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CPA, JD or _ _ _? Which is Better?

August 1st, 2009 · 2 Comments

“I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell.”

- Harry Truman -

conductorI agree with Robert Flach, The Wandering Tax Pro, that the mere existence of the letters CPA or JD after a name does not automatically mean that an individual is proficient in tax return preparation.

I’ll even take it one step further – the letters CPA after a person’s name do not automatically mean he’s a good accountant and the letters JD or ESQ after a person’s name do not automatically mean he’s a good lawyer.
 
A professional designation merely puts the public on notice that a particular individual is more likely to be proficient in a certain area than is someone who lacks the designation.
 
It does not guarantee proficiency nor does it suggest that those lacking the designation are stupid, incompetent or dishonest.
 
Heres’ what the letters CPA and JD do for those of us who have done the hard work required to obtain them: It justifies a  public assumption that we are more likely than those who are not CPAs or JDs to be:
 
  • smart
  • educated
  • ambitious
  • competent at math (CPA)
  • good readers
  • proficient in legal research (JD)
  • proficient in accounting (CPA)
  • covered by malpractice insurance
  • not a felon

I could list another 50 qualities that a CPA or JD is more likely to possess than someone lacking those designations, but I think you get the point.

The truth is, all things being equal, I’d rather hire a tax preparer who has the letters MD after his name than a tax preparer who had no professional designation whatsoever.

While the letters M and D tell me nothing about this person’s expertise in tax return preparation, their existence at least tells me that he had to prove to somebody, somewhere at sometime that he has an above average level of intelligence.

I have no possible way of knowing that about the tax preparer with the initials _ _ _ after his name.

The letters CPA or JD after a tax preparer’s name do not automatically make it true that he is smarter, more educated or a better preparer than one who doesn’t have those letters after his name, it just makes it more likely to be true.

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Tags: Regulation of Tax Preparers

2 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Feruza // Apr 18, 2010 at 4:21 am

    Greetings!

    quote: “The truth is, all things being equal, I’d rather hire a tax preparer who has the letters MD after his name than a tax preparer who had no professional designation whatsoever.”

    Don’t you think that a tax preparer with the letters MD after his name is an indecisive person who didn’t know what he wants from this life?

  • 2 Peter // Apr 18, 2010 at 8:55 am

    Feruza,

    Yes. And I’d still chose him over someone who didn’t do ANYTHING with his life.

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