Why do common people assume if you're a CPA you know a lot about individual tax?

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  • #177000
    HighMileageDude
    Participant

    Well i have a relative who goes to HR block to get tax returns done. He hears im a cpa so he starts asking me questions assuming I know everything there is to know about doing individual tax returns. He mentions at HR Block he uses someone with just a high school education who makes $10/hour during the tax season doing returns and during the rest of the year has some other job (bar tending maybe? Not sure)

    Anyway, I try to be a humble college graduate who happens to be a CPA who admits he doesn’t have any experience doing individual tax returns, and this distant relative seems confused by that, as though he can’t understand why I even bothered to go to get a college degree.

    I guess what I take from all this is that it’s like common people jhear CPA and expect you know everything there is to know about individual taxation, and if you don’t know some basics (never really done a return before – never had to) & assume you’re incompetent and went to college for nothing..haha

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 20 total)
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  • #408541
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Comes with the trade.

    #408542
    J
    Member

    You're probably still better off in terms of tax knowledge with respect to most who work at H&R Block. I have a friend who took their tax course and told me there are basically nine levels of experience that correlate to what type of return you can prepare. For the first few levels, there's not much you need to know and the pay is almost minimum wage (he told me the first level is $8/hour; I can't validate that but still…).

    I cannot help but laugh a bit when those H&R Block commercials come on…

    #408543
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I just tell them “Sure, I don't do my own taxes, but I'll gladly take a shot at yours.” That usually shuts them up!

    #408544
    Topsya
    Member

    LOL this is funny and sad the same time. I constantly deal with the same stuff – people assume that CPA is all about tax returns! In fact, I have a co-worker, who thinks that as soon as I get my CPA I should just go ahead and open some tax practice, because “That's what CPA is for”

    I think this happens because an average person deals with accountants/CPAs ONLY for tax return purposes, and they would never think that there is much more to that

    AUD - 90
    FAR - 83
    BEC - 81
    REG - 80
    ETHICS - 100

    #408545
    MintsRGood
    Participant

    Topsya you are 100% correct on that! The average Joe off the street just lumps CPAs with tax prep and is basically clueless about all the other aspects of financial accounting and auditing require the designation!

    I work in public accounting and am up to my eyeballs in partnership and estate returns right now, but my firm stays busy year round with financial statement compilations, reviews, consulting, employee benefit plan accounting and 5500s, and the September and October extension deadlines are like a mini tax season to me.

    It drives me nuts is when people are like “so do you just play golf and chill out all summer because the April filing deadline passed?”…umm NO my firm is not a traveling circus that just packs it and rolls out on April 16th! I spend ALL of May and most of June catching up on the fourth months of accounting I didn't have time to do the first half of 2013!

    People are so clueless about our profession!!!! 🙂

    REG: 75 DONE 🙂
    AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
    BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
    FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
    Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
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    #408546
    HighMileageDude
    Participant

    Lol thanks! I think we should try to enlighten on what a CPA really does!

    #408547
    Tncincy
    Participant

    This is a great question because I have run my own business for 18 years and now that some of my clients know that I am studying for my CPA, some of the comments are: why? Don't you like doing taxes? or You already do taxes, Is that some kind of attorney? or my wife can do what you do. I think the general public need to be made aware of what a CPA really do….My office landlord is excited, I think she is looking to raise the rent. :-/

    It begins with a 75
    Been here too long as a cheerleader.....time to pass

    It begins with a 75
    Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

    #408548
    MCLKT
    Participant

    This reminds me of John Q, when the hospital is on lock down and they are in the ER. Some one of the people stuck needs help and they tell the cardiovascular surgeon to help him. The surgeon is all like, “I'm not that kind of doctor”…. but people just don't understand.

    I think it happens in many of the advanced professional or trade fields. Like law too:

    Hey, you're a lawyer now, can you help me with my speeding ticket.

    But I practice family law.

    Yeah, but you're a lawyer, right?

    A:[73]97 F:[74]85 R:86 B:[74]82
    *NINJA 10 Pt. COMBO & Yaeger*

    #408549
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    For some reason the title of the thread makes me laugh. lol @ common people.

    #408550
    HighMileageDude
    Participant

    He suggested i join his person at HR Block. Without trying to come across as arrogant or mean, I asked if the person he uses at HR Block is a CPA to which he replied – “the person at HR Block we use has had a number of tax classes. Have you had tax classes?”

    #408551
    mla1169
    Participant

    True story, H&R block starts ALL tax preparers at minimum wage, even a CPA. Bottom line is most individual tax preparers are not CPA's.

    FAR- 77
    AUD -49, 71, 84
    REG -56,75!
    BEC -75

    Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

    #408552
    MCLKT
    Participant

    lol @ CPA runner : I laughed at the common people phrase too. S/B non accounting people, general population, your Average Joe, lol…. Common people is then repeated in the post and made me laugh again.

    A:[73]97 F:[74]85 R:86 B:[74]82
    *NINJA 10 Pt. COMBO & Yaeger*

    #408553
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    One of the reasons I first really started talking to my now husband was because when we met and I told him I was an accountant, he had friends in B4 and knew what auditing was, and that I had nothing to do with taxes. I hate when people think accountant/CPA = taxes. Drives me crazy.

    It was even more helpful that when I needed to start studying for the exam, he already had friends who had gone through it and knew what a beast it is.

    #408554
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    those common people… lol

    #408555
    mla1169
    Participant

    I'll admit, once I saw “common people”, I read the rest of the post in a British accent lol!

    FAR- 77
    AUD -49, 71, 84
    REG -56,75!
    BEC -75

    Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

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