Last week Adrienne asked all of you to explain, to the best of your ability, why you became accountants. There were a myriad of answers given, which she opted to highlight in her post on Monday. While many of them were fine answers (if not a little verbose), they pale in comparison to the reasoning of "Real Estate Accounting Legend" Kenneth Leventhal. Mr. Leventhal passed away yesterday at the age of 91, and because of his prominence in the accounting biz, he got a press release to mark the occasion that included his explanation behind choosing the art of debits and credits:
When he was 9 years old, he sold newspapers at a street corner in Los Angeles. In talking with his boss, he learned that the boss planned to take a correspondence accounting course and go into business for himself. All it took to get started was a pencil, his boss told him. "I figured that for a nickel, I could be my own boss," Mr. Leventhal explained, "and I never changed my mind."
Today's required seed money may be a bit smaller more than back then, but you shouldn't take this to mean that you can't arm yourself with a sharp No. 2 and end up getting your name on a building.
[via Hoyt Organization]
