Admissions of an Anti-Changer

In a past life I once helped manage a Tex-Mex restaurant. On a sizzling Arizona afternoon, the general manager gathered the staff for a review of pending changes that he planned to implement. After surveying a dining room full of concerned faces he proceeded to draw a clock on a sheet of paper with the hands showing high noon. After displaying it to the rank and file, he then furiously scribbled on a second sheet – it was another clock but this one displaying the time at 12:05.

His message was simple but stunningly effective, even a five minute increment can represent change.

I’m not breaking any ground here when I state that change is a dirty word to accountants. From their inaugural accounting class, they’re taught to have a strong comfort zone with continual order and the status quo. For many, their idea of radical change is to wear a red tie in lieu of a blue one.

And in full disclosure I feel their pain, or at least their discomfort.

Admittedly, I hate change. In college, my friends and classmates used to jokingly refer to me as “Roger Regiment.” I rarely deviated from a daily set schedule, whether studying, going to the gym or even mealtimes. “Just go with the flow” was an axiom that didn’t apply to me.

So, now many years later, when a seller firm is apprehensive about the potential changes that will occur if they merge into a larger practice, I can certainly lend a sympathetic ear.

Their questions and worries are often similar: What if I lose my clients? Will I become someone’s clock-punching employee? I worked hard to build up my practice, what if they don’t offer me equity? How will this affect my current quality of life?

And from my perspective, they have a right to be concerned about change. It represents the unknown. For sure, it may be the best thing that ever happened, but there’s always that lingering doubt – particularly among a skeptical-centric group like CPAs.

In our line of work we like to think of ourselves as part head coach and part psychologist. And if at the end of our counseling, a client decides to put off what may be a much-needed transition, we either haven’t done our job, or the pending change was simply too much to absorb or think about at the moment.

But we keep trying nonetheless.

And in my old age even I’ve become more adaptable to a changing routine.

For instance, the Mrs. just informed me that dinner would be 15 minutes later than usual and I didn’t even blink.