What have accountants ever done for us?

I was reading yet another article on social media last week about all the things that accountants are bad at, can’t do and won’t do. Apart from maybe estate agents, is there any other profession that gets so tarred with the same brush?

It set me thinking about the well-known (at least for those of us of a certain age!) Monty Python sketch lampooning the ‘failings’ of the Roman Empire in their film “The Life Of Brian”:

“Well, apart from medicine, irrigation, health, roads, cheese and education, baths and the Circus Maximus, what have the Romans ever done for us?

Brought peace.

Oh, shut up”

So here’s my top ten list of what accountants have done for us:

1.   Luca Pacioli and his systems for ledgers and double entry. Love it or hate it, no-one has found a better way for underpinning trade and enterprise in 600 years.

2.   Josiah Wedgwood’s 18^th century efforts to save his pottery business focussed on understanding the associated costs, and hence profits and losses of individual product lines. Without cost accounting, where would today’s major enterprises be…and where would other businesses be if they paid attention to it?

3.   Accountants aren’t entrepreneurial apparently, yet William Welch Deloitte founded his firm in 1845 at the age of 25 and its still strong and global today. Every year, thousands of accountants start their own firms. For many it is a way of life, and absolutely nothing wrong with that, whilst for others, it is the start of a truly entrepreneurial journey. Accountants are investors, employers and contributors.

4.   Accountants doing compliance has its critics but where is the country, the investors and the taxpayers without it? You must have rules and people who know them, to both protect and grow. Yes, digitalisation is providing DIY options but DIY exists in pretty much every sector. It has its place and it has its dangers. Nobody trashes the role of a decorator simply because you could do it yourself. It’s a matter of choice.

5.   Accountants share best practice. Not only are we trained but we immerse ourselves in the business world and surround ourselves with a network, all to the benefit of our clients. We look about when others are heads down.

6.   Accountants understand the value and meaning of data. Being all about the numbers is held up as a criticism and yet we have the skills to reveal the stories that lie behind them. Nobody dismisses a car’s dashboard because it is just about the numbers. We help others to drive their businesses.

7.   Accountants follow a career of trust and confidentiality. In an online world where we are all increasingly exposed to mischievous, misleading and criminal activity, trust is a precious resource.

8.   If Britain is a nation of shopkeepers then it is accountants who both support those businesses and provide the link to national government. Who else does that?

9.   Accountants care. They care about their team, their clients and their communities. Whatever the challenge, good or bad, they are there. The accountant is there when there is no-one to turn to and no-one else is listening. For every one that doesn’t care, I’ll show you one who does.

10. Accountants get on with the job. Amidst all the challenges and disruptions of life in 21^st century UK, accountants rarely make a fuss. They just keep supporting clients, meeting deadlines, tidying up systems, resolving disputes, creating opportunities and putting others first.

So, apart from the foundations of trade and industry, understanding the numbers, supporting taxpayers, supporting government, sharing best practice, being investors, employers and business leaders, creating an avenue of trust, supporting clients and generally just getting on with what is needed….what have accountants ever done for us?