Expert Interview

I interviewed an accountant who prepares and files annually the taxes of his customers.

Below is a summary of our conversation:

• Technicalities of tax preparation and filing.

This is where we spent most of our time at. We discussed:

• • • Who needs to file taxes? What are the requisites?
    • What is taxed? (eg. income, vs. equity) How much? (I learned that there are tables for this)
    • Tax deductions. What items can be deducted? Up to what amounts? (we agreed on him sending me further information)

 

• Documents needed

We listed the documents that he usually requires from his customers. They include:

• • • Income statement.
    • Health insurance.
    • Mortgages.
    • Study loans.

 

• Reducing to a minimum the amount a customer pays.

As mentioned in my customer interviews, customers usually value accountants that are able to reduce their taxes to a minimum. And, as suspected, he let me know that in some cases, some accountants, might do shady tactics to reduce the amount that people pay, and he explained what some of those tactics might be.

• His process

He explained to me his process for preparing his customers’ taxes, and what tools he uses. There was an interesting revelation in this point: He uses the same tool that I use, which is publicly available at the “IRS”‘ website.

• Resources

This was the last part of our interview, and one that I value a lot. We discussed what resources are available. We agreed on him sharing with me this year’s current documentation. In addition, he shared with me the website that accountants use to stay updated on the most current norms (click here if you are curious). I have already contacted the website’s customer service and found out that their new book detailing tax filing for last year accounting period, will come out in May. I am eagerly waiting for it to be available, and will purchase it, no doubt.