I work for an accounting firm in Irvine. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Irvine, California, it is the center of industrial commerce for the OC. Orange County, the OC as it is now called, is a whole other topic, one that the media and Hollywood has splashed on the big and little screens for the whole world to view in all its superficial and self-involved glory. So, Irvine being the center of big business in a small pond, at least compared to LA or New York, is quite conservative, quite affluent and quite narrow-minded in its focus on the good life surrounding the all consuming focus of making big money.
All this is said mainly to set the scene for the reasoning behind my thoughts on the matter of quality. You see, I have a concern about my present choice of accounting firms and I can’t quite put my finger on the reason. I spent 9 years at my last firm, one that had their own unique way of doing things. So much so, that I knew if I ever wanted to learn ‘real’ accounting I’d have to venture out to other firms. The senior partner at that firm was a cowboy of sorts. You know the type, did things his way, and got sued about once a year because he could care less about the ‘right’ way or regulations. He only hired women because his theory was that women would just do the work and be happy to have a flexible schedule to raise their kids. Specifically, he thought men were too competitive and would try to take his clients or run his practice. I loved the schedule and the complete lack of supervision because it made having my son easy. I also loved being able to serve my clients as their sole contact, much like having my own practice without the stress or the liability. But after 9 years, I couldn’t take the lack of ethics any longer. I finally got off my ass and went out into the ‘real’ world to find a ‘career job’ that would give me experience in the ways of honest accounting.
This choice led me to my current CPA firm. They are all the things that my last firm wasn’t. They are moral and ethical, almost to a fault. An amazing amount of time is spent on making sure all the work follows the law and the new guidelines set up for the accounting industry after the whole Enron scandal. I won’t bore all the non-accountants out there with the history of that whole debacle and the outcome. I’m sure you remember the news worthy details. Anyhow, the resulting laws and guidelines put into place for accountants increased the workload threefold and opened up the job market exponentially for accountants. ((Take note, anyone who is looking for a new line of work.)) It has been so very interesting to see accounting theory work as it should, to see a firm as a whole follow that ideal and serve their clients well.
Another benefit has also been the corporate culture. My last firm had no management structure whatsoever. The manager annoyed the owner one too many times, so he fired her. She, too, had gotten to the breaking point dealing with the idiocy and unreasonableness. After that, he refused to hire another. The resulting infighting and bickering that took place between several smart, educated women was ridiculous. It came to a point where my office partner and I ignored everyone else in the firm. We came in, said good morning, went to our desks and worked solely for our clients and our paycheck.
Now, at my new firm, everyone is amazingly nice and cordial. They all abide by the golden rule “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I have always been a very positive-minded individual. I try my outmost to keep my thoughts uplifted and to focus on the solution instead of the problem. At first, I was so refreshed by the atmosphere. How else should people act? I couldn’t imagine my good fortune to leave the “Jerry Springer World” of my last firm behind and to finally be in the company of thoughtful adults. But the longer I’m here the more I think there is something decidedly wrong with this picture….and I think the problem is me!
I feel like I’m lost in a sea of gray. There is no color, no fire, no interest and no excitement. I sit in my cubicle in a designer decorated, beautifully appointed office and I want to get up and dance or actually turn on a radio to drown out the quiet clickety-clickety of all my wonderful co-workers being so industrious. But it goes deeper than just being a liberal in a conservative world. ((This is not a political comment, so let it go, lol))
The deeper reasoning behind my angst is this. I am finding that the temperament of the firm, of the office does not stop there. The clients that are drawn to this firm are of the same fold. I have combated the insanity of the quiet office by becoming more of a consultant and so spend a majority of my time out in the field, with my clients. And over the past two years I’ve noticed a trend. My clients and my firm are similar in some key aspects of personality. They are hyper-focused on detail, overly focused on billable hours, time spent, etc. There is so much focus on the minutiae that the person or the main point is somewhat lost in the shuffle. But it’s so hard to pin down the main problem with that point of view. I think it somewhat boils down to a difference in the idea of perfection. My firm and my clients want the work done perfectly, if it’s not done perfectly there is this pervading stressful attitude. It’s a feeling that the “niceness” façade is going to explode and the boiling, seething beast underneath is going to attack, lol.
I have several of my own clients, who I have kept over the years. I tried to give them to my firm, but they were completely over-charged and now they are back in my lap. These are nice people, quality people and even though I’m overworked I keep them. But what I see in these clients is an entirely different form of quality. They see through the façade. They are real with me. If I screw up, they just say, “Hey dork, you screwed up, don’t do it again, ok?” They show their appreciation and have never cared how much I charge them….and in return I always under-bill them. Do you see the difference? I have been looking at this difference for a year now and wondering about it. I’m getting to the point where, I see there is a major difference between these two types of quality. My clients allow for the human error, for the mistake. They don’t freak out with every penny lost or gained. And I feel the better for being around them, and I’m much more fulfilled in serving them.
The confusing part for me is that these clients have a harder time in business and in life than the uptight perfectionists. Like me, they struggle through life, as my family has struggled through life. Both my parents have spent their lives working and living from paycheck to paycheck. And here, finally, is the part of this line of thought that is the main issue. I could easily change jobs, find one where the people are nice and also not uptight. But will that teach me the life lesson I need to learn?
My firm’s clients are uptight but they do well in business. Their bank accounts are growing with every decision they make. So, they freak out when they’re over-charged $5 dollars and spend too much time getting it back. The bottom line is that this attitude breeds wealth. My grandfather lived like a pauper most of his life. He’d make repairs to the house when needed but he never took any big trips, never saw Europe, and never splurged on himself. A couple months ago, he died at the age of ninety, worrying about spending too much on an in-home caregiver. He had been retired for 45 years. He lived all that time on his inheritance and was able to leave enough money for both his children to retire. And I'm sure without some assistance my mother will spend it, because she doesn't know a better way. I see myself supporting both my parents into their old age but I don't see that it should have to be this way. I love them both and won't mind caring for them but it shouldn't need to be a financial problem. They both should have enough to keep them happy and comfortable and not feel like a burden. Getting old and dealing with the health issues is hard enough.
So, after having said all that I’m still unable to determine which way is better. I need to learn this lesson before I’m old and poor myself, having spent every minute working and not having any time with my children and whatever retirement I was able to scrape together for myself to live out my own ‘golden’ years. So, I guess the question is…..isn’t there a better choice? Does it have to be uptight and rich or flexible and poor?
