Who says Accountants are Boring?

I studied Commerce and majored in Accounting. I was once upset with not getting an Accounting scholarship. Later, I refused to do my CA. My Accounting career lasted a whole 9 months - I quit my Auditor trainee ship at a Big 5 to become a really bad Developer. You can say I am either an expert judge of stereotyped professionals, or hold a somewhat biased view. I've studied and worked in both Accounting and IT, and know some very cool people. I have a lot of Accounting and IT friends, and they are neither boring nor geeky (that's not what I tell them). I'd like to think that I'm not boring or geeky. Stereotypes suck.

Until I met my first Accountant. Potential Accountant. Potential because I walked out thinking he was the most boring person I've met, and coincidentally fit the Accountant stereotype like a glove.

Although I initiated the inquiry about his services, I expected that him, being the professional in this relationship and I the client, would lead the meeting. Instead, he leads me into a dark meeting room and sat there waiting for me to start. I had to nod at him after I finished rambling to prompt him to start talking.. which ended up in mumbled monotone questions, head down, and a few neat squiggles on the page. I didn't even realized he had asked me 'how Toronto was treating me'. I blinked and asked him to repeat because I could not believe such pleasantry could come out so dull. His response to my animated reply was no better.

Since he wasn't offering me any information, I did the asking. I felt like I was at work, digging with a million questions, trying to piece together fragmented information to understand the reason for something because the person could not just simply tell you.. "this is what happens and this is why". What frustrates me is when I get the answer.. "this is what happens, that's the way it is"... "what do you mean why?". Just like at work, I have to coax and cautiously detour around defensiveness.

It's bloody hard work, and a headache. I thought people paid accountants to give advice and guide them in their decisions. This dude wanted me to pay him $325 to prepare my taxes... and that involves me to handing over my spreadsheet with macros and built in formulas that calculated my invoices and cash flow for the year, so he doesn't have to charge me for bookkeeping!

To think the hour I took off work to meet this guy would have been better spent and more stimulating reading Canadian Tax Law.

I'm a believer of the stereotype. I'm an exception. So are my friends. We must have skipped one too many Accounting lectures.