment and fulfillment in what it all is that you “do” versus it being a seasonal or even annual grind that, when left unchecked, can and will lead to burnout. It seems to me that clients would appreciate more of your guidance and insights and likely pay more for it versus the stress-producing, transactional, overly productive nature of what you do, and there’s growing evidence too that, as a business, this works.
But I digress. What I really want to get to is more of a question. What do you consider “work” when it comes to explaining the nature of what you do and why you do it? Is it forms and computations? Is it workflows, follow-ups, verifications, or even data entry? Is it research, document collection, phone calls, and emails?
I will then ask, if there’s a yes to any and all of the above, is there a way you can see that changing? Can automation or even outsourcing enter the picture at any point, allowing you more opportunties for review, consultation and advice?
The conversation here then turns to what I’ve mentioned in the past: what kind of accounting professional do you want to be? What defines who you are and what you do? Time was, individuals and business owners alike thought of accounting work as this dark, mysterious thing they couldn’t be bothered to learn or deal with any detailed aspect of. So, tax and accounting professionals were hired to “do the work.”
As we well know, that’s increasingly become less of the case, so I ask again, where does your strength come from? What is the value of what you do, and are you confident in charging for that?
Even further, I ask, do you truly need the number of clients that you have in order to have more time, less stress, and more appreciation for what it is you actually do? My mantra for many accountants that feel “stuck” in a transactional relationship has been Value > Volume.
People are willing to pay more for outcomes. As such, you won’t need as many clients to have not only a profitable business but also one that supports your life. It can happen, and there’s never been a better time to take some control and collectively redefine what work is and what accounting and being an accountant actually are and do.
It all starts with you deciding, or even admitting, what work is and could be for you. I hope you find it.