An Essential Life Skill

I have a different view of accounting, especially tax accounting and double entry. These are the only activities in life in which I have real expertise and I didn’t follow the path you laid out for accounting. The technology of double entry is so fundamental that I learned it on my own by reading one (small) book and then using it every day for 45 years. It should be taught in grade school as it is so pervasive, easy and invaluable. It’s such basic technology that everyone should learn it. It saddens me to see so many people who cannot look at financials and have any clue about what they are seeing. It is not necessary to pay CPA’s $200/hr to tell you what you are seeing. If knowledge of this basic technology was as widespread as it should be, there would be a lot less embezzlement & much more prosperity in the world.

(Originally posted on 16 October 2020, in celebration of the end of my 36th Tax Season, and a reply to John Philpin about his description of the typical path in a career in accounting.)