how an out-of-work tax preparer ‘saved’ our lives

always be ready to help others.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

a number of years ago we purchased a practice in late february to get the business clients. however, we had to agree to service the individual tax clients, of whom there were about 180, with each paying a very low fee. the seller did not want to hang up his longtime clients.

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we had just moved the files into our office and were really concerned about how we could get the returns done without totally straining our system when lenny called asking if we had any per-diem tax season work for him.

we told him to come in the next day. he basically “saved our lives.”

when peter weitsen and i started our firm mendlowitz weitsen llp in 1988, we put together a pre-tax season training program the first monday night in february. we had six people on our staff. because we put in a lot of work organizing the program, we invited a few sole practitioner friends to participate as our guests, including lenny.

lenny had sold his practice the previous winter and moved to san diego, but he agreed to come back at the beginning of march to work tax season for his buyer. when he arrived a few days early, he called the buyer and was told he wasn’t needed. he called me in desperation looking for work because he was here.

at our annual tax program (which we still do and have 130 attendees coming for free), lenny always contributed ideas and tips and was constantly on top of the new tax laws. so when he called, we had a database of knowledge about his ability. we knew he knew our systems and he was a natural to help us. we benefited greatly, as he did. what’s the expression? “one hand washes the other.”

sharing benefits everyone. don’t be stingy with your help. in that same vein, do not hesitate to contact me if you have any practice management issues you want to discuss.

posted on august 26, 2019

3 responses to “how an out-of-work tax preparer ‘saved’ our lives”

frank stitely
august 27, 2019
we use about 20 part time remote preparers every tax season. the technology makes working with preparers across geographic distances feasible.
deborah schmitt
august 27, 2019
hi ed- i have been following you reading your online articles. i would love to be invited to attend your free annual tax seminar. i am a small self employed business. could you give me an idea of the topics you address at this seminar. thank you for your informative articles and being a master in the field. sincerely, debbie schmitt, professional tax services
- edward mendlowitz
  august 27, 2019
  contact me directly at emendlowitz@withum.com

edward mendlowitz

about the author

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edward mendlowitz, cpa, abv, pfs, is a partner at withum, a forward-thinking, technology-driven advisory, and accounting firm. ed has over 40 years of public accounting experience, is recognized as one of the top 100 most influential people in accounting by accounting today, and is the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 "practice doctor." his latest handbook for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 is 77 ways to wow! the handbook for small-business advisory services.

ed is also the author of "memoirs of a cpa," available at amazon.

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"memoirs" tells his story as a cpa and provides an inside look at what cpas do and how they run their accounting "business." cpas must serve clients effectively and exceptionally, recruit, train, retain and grow staff, and charge fees that clients happily pay because of the value they receive while the cpa earns a living, funds a retirement account, grows infrastructure, and perhaps makes a profit. this book tells how he did all of this and much more.

more ed mendlowitz in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 store:

he is a licensed, certified public accountant in the states of new jersey and new york and is accredited by the american institute of certified public accountants (aicpa) in business valuation (abv), certified in financial forensics (cff) and as a personal financial specialist (pfs). ed is also admitted to practice before the united states tax court and has testified as an expert witness in federal and state court regarding business valuations, and twice at the house ways and means committee on tax reform, fairness, and reduction. a city college of new york graduate, ed earned his bachelor of business administration degree.

he is a member of the aicpa, the new jersey society of certified public accountants (njscpa) and the new york state society of certified public accountants (nysscpa). in addition, ed was a founding partner of mendlowitz weitsen, llp, cpas, which merged with withum in 2005. currently, he serves on the nysscpa estate planning committee and was chairman of the committee that planned the nysscpa’s 100th anniversary. ed, the author of 19 books, has also written hundreds of articles for business and professional journals and newsletters.

he is the contributing editor to the practitioners publishing company’s 706/709 deskbook, the aicpa’s management of an accounting practice handbook, corporate controller’s handbook and wiley’s handbook on budgeting and is on the editorial board of bottom line/personal newsletter and the journal of accountancy member panel on business valuation. appearing regularly on television news programs, ed has also been quoted in numerous major newspapers and periodicals in the united states. he received the lawler award for the best article published in 2001 in the journal of accountancy.

ed frequently speaks to many professional and business groups, including the aicpa, njscpa, nysscpa, american management association, the national committee for monetary reform, the university of medicine and dentistry in n.j., and many more. for 11 years, he taught courses on financial analysis, corporate financial policy and theory, monetary and fiscal policy, and managerial accounting in the mba program at fairleigh dickinson university.

click here for more by edward mendlowitz

3 responses to “how an out-of-work tax preparer ‘saved’ our lives”

frank stitely

deborah schmitt

edward mendlowitz