{"id":825,"date":"2008-01-17t00:46:53","date_gmt":"2008-01-17t05:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/2008\/01\/17\/get-paid-what-you%e2%80%99re-worth\/"},"modified":"2024-08-14t09:37:41","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14t13:37:41","slug":"get-paid-what-youre-worth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2008\/01\/17\/get-paid-what-youre-worth\/","title":{"rendered":"get paid what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re worth!"},"content":{"rendered":"

cpas speak out on compensation issues. next question: are you ready for tax season 2008? join the survey; see the answers.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

by rick telberg
\n<\/strong>
\nhere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something rather surprising: slightly more than half of the accountants we surveyed actually think they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re paid well enough. <\/p>\n

i think it says much for our profession that a majority, however scant, is satisfied with its salaries. and i find it amazing that only 46 percent of respondents are dissatisfied. i wonder how many other professions can claim so many financially satisfied professionals. <\/p>\n

even more interesting are the reasons behind the satisfaction or its lack. and it was the lack, i should add, that drew the most comments in our survey.
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\none anonymous sole proprietor echoed a sentiment the profession knows well. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153i always end up feeling sorry for my clients and help them without charging for all my time.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

we heard that again and again, sometimes expressed as a reluctance to charge for the occasional request for advice, and sometimes, as another sole proprietor said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153i\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m afraid to bill higher.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

but reina schlager, cpa, a co-owner of schlager sonntag & levin of ft. meyers, fla., doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mind taking those questions and dispensing freebies. thanks to what she calls \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a mix of fees and commissions,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d her free advice pays off. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153i believe there is enough room in there to avoid charging a fee for advice,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she wrote. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153clients also appreciate that a clock is not ticking with important questions they have, and so they do not hesitate to raise those questions with them. i then act as a coordinator of their various needs.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

investment advisor william morgan, president of herbein wealth management llc in wyomissing, penn., claims he isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t paid enough, but i suspect he means he isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t paid what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153we guide clients through a minefield of investment traps and mistakes and save them from sleepless nights worrying about how they will meet their goals,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d morgan said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153it is hard to value peace of mind, but that is what we give our clients each and every day.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

practitioners also complained about the too-common problem of clients who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t cough up the dough. unfortunately, for a sole proprietor or the partners of a small firm, that means a de facto cut in take-home pay. <\/p>\n

but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s none of that nonsense for jim erickson, managing partner of james erickson & co. p.s. of bellevue, wash. he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take no for an answer. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153it is part of my mantra to get paid,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he commented in the survey. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153most of the time i do.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

one unnamed respondent apparently gets paid too, as a senior executive at a regional audit firm, but what she puts in her pocket is less than what she puts into the job. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153[it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s] because i was hired before the acute shortage,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153and because i am a woman.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

that second quip\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lousy reason to earn too little. i keep trying to believe it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really a problem in our profession, or at least not a general rule. <\/p>\n

i hope cheryl panther, cpa\/pfs, sole proprietor of panther financial planning, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t in a similar revenue rut. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153i\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m new to financial planning,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153and i need to price myself slightly below the market at this time.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

several other professionals had similar reasons for accepting below-market salaries. some said they had to accept less because they worked for a government. others accepted lower pay in exchange for the higher kind of satisfaction that not-for-profits offer. <\/p>\n

kevin feeney, vice president of stock equity and retirement plans at gartner, inc., in stamford, conn., seems to have risen to a higher plane. he said he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make enough, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153but it really doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter. i\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m satisfied with what i\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m getting. i\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never chased the big bucks and am probably happier for it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

and happy is he or she who hears that higher calling and brings home the big fat check. and a bonus. and dental. weekends off. the whole shebang. <\/p>\n

next question: are you ready for tax season 2008? join the survey; see the answers.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

copyright \u00c2\u00a9 2008 bay street group llc. all rights reserved. first published by the aicpa.<\/em><\/p>\n