Do Accountants Lack Imagination?

The two FBI agents entered the business and were welcomed by the business owner, a smart looking woman with a shock of white hair, the daughter of the founder. They went immediately to the finance department, where the accountant stood, looking awkward and contrite.

“It was my fault really. She shouldn’t have been able to get away with it.”

“Tell us what happened,” the FBI got right down to business.

“She used her access for petty cash to get into the accounting system and embezzle the million dollars . . .”

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Wait a second. Hold on a minute. An accounting clerk was able to embezzle $1,000,000 from petty cash?? What kind of lame ass accountant are we talking about here? It was just a TV drama and I’ll give the writer credit. The accounting clerk was being framed.

But still. I have known a LOT of accountants in my life and not ONE of them was anything like that portrayal on TV. It was worse than a caricature. It was more like character assassination.

Do accountants lack imagination? Certainly not tax accountants, who have to imagine new and clever ways to minimize taxes for their clients legally.

On the other hand, the accountant is often the person who has to keep their feet on the ground when “imaginative” sales and marketing people are steep in a rosy future. So maybe accounting is a more attractive career for left-brained analytical people than right-brained creatives.

So, what’s an accountant to do?