A publisher recently asked for my advice about how fledgling entrepreneurs can engage the services of a superb accountant. The request made me smile because I knew from painful experience that such accountants are hard for anyone to find, especially for those with new, small companies.
As I thought about the most successful entrepreneurs I've worked with, I remembered that they had all benefited from the services of a great accountant. Perhaps, I mused, there is a deeper meaning to that often-employed phrase, "account for success."
As a business professor and author, I read a lot of the success literature. I'm continually struck by how little measurement some writers do to determine what successful experiences to consider and how to identify the most important causes. When I compare the selected examples to some objective yardstick for success, I'm often chagrined to realize that the so-called successes aren't anything special.
What's worse, some readers may not be able to tell when authors who didn't measure are lost -- without a star to lead them to finding successes and their causes. When I read reviews of poorly researched books about business success, I seldom recall anyone noticing the lack of or poor application of measurements. If an author has included any numbers at all (whether useful or not), reviewers often provide praise for the "quantitative" analysis.
Why do those seeking lessons concerning success struggle with measuring to find it? I noticed one clue while I was in law school. Although some legal subjects (such as accounting, taxation, and securities disclosure) have quantitative dimensions, none of my professors could correctly construct a numerical example.
When I attended business school, the same thing was true. The numbers we discussed didn't add up unless they had been carefully checked by someone other than the professor before class started. When I asked a well-known business professor about this difficulty, the professor's face turned red -- reporting a strong preference for qualitative (or non-quantitative) analysis.
When I was a young consultant, a colleague and I read a famous book that our firm had published, which an officer had suggested that we read. We were struck by finding large number of mathematical mistakes and asked the officer about them. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and told us that the book had been written by summer interns and that no one had ever had enough time to check their work.
As a young entrepreneur, I decided I needed a good accountant to help me understand the ins and outs of income tax practices. When I couldn't find the kind of accountant I was looking for, I hired a well-known international accounting firm that offered "small business" services.
In practice, being served by this part of the accounting firm meant my business was handled by a 22 year old who couldn't add, wouldn't return my telephone calls, and billed a lot of high-priced hours to my account. The only way any of his mistakes were corrected was when I redid his work.
Realizing that I needed to make a change quickly, I started asking entrepreneurs about the capabilities of their accountants. They sent me to a lot of people who seemed even worse than the young guy I wanted to escape from.
One day I heard from a colleague that a local accountant had been highly recommended by three small companies. I read the reports of what the clients had to say, and I was impressed. I interviewed this Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and was pleased to hear him say that it was his job to find ways to make me more money than what I spent on his services.
And that's exactly what he did, year in and year out . . . honestly, correctly, efficiently, and thoroughly. It was delightful.
Why can a superb accountant succeed in meeting such an aggressive claim? I'm convinced it's because so many of their clients are unable to calculate correct answers.
Before permanently leaving that subject of innumeracy, let me share my experiences with pension consultants. Having learned how substantial the benefits of having the right kind of company pension plan can be, I decided to hire a top pension consultant to design one. He asked lots of questions, took lots of data, did lots of calculations, and carefully discussed with me all the right numbers needed to make the plan work best. I felt secure.
Wrong! He had botched up applying the details of the pension fund laws so badly that I lost most of the valuable benefits within the first few months
of installing the plan. He had only succeeded in giving me the impression of having done the right work because I didn't know this area of the law.
Curious about why it's hard to get good answers to quantitative questions, I remembered that many of the people I went to high school and college with could solve arithmetic, algebra, and calculus problems quite well.
Suddenly, I understood what the problem might be. The people who could calculate well usually became engineers, computer scientists, physicists, gene splicers, or mathematicians. Those with lesser skills were disproportionately left to perform calculations for small businesses.
With those experiences in mind, I was delighted to meet Dr. Scott McHone, a CPA who founded an accounting firm located in Bakersfield, California. When Dr. McHone told me that his goal as a CPA is to be a high quality producer for his clients and to operate with integrity and honor, I knew that he must be one of the great accountants that entrepreneurs need.
That impression was solidified by learning Dr. McHone holds a Ph.D. degree in accounting and business law from Rushmore University and is the author of Recession Recovery Manual. He is also an entrepreneur with plans to launch a number of new businesses.
Thinking that his background might yield clues for entrepreneurs looking for the right CPA, I asked him to tell me why he became an accountant. Dr. McHone told me that one of his favorite relatives was an uncle who had worked as a CPA for banks.
That family connection was enough to interest him in taking an accounting class in high school which he enjoyed. He then earned an undergraduate degree in accounting that confirmed his interest.
After graduating, Dr. McHone sought to work in a number of different accounting roles. As a CPA he worked in large and small accounting firms. He also served as an auditor, special accountant, and outside auditor for the government. In addition, he was the chief financial officer for two enterprises and the administrator for a third. He added to those perspectives by taking many continuing education courses in those kinds of accounting.
Accounting wasn't his only source of joy. Dr. McHone accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at age twelve and has been active since then in serving through various ministries, including street pastoring to the poor.
Dr. McHone feels that his greatest accomplishments have come as a husband and father, and he arranges his day to spend as much time with his family as possible. He often begins work long before most others are out of bed but regularly arrives home well before dinner time.
With all that success, Dr. McHone wanted to be able to do more. As a result, he earned the doctorate that has allowed him to gain an entrepreneurial perspective for applying his accounting knowledge.
Since graduating, he has continued to learn by entering a master's program in accounting at Liberty University and by taking more continuing education accounting classes.
In addition, Dr. McHone conceived of and wrote his book, Recession Recovery Manual, fulfilling a lifelong ambition. The book is aimed at helping people who own small businesses (or want to start one) adjust to the substantial economic challenges that have been present since 2008.
The book explains how education is the great equalizer when it comes to dealing with substantial business challenges. He addresses subjects such as the role of money in being happy, how money works, how to make more money, accomplishing more, organizational psychology, money and religion, taxes, legal structures, accounting, and the language of money.
Dr. McHone looks forward to helping people in more ways by providing videos and conferences based on the book so that good advice can be obtained inexpensively by people who may not be able to find that elusive great accountant.
He offered two other perspectives that struck me as good reasons why he has succeeded for his clients. Keep these points in mind as you look for your accountant:
1. "You have to like what you do to be good at it."
2. "Short cuts are pitfalls. Any time that an individual or a company tries to cut corners, the result is an inferior product or service. Quality is the key to life and success."
If your search for a superb or great accountant isn't as successful as you would like, persevere. They are out there. In the meantime, look for sound advice from good accountants with the ability to explain their advice to a wider audience.
Author Resource:-
Donald W. Mitchell is a professor at Rushmore University, an online graduate school, where he often teaches mid-career professionals with narrow experience who want to become business leaders and entrepreneurs through earning MBA, DBA, and Ph.D. degrees. For more information about ways to engage in fruitful lifelong learning at Rushmore to increase your effectiveness and improve your career, visit
http://www.rushmore.edu .
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