Axley & Rode, LLP

Senior Tax Accountant

Staff Tax Accountant

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

Conservatorship - CPS

YMCA of Greater Houston

Program Director

Program Coordinator

YMCA of Greater Williamson County

Grant Coordinator

I am currently a Tax Professional who is pursuing my CPA. I specialize currently in 1040/1065/1120-S returns, financial statement preparation and general accounting.

I post M-F at 7am central approximately!

My desire in the present is to be an active voice in the accounting world and to inspire others to join this awesome profession.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed on this profile are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.**

Accounting is Finances less attractive little brother because Finance as an industry delivers clients what they want and Accounting delivers what they need.

If we look at how humans interact with things they want vs need, want almost always over performs need.

We want to be comfortable, we need to grow.
We want to look good, we need to workout.
We want to know our cash flows, we need to do our taxes.

Accounting as an industry has to reposition itself as a want if it desires to be as attractive to college students as finance.

Jacob G.

Accounting isn’t seen as a flashy or sexy career path. 

Finance is seen as Accountings much better looking brother.

Accounting is all about compliance and tracking.
Finance is all about making deals and getting money.

So how do we as Accountants present our industry as somewhere to be?

That’s what I want to talk about this week.

Here’s the pitch, tell me if you’re interested:

Accounting!

A career in any field you can imagine! 

Love sports but you’re a bit awkward at the plate? They need accountants!

Like movies but can’t act your way out of a box? Accounting!

A stable career that truly contributes to the end goal! The backbone of our economy! The language of business!



There you have it. Sell away.

Tax Tax Tax…

If you want a gander into a tax accountants brain 7 days before the deadline, here it is.

I’m tired, my brain is stretched, I can’t wait for next Monday, I need caffeine.

Pretty simple.

It’s time to address the elephant in the room…

We tax accountants need to band together and force Augusta National to move The Masters back 1 week.

1 WEEK! JUST 1! THAT’S ALL!

I love The Masters and am unfortunately limited every year on how much I can watch by Tax deadlines.

😥 Let’s solve this problem together. @Augusta your move…

Tax Day! Tax Day! Today is Tax Day!

I cooked the kids eggs and bacon this morning because I didn’t need to get up super early. 

Tonight I resume studying for the CPA to crush the last one.

It’s wild how quickly my seasons shift as a tax accountant but I’m happy to be on this side of the deadline!

I think the part of late tax season I dislike the most is where I feel like I don’t have the capacity to invest in myself.

My brain gets so flooded with information that when I get home in the evenings I don’t have the ability to study for my exams, to read a book, to do much other than try to relax and get sleep.

Outside of that I really enjoy taxes. It stretches my brain every day. 

Just sometimes we need to let the rubber band regain some elasticity.

Today… we golf!

Headed to enjoy some golf with friends/coworkers.

Good form of recharging post tax season. Get outside, move the body, and hate how bad I am at golf.

Cheers!

Celebrated another tax deadline down last night with friends, chips & salsa, and champagne last night.

Gives me a clear cut mental break to move to the next phase. 

On to studying. Consistency will be the name of the game.

Aiming for a June test for July results. Can’t miss 2 days in a row, just have to study some. No set times. Some days will be more than others because my tank is more full or empty on different days and that’s okay!

Here we go. Home stretch.

As an accountant, what is my value to my clients?

I’m a tax accountant but that is perceived as compliance. A necessary evil rather than something that regularly provides value.

That said, I know that the tax work I do is valuable. Several of my clients do to.

But I still think many of our clients come to us hoping that we make their small business run that much easier. Whether that be CAS, financials for loans, analytics, whatever. I think that in their mind that is what they want to buy and that the tax return we provide is just a maintenance filing they have to have anyway.

I think another pillar in the discussion of Accounting Vs Finance needs to be the personalities or, dare I say, stereotypes they attract.

Accounting attracts those who want to be behind the scenes and feel like they’re still contributing.

Finance attracts those who want to be seen and make strategic moves.

Am I wrong? Derek Mazzarella, CFP®?

The final week of Tax season brings stress, anxiety, fear, worry and lots of other feelings.

It’s easier said than done but you have to let those go. You can only control what you can control. Put your best foot forward and the rest will take care of itself.

Stuff will happen, sure. But it will come and go. It is but a blip on the radar 10 years from now looking back.

Try to step back and remember it will be ok, and it will all be over soon! You got this.

Value Provided

One of the topics in my Accounting Vs. Finance sex appeal series.

Accounting has got to reposition itself to better show the value provided to the client. Public accounting specifically..

We’ve got to be able to show the clients we’re not just filing a required tax return or finishing a required audit.

We’ve got to meet with them more than once a year and help them solve their pain points for their business. The compliance should just be a byproduct! 

Thoughts?

I really enjoy talking to our clients and helping them solve their tax problems.

Even the tough conversations can be good.

Communication is key as Zane Stevens CA (SA) says.

My Dad and uncle are at The Masters today.

I am doing taxes.

I don’t resent anything about working hard on the deadline for clients. I just resent where The Masters falls… 😫

Do you know enough about your tax situation?

Level 1: When you hand over your docs to your tax preparer every year do you have a vague idea of whether you’ll get a refund or owe?

Level 2: Do you know what your tax return should look like based on the docs/business activity you had? What schedules you have, whether or not you’ll itemize?

Level 3: You know 1 and 2 because you’ve been in conversation with your tax preparer and you’ve taken the time to learn over several years. You’ve actually planned where your taxes will fall out this year.

No matter what your situation, I’d encourage everyone to know more about your taxes. Reach out if you want some short little lessons to grow your knowledge.

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