A good deal?

 A friend proudly told me that he no longer needed his accountant as he'd decided to go the DIY route.

I'd previously said I couldn't help as it's a long time since I gave anyone tax advice. 

"No problems" he replied. I've bought a couple of books that I'm sure will tell me all I need to know. 

"I'm pleased for you" I said, having long since given up on getting him to appreciate the advice he would get from a decent accountant - rather than the cheapest one he could find each year.

"What books are they?" I asked.

"One is 'Accounting for Dummies', the other one is 'Tax saving strategies for consultants'. They were reduced to £8 each or two for £19".

Says it all really!

He would have been a true financial wizard

Back when I was Chairman of the ICAEW Tax Faculty I was also on The Institute's Council. I well recall that during one Council conference we discussed what the Institute could do to make chartered accountancy more sexy and appealing as a career option. 

One of the best suggestions I can recall was to encourage a then relatively new author, JK Rowling, to change the direction of a series of books she was writing about a boy wizard. 

We thought it would be great if we could encourage her to end the series with Harry Potter graduating from Hogwarts and going off to start a career as a chartered accountant. 

We thought that might inspire thousands of potential financial wizards to follow his lead. 

I never read the last book or saw the final film but I know it didn't happen. Is it too late to petition that the forthcoming new tv series adopts this idea? 

Personalised number plates for accountants

Years ago I recall David Winch of Accounting Evidence telling me how proud he was of his number plate that incorporates his qualification initials FCA.

I also recall an auditor whose number plate was AUD 1T and a tax specialist who had TAX 1NG

But my favourite was the ex-Inspector of taxes who had a number plate S99 TMA. He told me loved parking next to cars at accounting conferences and other events, that had VAT or TAX or CA on their number plates just to give them an unsubtle reminder.