Paying bills, filling out tax returns, analyzing budgets… These are some of the tasks an accountant has to do one day or another, or even every day. At first glance, nothing very exciting. What if the opposite were true? We asked Lyne Breton, Chartered Accountant and owner of Breton Accounting Services Inc., to tell us about the high points of her days.
Meeting clients
In general, we imagine an accountant working alone in his office, nose glued to his calculator. “Yet we are often called upon to meet clients,” Mrs. Breton says. “That’s what I like best!” Indeed, having navigated the world of start-ups for years she loves to listen to entrepreneurs talk about their dreams and see how, from an accounting point of view, she can help them make them come true.
Solving problems
Lyne Breton also enjoys solving her clients’ problems. “Some people struggle financially for months before calling on an accountant! The arrive in my office anxious and harried. So I listen to them, reassure them and, of course, find solutions!” It’s a role of “therapist”, she says, which she finds particularly gratifying.
Balancing and decoding
Aside from the relational aspect of her work, Mrs. Breton enjoys certain purely technical aspects of accounting, such as “balancing” an Excel file. Or again, understanding the presence of a number in a document… To each his little pleasures!
Being recognized
Like everyone, the best days for Mrs. Breton are those when she is recognized for her work. “One time, my services were recommended four times on Facebook by a person I didn’t know, who was looking for an accountant. I was really touched!”
A profession decrypted!
Of course, the favourite accounting tasks vary depending on the accountant, the place of work and the speciality. At the least, Mrs. Breton’s testimony reveals that accounting is far from being a profession devoid of emotions. Beyond the ability to work with numbers, it requires the ability to decrypt the human needs that lurk behind them.