Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Nov 4, 2009, 6:00 am
Many accountants and other service providers talk about providing “added value” to their clients. A friend of mine, Marcus Cauchi (who is a seller who trains selling not a trainer who tea...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Nov 2, 2009, 5:17 am
It is the month of August, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea it is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit. Su...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Nov 2, 2009, 3:13 am
A smaller practitioner shared this view with me recently. He is 60 and his current turnover is around £120k. He said to assume his net profits are around £80k pa. My friend had noted that were he to...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Nov 1, 2009, 4:40 pm
"If we can bring one little smile to one little face today, then somebody's slipped up somewhere." - David Frost
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Nov 1, 2009, 5:54 am
A lot of people choose not to explore social media as they don’t have the time. In effect they want to know if they will be able to identify a ROI for the time spent learning about and engaging ...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 27, 2009, 11:40 am
Some firms merge. Sometimes one firm acquires the other. Sometimes this is referred to as a takeover. Recently I heard that, back in 2002 when Andersens went into Deloitte, the words 'merger'...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 26, 2009, 11:09 am
Sadly I have to admit that I am Genuinely Interested in Tax (GIT). Who else fits this description? I think it was Tony Jenkins who I first heard admitting he was a sad GIT (for the same reason)
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 23, 2009, 9:37 am
So, what happens when you forward an obvious scam tax refund e-mail to HMRC? Peter Lashmar received this automated reply: ----------- Subject: Inappropriate Attachment The following email message co...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 23, 2009, 3:03 am
During his presentation during one of Dave Hartnett's Business Breakfast's at the Treasury yesterday morning, Richard Murphy reminded us that his wife is a doctor. Apparently she has diagnose...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 22, 2009, 2:54 am
In conversation with an accountant recently he told me he'd lost track of how many clients say things like: Are you on some sort of xxxxing commission for the taxman?!or Do you get some sort of sa...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 21, 2009, 2:39 am
One day king Gordon called to the palace his chief tax collector, Dave. ‘I really must have some more taxes’ said the king ‘otherwise I will not have anything to pay my servants (and that includ...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 19, 2009, 4:20 am
Who'd have thought that bananas outweighed all other produce? The recently published Customs Information Paper 67 notifies businesses that the liability to customs civil penalties will be changi...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Oct 19, 2009, 2:55 am
Whenever I am asked to speak about ’social’ networking to audiences of professional advisers I insist on the quote marks. In my experience most advisers aren’t excited by the the ide...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 16, 2009, 4:25 am
The Working Tax Credit is more widely available than some people might think. HMRC are keen to publicise this although it seems that, in so doing, at least one local authority is condoning bad parenti...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 14, 2009, 11:44 am
At the CIOT President's reception last night in Drapers' Hall, London, President Andrew Hubbard conducted a choral recital of the Institute’s Royal Charter, which he had composed himself for...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 13, 2009, 5:02 am
A New Zealand accountant has learned the importance of email etiquette after losing her job because she sent too many emails that were written in all caps, with a red and bold font. ACCORDING TO HER ...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 12, 2009, 2:46 am
Loved this piece by Caitlin Moran in the Times today: Why I love paying tax. Every time I write out a gigantic cheque to the Inland Revenue, I get a bit excited. Woooo! I go. What a seriously grown-up...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 9, 2009, 6:09 am
Lisa Newton of Boogles Ltd has a unique approach to promoting her bookkeeping business. Fab singing and graphics too.
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 8, 2009, 5:28 am
A campaign has been started against what has been dubbed BA's Tall Traveller Tax. Introduced yesterday this is a £50 per flight surcharge for passengers who book the emergency exit seats. Althou...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 7, 2009, 2:25 am
Spare a thought for the pubs and clubs that will remain open beyond midnight on 31 December when the VAT rate reverts to 17.5%. Will it be necessary to issue two VAT invoices? One charging VAT at ...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 5, 2009, 2:31 am
A report in the Bournemouth Echo today is titled: Reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated! Apparently HMRC wrote to 25yr old chef, Charles Westney, offering condolences for his own death. ...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 2, 2009, 3:44 am
My accountant printed this year's balance sheet in colour - red. What's the definition of unlikely? - A photo-spread in Playboy titled 'The World's Top Accountants - Nude!' There...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Oct 1, 2009, 1:32 pm
A man offered his simple formula for income tax. Dependents: one blonde wife, a sedan car, three goldfish and two children. Multiply grandfather's age by 6 7/8, subtracting your telephone number. ...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Oct 1, 2009, 2:49 am
It seems there is a tricky balance to be made here. I’ve written previously about how networking, whether online or offline, can be an effective way to secure new clients of the type you want &#...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Sep 24, 2009, 5:06 am
Following a software update, HMRC's records show a number of their "customers" as being deceased. To paraphrase Mark Twain, these reports of death are greatly exaggerated. It is almost beyond a ...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Sep 21, 2009, 4:10 am
Radio 4's That Mitchell and Webb Sound recently featured a sketch about a typically overblown razor ad for the Accelerator 12-Blade: 'The first blade shaves you close. 'The second blad...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Sep 18, 2009, 9:32 am
This is a follow up to my earlier post “Getting started on twitter” in which I explained some basic introductory points concerning twitter. When it comes to using twitter there are no abso...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Sep 18, 2009, 6:05 am
Regular readers may be surprised to see this post here – remembering my first post about twitter: Twitter is not for accountants.  In effect that suggested that accountants can get by quite hap...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Sep 18, 2009, 5:03 am
A business coach was looking for an alliterative approach to use when targeting accountants. The following positive adjectives were all identified as possible aspirations but rejected at least partly ...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Sep 17, 2009, 4:35 am
A driver who drove his car to the edge of a 100ft drop after he “slavishly” followed its SatNav instructions has become one of the first motorists to be convicted for placing too muc...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Sep 16, 2009, 4:04 am
Haven't posted any quotes about taxation for a while so here are some more: " I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is—I could be just as proud for half the mone...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Sep 14, 2009, 3:38 am
If the FD is really good, he will be headhunted - leaving a vacancy If the FD is really bad, he will be fired - leaving a vacancy If the company prospers the FD may well land the top job - leaving a...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Sep 12, 2009, 5:21 am
I've been posting the occasional list of fun tax tweets I've picked up on twitter. This time I'm sharing tweets about accountants that made me smile. My accountant told me to put money in...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Sep 10, 2009, 4:55 am
According to this Spitting Image sketch, the Queen's new accountants are the Marx Brothers, masquerading as: Bogus, Bogus & Fiddle.
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Sep 7, 2009, 3:34 am
The law of triviality: The time spent in discussing any item in the accounts will be in inverse proportion to its size. According to Peter Vaines and Roger Nuttall in their book "The Bottom Line"
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Sep 4, 2009, 9:25 am
This is a first. It’s the first time I’ve had something to blog where I can see how it could fit on any or even all 3 of my blogs! It sounds like a riddle or joke – so would fit wel...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Aug 31, 2009, 3:24 am
"In reply to your letter of the 12th, there is no documentary evidence of partnership, but when I called at my client's premises to complete the Tax Return his wife was present. When I asked if th...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Aug 26, 2009, 4:54 am
Quotes from the video below. I give my client what real accountants can't. I'm a street accountant, I work the streets. How about a little numbers action? I've got certain financial n...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Aug 25, 2009, 4:06 am
This 7 and a half minute video covers the explanation of a 'perfect crime' - a tax fraud perpetrated by Roger Stannard - a specialist tax barrister, an accountant and a pig farmer. A successfu...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Aug 25, 2009, 1:53 am
Telemarketing companies who focus on securing new clients for accountancy businesses tell me that they have never been busier. And there do seem to be a number of such specialist firms – in addi...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Aug 24, 2009, 3:44 am
This was a ficticious case written by the humourist A. P. Herbert for Punch magazine as part of his series of Misleading Cases in the Common Law. The case involved a Mr. Albert Haddock, who had been ...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Aug 23, 2009, 3:08 am
"Like most actors I have been in continuous dispute, if that is the phrase, with Her Majesty's Commissioners of Inland Revenue ever since she came to the throne. Before that I had the same trouble...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Aug 21, 2009, 2:04 am
Fewer people than ever seem to be looking for new accountants in yellow pages or by remembering that they saw an ad in the local paper (or anywhere else). Far more people are asking friends, family an...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Aug 13, 2009, 11:23 am
A recent study suggests that 40% of tweets are “pointless babble“. Regular readers might expect me to agree, especially if you recall an earlier post here: Twitter is not for accountants. ...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Aug 12, 2009, 8:38 am
Hopefully you know who is your most important client. You can apply your own criteria to decide of course.  You might choose the one who pays you the most fees year in and year out, or the one who co...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Aug 12, 2009, 5:12 am
In January 1986 the political comedy " Yes Prime Minister" featured an episode "The Smokescreen" in which The Prime Minister, Jim Hacker, favours abolishing smoking through heavy taxation but he runs ...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Aug 11, 2009, 7:17 am
A newly qualified chartered accountant applies for a job advertised in the Times. He is interviewed by the owner of a small business who has built it up from scratch. "I need a qualified accountan...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Aug 10, 2009, 2:57 am
A street in India’s capital Delhi has been named Chartered Accountants’ Lane to recognise the area is home to a majority of the city’s chartered accountancy students and the offices of around 5,...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Ambitious professionals - Aug 7, 2009, 3:56 am
My friend Andy Lopata is a networking strategy consultant.   I’m not sure that anyone else looks at networking in quite such a scientific way. He talks about the strategy you adopt as in who ...
Comment - Like

Mark Lee posted an article on Accountant jokes and fun - Aug 5, 2009, 3:49 am
Three partners in an accounting firm go out to lunch. They are the audit partner, the tax partner and the senior partner. One of them sees a brass lamp lying in the gutter. Curious, they pick it up a...
Comment - Like