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FROM THE FOUNDER
I have often felt like small accountants (and occasionally those from larger firms, although far less often) give some really bad advice to their AEC firm owner clients. A lot of this advice is based on reducing personal or corporate income taxes, but at what cost? Keep the big picture in mind, and make sure you have the right outside accountants who understand more than the tax consequences of these kinds of decisions. Bad advice from your outside accountant
I will never forget the time about 30 years ago when our then-accountant sat my partner Fred White and myself down near the end of the year and said, “Mark and Fred – I still think you guys could have taken another $200K to $250K out of the company this year.” Being the brash young confrontationist I was at the time, my response was, “Let me ask you a question, Bob. How long have you been in business?” “Twenty years,” was his response. “And how many people do you have working for you
“Yes, counting family members,” I said. “Four or five, depending on the time of year,” he stated. My immediate (and brutal) response was, “Twenty years and a five-person firm – then maybe you shouldn’t tell us how to manage a growing business. Stick with accounting!” This was just some of the bad advice we got and typical of what we have heard our clients get over the years from their outside accountants – advice that may be good for reducing short-term tax obligations but could hurt the business in the longer term. Here is some more of it:
Mark Zweig
here now?” I followed up with. “Counting myself?” he asked.
“Yes, counting yourself,” I responded. “Counting family members?” he asked.
■ “Put your kid (mom, dad, etc.) on the payroll and
See MARK ZWEIG, page 6
THE ZWEIG LETTER MAY 13, 2024, ISSUE 1537
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