Making Tax Season Less Taxing

An accountant was having a hard time sleeping and went to see his doctor. “Doctor, I just can’t get to sleep at night.” “Have you tried counting sheep?” the doctor asked. “That’s the problem. I make a mistake and then spend three hours trying to find it!”

By the time this column goes to press, we CPAs will be headlong into tax season. As if we didn’t feel pressure already, the superstresses of the season have only been exacerbated in recent weeks by proposed and adopted changes to rules governing the accounting profession.

So then, what is the point of my little one-liner? It’s a strategy—a way to beat the winter doldrums and the tax season’s obstacles. The secret: humor and laughter.

When I was a child, a very wise woman, my mother, gave me some advice that I’ve always found helpful: make yourself and someone else laugh first thing in the morning and you will have an easier time facing the day’s stresses.
Given the busy, stressful season this year promises to bring, a sense of humor is just the sort of tonic CPAs need as we prepare to roll up our shirtsleeves to deal with emerging proposals that could significantly affect the future of our profession and the public’s perception of us as trusted gatekeepers.

For starters, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted final corporate reform rules as mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. These rules, which concern partner rotation, work-paper retention, nonaudit services and a host of other issues, are set to go into effect on Oct. 31.

Meanwhile, in Albany, New York State Gov. George Pataki has put forth a proposal to move the governance of nearly 40 unrelated professions from under the control of the New York State Education Department to the department of state.

The Society has been vocal in calling for a strengthened board of public accountancy. When more details emerge, we will be better able to determine whether the governor’s proposal will in fact realize this objective.

Also on the state front, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has proposed a series of reforms to strengthen New York’s corporate accountability laws. According to the attorney general’s office, the proposals are intended to further protect the public against corporate fraud and abuses in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, noting that Sarbanes-Oxley only applies to publicly listed companies.

Spitzer’s proposals also target six areas that include improving oversight of the accounting profession. He has pledged to work with the state education department and the legislature to update laws and regulations governing the accounting profession.

While the Society anxiously awaits the details of Spitzer’s agenda, we will continue to meet with the State Board of Accountancy, looking for common ground in our approach to changes regarding not only practice but licensure and discipline.

It is incumbent upon us to make sure that as legislation is proposed and rule changes occur, we do not find ourselves conflicted, governed by one set of rules for one type of practice and a completely different set of rules for another. Some congruity must exist. These are serious times, but we must keep them in perspective.

Also at the national level, the American Institute of CPAs Council will reconvene during regional meetings next month. Last October, the Society urged that the AICPA reexamine its governance and structure. We are encouraged that, late last month, AICPA Chairman Bill Ezzell appointed NYSSCPA President-Elect Jeffrey Hoops to a task force established to study AICPA Council and its role. This is a step in the right direction. It is vitally important that the organization representing our national interests be strong and respected in its guidance of the profession, and responsive to the needs of its members. We have a right to demand this of the AICPA, and we hope that the Institute can live up to these expectations.

Winter never bothers me, not even the 100 inches of snow that we have experienced so far this year in Utica, my home. For me, the one thing that has always been great about the tax season is that I don’t have to worry about the weather. The endless stream of tax returns and year-end audits keeps me too busy indoors to be concerned about what’s going on outside.

This year I have even more on my plate, so as I cope my way through, I’ll be sure to remember my mother’s words of wisdom and try to keep the laughter flowing. As you’re no doubt swamped by the tax season and concerned with the issues surrounding the profession, I encourage you to do the same.

Just remember, a sense of humor may not be deductible, but it will definitely exempt you from the wintertime blues and the tax season’s struggles.

president@nysspca.org