30 January 2008

not "tax season"

this is the time of year that i wake up earlier. this is the time of year that i stop even attempting to "do my hair" in the mornings. this is the time of year that i go out to eat for lunch *every* single stinking day. this is the time of year that i fumble for my car keys in the dark. this is the time of year that i don't see my house in daylight. this is the time of year that i disappear.

this time of year is called "busy season".

i got the following email at work a couple of weeks ago:

"As a reminder, effective January 21, 2008, in order to ensure that the hours worked during busy season are evenly spread among all professionals, each professional must work a minimum of 55 hours per week. Based on deadlines of clients and various other client needs, you will sometimes be requested to work during weekends to help get a job done. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated."

that's the firm's polite way of reminding us that (1) they own us, and (2) accountants shouldn't have social lives anyway.

now, the funny thing is that when i tell my friends/acquaintances/cousins/random people i meet at the grocery store about this being my busy season. the standard response is "aaah, taxes" accompanied by sympathetic head-nod and a scriggled face.

but ... i don't do taxes! (which is precisely why i have failed my tax cpa test twice now. yeah. let's hope the third time went better.)

all auditors alike have this same frustration. we talk about it over lunch. maybe "frustration" is too strong a word. i actually think it's a little entertaining: though i have explained in detail to many what exactly i do, it doesn't stick. accountant means taxes. okay.

so ... this is tax busy season. i'll see you all again at the end of march. don't expect too much from me until then :P

4 comments:

The Hill Family said...

I miss you already.

matti kaye said...

why is it so busy for you, then?

christianna said...

busy season is busy for auditors because a majority of our clients have to produce/publish audited financial statements by the end of march. so that means we have to go in and review everything that happened in the year and say whether or not we believe their financial statements are "free from material misstatement" ... or rather, whether or not we think you should trust their numbers. not sure if that makes sense. it's my very vague explanation of what i do. :P maybe i'll post something more detailed later on.

matti kaye said...

no, that makes sense. thank you for clarifying that for me.