The Difference Between Tax Preparers and Tax Professionals
Posted on 14. Aug, 2009 by Stefani in Tax
On a trip to Starbucks, in the midst of tax season, I noticed there was a guy basically running his tax preparation business from the coffee shop, fully-equipped with a printer and all! After being overcome with fascination, I decided to go over and chat with him.
During the course of our conversation, I learned a few things about him: he was in the business of tax preparation for 12 years, he relied very little on tax reference material and relied greatly on his tax software to detect errors, and he had absolutely no idea what an enrolled agent is. All of those things bothered me deeply, but the last one really crushed me. Now, admittedly, maybe I’m just a little biased because I’m an EA, but how can anyone be a tax professional nowadays, and not know what an EA is? That’s the equivalent of saying you’re a general dentist, but you have idea what an endodontist is.
The guy at Starbucks is what I would consider to be a tax preparer. Tax preparers are those that don’t keep up-to-date with new tax laws and changes. They don’t perform adequate research, they assume, and they don’t perform anything close to due diligence. They’re form-fillers, and they tend to be incompetent. There, I said it.
On the other hand, tax professionals are proficient. They’re involved. They’re passionate about their work, ensuring no detail is overlooked.
I’m by no means trying to disparage unlicensed tax accountants, nor do I think that you have to be licensed to be competent. Heck, even licensed preparers are incompetent. It’s simply my belief that when you’re a tax professional, to be good at what you do, and actually do your clients justice, you have to be involved, and possess a love for your profession.
With all that said, which one are you, tax preparer or tax professional?
