A letter to my fellow accountants and bookkeepers

I know you are tired. I know you are stretched, and I know that if you read one more guidance on a tax or income scheme you might voluntarily combust. 

We might not be key workers or on the front fighting the effect of this global pandemic, but we are doing our bit. And it is helping so many people.

This is not a letter to stake our claim for recognition but a heartfelt thank you!

As a fellow accountant trying to help clients and companies survive this pandemic and ensure that there is something, anything, to go back to, I understand what you are going through!

I find myself waking up during the night worried about what the future will bring and end up reading yet another guidance note or newsletter or blog about financial assistance for business and employees; and some of that guidance and those blogs have been written by you.

Thank you to all the accountants and bookkeepers that have written those amazing newsletters and tutorials about topics that have helped me, other businesses, and clients. Your work is changing people’s lives for the better. 

I put myself in my client’s shoes and answer that call which comes right in the middle of my kid’s home-schooling time or 7pm on a Friday night. I prepare budgets and forecast for 3 years when I know there is no certainty in anything that I am preparing but that is what is required by the financial institution asking for those forecasts, and that is what my client’s needs to get the financial support that could make the difference between surviving and not.

I submit a self-assessment or tax return months early just because the client is home and available. I am not ready to work 12 hours a day with my kids and husband at home. But I do it because that is what is needed. 

We can’t be furloughed because we are still working and you need to stop working for a company to be furloughed.  We have no certainty of any income for ourselves but we do it anyway because it is the right thing to do and we hope and pray that things will get better. Not just for us but for everyone. Not because we are selfish or greedy but because we can see the bigger picture and how important what we do now is and how it can impact the future.

I want to let all my fellow peeps know that I know. I understand what you do; it will be seen and appreciated in some way by someone. And you might not even know about it.We are superheroes in our own way. Yes, there have been negative things said about accountants and bookkeepers in the past but we are here now. Doing our bit. Submitting, answering, and collaborating to make things better for business, people and employees.

It is sometimes a curse and a blessing to be able to see what might go wrong in a business or in an economy. We sometimes see problems before they have even happened and there is nothing we can do to stop it. We saw the impact in November 2019 slowly starting to affect our clients and we tried our best to help but could not make a difference. But now we can help.

Stay strong and stay positive and in a couple of months we will all be wiser and better people for learning from all of this.

We learn about risk and the effect it can have on financial figures and cash flow planning and budgeting in university. Well, here we are practicing it at full throttle.

The future of accountancy and bookkeeping will change forever and you are in the heart of that change. Make that change ethical and nurturing and responsible.

Kindest Regards,
Annja