Rhonda Odom has heard nearly all the things throughout her greater than 20-year profession as an accounting and finance skilled.
Sharon E. Buck, however, represents the “ignorant buyer” to these within the monetary trade. She is thought for getting confused about her debits and credit and making ridiculous tax refund requests.
Longtime mates, the 2 co-authored a guide referred to as “A CPA’s Guide to Happy Client Meetings – A Lighthearted Look on the World of Finance.”
“The concept for this guide got here from a time on a aircraft the place we have been having a lot enjoyable and we have been each struggling to provide you with one sentence,” Odom mentioned. “Sharon considers herself certainly one of my ‘ignorant prospects’; her terminology just isn’t mine. And we imagine that everybody coping with the troublesome world of taxes can have an excellent chortle. We thought they may profit from it and notice that taxes aren’t so scary in spite of everything.”
The public is invited to a guide signing on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. on the Needful Things Bookstore, 908 St. Johns Avenue in Palatka. We will present mild snacks.
The guide is offered in bookstores on Friday for $9 in softcover print, on Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $9.95, and as an e-book on Kindle for $3.99. Also accessible by emailing sharon@sharonebuck.com.
Asked if studying between the strains of the guide’s tales would reveal her to be an “ignorant shopper,” Mr. Buck asserted his assist for the Fifth Amendment.
“In many instances, I modified my title to guard harmless folks, largely as a result of it will be my title,” Buck mentioned with a smile. “I’ve requested Rhonda extra wild and crazier issues about taxes than Carter has nearly no medication.”
Odom bought plenty of laughs from a number of the questions he is obtained through the years as a tax guide.
“People wish to declare every kind of bills,” she says. “Anything to cut back your unpaid taxes or enhance your refund. I do not chortle at my purchasers. I chortle with them and supply wholesome alternate options to a number of the options that come to me. I’ll offer you an concept.”
A information launch in regards to the guide says the guide presents the brighter facet of the world of finance, and that accounting and finance professionals typically navigate the complicated world of numbers and laws with the utmost seriousness. I discover myself navigating. But hidden among the many piles of spreadsheets and tax varieties is a treasure trove of humorous and heartwarming interactions with unknown purchasers.
Odom mentioned he wrote “Counting Laughs” with Buck to remind himself and different CPAs that humor is a strong instrument of their trade.
Odom believes their books are must-reads for everybody, from seasoned accountants searching for fun to these within the lighter facet of accounting.
“This guide is a chance for readers to expertise a enjoyable journey into the world of accounting by means of the lens of humor,” she mentioned.
Mr. Odom will retire from the district on July 31 after 28 and a half years of service. She additionally labored for the Mississippi State Retirement System for over seven years. She plans to proceed and develop her native tax apply.
She has written 20 fiction books and ghostwritten 10 nonfiction enterprise books.
Odom smiles when she remembers her prospects who wait till the final minute to pay their taxes every year.
“Many purchasers appear to favor going through the drills of a dentist somewhat than an accountant,” she mentioned.
For Odom, discovering the enjoyment in laughter makes any job simpler.
Buck says there are advantages to having mates who’re financially literate.
“I do know I requested Rhonda some loopy questions on whether or not one thing is tax deductible or not,” she mentioned. “I’m certain she emailed me again her reply along with her eyes vast open. Turns out the acquisition of chewing gum wasn’t a respectable tax deduction. Someone figured it out, proper?”
