What 25 Years Has Taught Me

By Scott Haislet

I recently noticed “May 10, 1985” on my CPA certificate positioned above my computer monitor. A whole 25 years? Has it been that long? Well, it certainly seems not!

Alas, I am reminded, it is true. I will be turning 50 in a few days, to boot.

Fortunately, in the CPA field, I am just hitting my stride. All too often do I read about so-and-so’s 53^rd tax season, e.g., Morey Greenstein.

With all this experience, which is the best teacher, after all, I have been encouraged to grant wise words to those coming up in the profession. So here goes:

• The more I learn, the less I know—though I have been quick to point out to argumentative clients that I have “forgotten more than you will ever know” about taxes! I am sure some of you have felt that way sometimes, too; one of the few advantages of advancing age and memory loss!
• If you love what you are doing, you won’t work a day in your life.
• Fire clients—life’s too short.
• Double your rate, and you’ll lose half your clients.
• Do the math.
• Most have two ears and one mouth—should be used in that proportion.
• Retort to a complaint about high hourly rate—switch to “project billing” (not measured by time).
• Retort No. 2 to a complaint about high hourly rate—“Mr. Client, you’re not buying hours, you’re buying years (of experience).”

Also, I am reminded about our wonderful professional association. I became a CalCPA member in November 1985, and my participation has definitely helped me grow my practice. The relationships are irreplaceable.

Now for some fun stuff, specifically about the recent ABC Night held at Scott’s Oakland. In recent years, we switched the format to an open cocktail party with no speaker and no CPE, held famously and successfully at Scott’s Walnut Creek. To share the wealth, we decided to add an ABC Night to the Oakland side of the tunnel. Those in attendance will concur that it was a great event; those not in attendance, your loss, but this should give you more incentive to attend the second ABC Night Sept. 28 at Scott’s Walnut Creek.

Another quick note: Save the date for officer installation night at Hacienda de las Flores in Moraga, June 29. Comedian Jeff Applebaum will provide the entertainment.

Also, ending on a happy note, Joelyn Carr-Fingerle (immediate past president) and husband Bob got to take their deferred vacation to Canada—well-deserved time away for sure.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 5:26 pm and is filed under President's Message. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.