
Tax Preparers Use Valentine’s Poetry to Express Their Busy Season Problems
Happy Valentine’s Day! Believe it or not, our friends on #TaxTwitter possess talents that stretch far beyond understanding the tax code, deftly dealing with awful clients, drinking massive quantities of coffee, and being able to function somewhat like a human after working 80-plus hours a week. They can also write poetry! And what better day […]

This Valentine’s Day, Get Something For That Lovable Yet Hopelessly Disorganized Accountant in Your Life
Valentine’s Day is upon us and that means accountants all across this great land are disappointing their beloveds with excuses like, “We have a deadline Thursday,” and “Remember, we both agreed that we wouldn’t buy into these Hallmark holidays,” and “The client needs me to stay late.” So if you’re unable to pull yourself away […]

Exposure Drafts: Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue, You Bill by the Hour, So Get Back to Work
Exposure Drafts appears every other Wednesday and on holidays ruined by busy season. Send suggestions to [email protected]
A Guide for Single Accountants Looking for Love This Valentine’s Day
It's February and you know what that means. No, we don't mean you're just getting into the swing of busy season. Valentine's Day is upon us, which means another reminder that your work life doesn't allow the luxury of a relationship or women at the bar who are not impressed when you tell them "I'm […]
Just What Every Accountant Wants for Valentine’s, Another Calculator
It is either sad or awesome that of the two top posts in /r/accounting about V Day gifts received from loved ones both involve number-crunching. What happened to the good old fashioned box of chocolates and a coupon for a free, totally non-sexual massage? Our first contender sort of reminds me of those weird plastic […]
Ladies, Forget the Career and Accomplish the Important Goals Like Finding a Man
I can't even. Can't. Tried, read it a few times just to make sure I was reading what I thought I was and confirmed this is, in fact, the year 2014 and not 1914 when I read it again. Nope, she said that. To what could I be referring? This wonderful piece in the Wall […]
Have a Very Going Concern Valentine’s With These Special eCards
How awful is this day? I mean, not just for you guys, for everyone. So many expectations, so much disappointment, so many reasons to swear this is the last year you'll actually acknowledge this as a holiday. If it weren't for the picked clean shelves of pathetic I LOVE YOU teddy bears and tiny Dove […]
All’s Unfair on Valentine’s Day During Busy Season
Today is Valentine's Day, and there are a lot of pissed off accountants because of it. Every year busy season robs us of all of the most random American holidays: Groundhog Day, April Fools' Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Valentine's Day, to name a few1. Today, on top of the pressure to not disappoint the partner […]
Grant Thornton’s Valentine to Employees Did Not Consist of Heart Candy
It’s the middle of February and many of you are somewhere between completely exhausted and death warmed up. This is not lost on blogger extraordinaire Steve Chipman. SC’s weekly info session has been crucial to your survival (even though it’s not meant for all of you). Knowing that his soothing words will only get you so far, he’s taken a different approach this week.
Since it was St. Val’s on Sunday, Chip figured he would mark the day for lovers by boosting your spirits by using the words of GTers less CEO-y than himself.
Today I’d like to offer some inspiration to help us push through busy season. The last year and a half have required so much more from everyone that it’s hard to imagine we can work even harder, but it’s evident that we are everywhere I look.
So what keeps us going? That’s what I was looking for when I reviewed the “I am Grant Thornton” interviews we conducted last fall. We asked a variety of people in different roles, in different offices and at different levels if they felt they made a difference, and, if so, how.
It is hard to imagine that you can work harder, isn’t it? Your spreadsheets are bleeding through your monitors, you’ve ingested far more MSG than is recommended, and your cube farm neighbor (who ordinarily smells funny) is looking hot .
And we weren’t aware of this “I am G to the T” exercise but it sounds stupendous. Who knew your personal experiences would be used at this most crucial time of year? Bet you would have really put some thought into if if you had known your words could possibly have been immortalized on Steve-o’s blog.
Here are some carefully selected examples from SC’s list and our thoughts on each:
“When a client calls me and says, “Can I pick your brain?” it’s so great because (1) they recognize I have a brain” – We agree that it’s nice when your client recognizes that you are of the same species.
“I had a client tell me recently, and I’m quoting, ‘We hire Grant Thornton because you get [stuff] done.’” – That’s Stephen’s edit. This is a family blog, people.
“I make a difference every day because I work here.” – And because my mother said so.
“Every day is a great achievement.” – We agree. Crawling out of bed is tough.
“How do I make a difference? . . . You know, I’m happy.” – God, you’re one of those happy people.
“I’ve worked at the big firms. We are not bigger by any means, but it’s a question of caliber. I knew it from my first day on the job here. We’re just a different caliber of firm.” – We’re not size queens at GT.
Steve-o’s send-off has us begging for more and also causes us to wonder A) who is this homecoming queen? and B) is Chip a Bass or a Tenor?
I’m also proud to say that among our great people are a former homecoming queen and a professional make-up artist. Of equal wonder, one of you found the most surprising thing about coming to Grant Thornton was “that all the partners have great singing voices.”
There’s more where that came from, but this is the firm’s Valentine to you.
Thanks for you!
Stephen
You could do back-to-back busy season now, couldn’t you?