Category: Accounting and Tax

How To Create Time

David G. Barbeito, CPA |

168 Hours

This is the amount of hours in a week. Experts tell us we should sleep between seven and eight hours every night. That leaves about 108 hours for everything we want to accomplish in that particular week. At first glance, it sounds like a reasonable number but when you take three to four hours per day to eat, commute, workout, shower, etc., you are left with about 80 – 90 hours. These are the hours that we must split between our families jobs, goals and everything else we deem important.

Can We Create Additional Time?

Unless you find Doc and the DeLorean (if you are too young to understand, just google Doc DeLorean), we all know the answer to this question. Wouldn’t it be great to create more time? I, personally, don’t think so. This would only give us more time to push things or “kick the can”. It would actually make our procrastination stronger.

My first year of college was my introduction to what happens when we have too much time. I registered for four courses that first semester, scheduling them Mondays and Wednesdays for a total of about six hours in school those two days. A total of 12 hours per week, which would leave plenty of time to study right? Wrong! Because I had so much time available to study, I would always leave it for later. Later became the day before the test and consequently the results were very poor. My parents were not pleased with the results of their “investment” and told me to get a job while in school or come back home. Going back home at that point was not an option, so I started working.

When the next semester rolled around, I kept my same class schedule but I added a full time job (sometimes working 14-hour days). The results were amazing. There was no time to waste. I needed to study on certain days and times because I had school the next day or I had to open and/or close the store that weekend. This helped me focus and consequently helped my results.

The Lesson

It is not until we push the boundaries of time that we find there is more of it than we ever thought existed.

The Challenge

Simple. Try to add one more activity to your busy schedule. Try to commit two – four hours per week (about 30 minutes per day) to this new activity. This could be anything (reading, writing, working out, volunteering, coaching your kid’s team, meditating, etc). Don’t stop any of your current activities to accommodate this new one.

As the old adage goes:

JUST DO IT!

As always, if I can be of help, please email me at david@barbeitocpa.com. Your comments and feedback are always appreciated! You can sign up to the blog using the form at the bottom of the page.

Un Abrazo,

David

After Tax Season: Advice to Millennial (and other Young) Accountants

David G. Barbeito, CPA |

pexels-photo-914931
Yes! We just completed this 4-month, intensity packed, time period we call “Tax Season” (my 21st, legal now!), in which we saw our coworkers more than our families, fell of the wagon with our diets and slept very few hours. It is right about this time, where most of you will start thinking about other careers. Asking yourselves questions. Should I go private? Should I open that frozen yogurt franchise? Should I join the family business?

SLOW DOWN

Trust me. We have all been there and it’s part of the “recovery” process. But this is not the time to make career decisions. This is the time to get back to a regular schedule, spend time with your family and friends, travel and disconnect (when you are not in the office, please). There will be times for important decisions. Now it’s the time to decompress.

In a couple of weeks, you’ll start to understand the accomplishments achieved by your efforts, recognizing how valuable you are to your team and realizing how much you learned in “only” four months. It’s amazing what a little time can do to change our perspective and the way we view things. Your supervisors should also play a role in this “recovery” by making sure you know how important you are to the overall success of the Team. The truth is that EVERYONE plays a role and makes a difference during tax season. (If you are part of our DPB team, I hope you know how valuable you are to our team).

THE TRUTH

Look. I know this is not for everyone and public accounting “lifers” are not the norm. I get it. It’s hard. All I’m telling you is to give it some time. This is a very rewarding career. You are young. Time is on your side. And while you “wait”, your value to a future employer will continue to rise by continuing to hone your skills and reach your “10,000 hours” (reading “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell will help you too). For you, this is a win-win situation!

Thank you for reading. I hope this post has made you aware of the fact that you are not alone and that you are part of a much bigger group. Take care of yourself and have a wonderful summer!

If I can be of any help, email me at david@barbeitocpa.com or you can leave a comment below. You can also sign up to receive future posts using the link below.

Un Abrazo,

David

Deadlines: A Love/Hate Relationship

David G. Barbeito, CPA |

As we approach the April 17th tax deadline, all accountants across the U.S. are dealing with the “deadline blues”. I took a minute (or sixty) to procrastinate a bit and give some “deep” thought to my relationship with deadlines.

My History With Deadlines

I have known deadlines for over 30 years. I really did not pay much attention to them until I got to college where papers were due a certain day. This would give me all the time in the world to start the paper…….the day before it was due! Magically, that day, I would sit down and write ten pages of anything to make sure I met the deadline. Did these deadlines make me smarter? Probably not, but they helped me get the task at hand done.

When I started in public accounting, it seemed that there was a deadline every other week. Sales Taxes, Payroll Taxes, Tax Returns, Audits, etc etc. Wow! I won’t lie. It was a bit overwhelming and I really started to dislike them. They were taking over my life. I hated deadlines!

As I matured (if you know me, I know you laughed) and got more experienced, I started to see the “good” in deadlines. I realized that they were a necessary “evil” to my procrastination. Deadlines gave me a sense of urgency that made me a better producer. I loved deadlines!

Sometimes I wish I could love deadlines all the time. I can’t. They give stress, heartburn and make you angry, at times. But I also know that by April 17th (tax day), all tax returns that need to go out, will go out because of the deadline. And because of that, all accountants will be having some nice refreshments that night (or maybe the next day). We will then procrastinate for a bit until it is time for the next painful, but helpful, deadline.

Cheers!

Starting With Why?

David G. Barbeito, CPA |

Ever since I read the book Start with Why by Simon Sinek, I have tried to ask this question before taking on a new challenge or endeavor. As I write my first entry in this blog, I think it’s important that I share with you why I’m writing it. To do this, I will start by sharing a bit of my background.

Who Am I?

I have been practicing public accounting for over twenty years or half of my life. Not my adult life, but my entire life. Some people may think that is crazy.  The truth? I like it! I wouldn’t be doing it for this long if I didn’t. Opportunities to leave the industry have surfaced but after doing my first 5 years (about 10,000 hours), I was hooked!

As opposed to maybe other accountants, my passion for the profession is in the actual service. That relationship we are able to develop with our clients, in which they know they can count on us to reach their own personal and financial goals. What a rewarding feeling!

Why Write This?

So why am I writing this blog? To help more people achieve their personal and financial goals. I will be writing about different topics, mainly focusing on accounting and taxes. I will also be doing some book and travel posts because when I’m not working, hopefully I will be reading and traveling. I am currently reading The Service Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk. You have to admire Gary V’s energy and drive. Peru was our last destination. If  you have not been there, GO! Unfortunately, these months are not travel months for most CPAs. But May will soon be here and that will change.

For Us!

The idea of the blog is that when you read these posts, you will reach out with your own questions or maybe a different interpretation of what I have discussed in the entry. I’ve learned so much from questions I have received from my clients during my career. Please ask. If I don’t know the answer (which happens a lot, by the way), I will most likely know it by bed time.  You will too. The blog will be a tool in which I learn from you what’s happening in your industry. You will learn how to apply accounting and tax rules to those situations. If successful, we will all have learned something new….and what’s better than that?