Providing a Positive Difference

About 12 years ago I landed what I thought was the perfect job for me at a company I had long admired. You might be wondering, “What was the job and for which company?” Here is one clue: It was not a high-profile job at one of the “Big Four” accounting firms.

In fact, this company was not even in the top 1,000 accounting firms, because it was not an accounting firm at all. It was a very distinguished business, but it was a marketing agency, not an accounting firm. And after nearly 10 years in marketing, I had finally secured the job I longed for, or so I thought. After one year with the company, about one-third of my coworkers and I were laid off.

While I was stunned, the pity party I threw myself was a short one. Instead, I took the involuntary sabbatical to reevaluate my professional desires. I did a lot of self-reflection; chatted with several mentors over coffee; and read a few books. I was not overly certain on the direction of my career, but one aspect was clear: my next step would be as an entrepreneur. I was wired for it and getting laid off was a sign from God to pivot. My brother was also an entrepreneur. Not long before I was laid off, he had become an enrolled agent (EA) and started a tax business. He suggested I look into starting a tax preparation or tax representation business. At first, I thought he was nuts for suggesting it. Me? Doing tax and accounting work? I had spent the last decade running creative meetings and managing marketing budgets. I had no business preparing tax returns or providing tax advice. In all sincerity, that was my initial reaction and I sort of rolled my eyes at the idea. Yet, there was this nagging feeling I needed to investigate the option more thoroughly. It did not take too long for me to realize why becoming an enrolled agent, and thus starting a career in the tax industry, was a perfect fit for me.

Why?

Dollars and cents. I always had a deep interest in personal and business finance. In my roles at marketing agencies, I was tasked with the management and efficacy of marketing budgets. My sole focus for clients was maximizing return on investment (ROI). As an enrolled agent, clients now rely upon me in a similar capacity. Part of the value I deliver is measured by the dollars I can help clients save, especially with annual filings.

Tenacity and initiative. These can be personality traits or practiced behaviors. My professional successes in the marketing agency world were tied to both. Enrolled agents must be willing to take initiative and research murky tax issues or situations. Often, the resolution of said initiative will require tenacity. This is especially true when the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) “service” is, shall we say, suboptimal.

Tangible and meaningful results. In direct marketing, my team tirelessly measured our impact using the inputs. In essence, could we prove without objection our value to clients? Did we positively impact our clients’ top and/ or bottom lines? The best enrolled agents are effectively providing this same value. This is especially true in the representation of taxpayers before IRS Collection and Examination. For example, I have had the chance to deliver life-changing results to taxpayers through accepted offers in compromise (OICs). And on many other occasions, I have convinced an IRS examiner of a reasonable position resulting in a taxpayer paying less tax.

Making the decision to become an enrolled agent was, professionally speaking, the best decision I have ever made. Like in most industries, being an
EA has had its ups and downs. The last couple of years have been especially challenging. But as the saying goes, “The juice has been worth the squeeze.”