I’m going to take a few minutes today and write in praise of lawyers and CPAs.

These are certainly professions that are oft maligned. Who hasn’t heard CPA’s pejoratively called “bean counters?” And I know that I’ve laughed at my share of lawyer jokes; the most recent one had to do with sharks, lawyers, professional courtesy…you get the drift.

Stereotypes aside. I think preparing taxes and legal documents have to be some of the most tedious jobs on the planet and I’m grateful that there are people willing to do what I see as odious work. Yes, they are very well paid, but I’m still appreciative that there is someone who will deal with it so I don’t have to.

There have been a couple of recent issues that have brought this to mind. Like many people right now, I’ve been gathering our information for our tax return. Sorting through pile after pile of receipts, W-2’s, 1099s, 1098s, 1095s, etc. for every client sounds like the worst job ever. People don’t send complete information and the CPA has to try and make sense of it. And every year, tax laws get more complicated and require more documentation which generally means that we owe more money in taxes.  It’s left to the CPA to deliver the bad news.

Also, for the first time in our lives, we are being sued because of a fender-bender that our daughter was involved in more than two years ago. As lawsuits go, this is probably a simple one but I’m still amazed at the amount of paperwork that it’s generating. Every time we get a fat envelope from the law firm, my stomach tightens up. But the good news is that we can rely on the professionals hired by our insurance company. We just need to read the documents, sign them, send them off, and then discipline ourselves not to worry.

I don’t know if there’s a national “Take Your CPA to Lunch Day” or a national “Be Nice to Lawyers Day,” but February 29? It just might be worth celebrating every four years.

 

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