- Unknown
Researchers at the City University of Hong Kong have found that the stereotypical belief that accountants are boring has a real scientific basis.
John Flowerdew, of the university's department of English and communication, analysed the language and communication of tax accounts in a major company and found that the "dull and uninspired, jargon-heavy language", is partly responsible for accountancy's turgid image.
"They sat together as a group with their desks facing each other while the tax manager had her office apart from the tax accountants," he writes in the journal Writing in English for Specific Purposes.
"On that particularly rainy day the accountants started their morning by checking e-mail and quietly eating their breakfast at their desk.
"For the first hour that the observer was there, the accountants worked quietly at their desks seemingly unaware of each other, busy computing through tax computation schedules, fidgeting with calculators and putting data into their computers.
Source : The Daily Telegraph
Wtf ?
Well, aku takkan argue with an equally boring scientist. It’s just like the pot calling the kettle black.
Are accountants really THAT boring? I beg to differ, Mr Flowerdew. Masa kerja, I think we number crunchers can’t escape from being that boring human being poring over 2-inches-thick reports and ledgers while our fingers are busy clicking away on the calculator (usually the size of calculator tokay balak). Speaking of which, kalau korang nak tau if someone is a number cruncher, look at how s/he selects a calculator kalau nak beli. Bukan saiz atau berapa banyaknya functions yg diorang cari, tapi more on ‘sedap tekan tak’? Unless you are a financial planner la.. then you will need a DIFFERENT kind of calculator, specially made for FP’s (sampai sekarang pun aku tak reti nak guna Abah Ikmal’s CFP calculator… phobia!). And atas meja mesti ada a mug of Nescafe (for most of us, teh tarik or Milo boleh mengurangkan daya konsentrasi), and some sweets to chew whenever ada assignment yg agak mencabar (biasanya Mentos).
For me, it it the nature of the profession yg membuat accountants (nampak) boring. I really missed my ex-colleagues kat audit firm dulu (mostly yuppie lengchai’s and lengloi’s). Masa kerja, I really admired their accounting and auditing skills, they are really well-versed in this field, but when it comes to having fun, diorang pun tak kalah ! Really missed them, though.
Further reading…
The full news
Tired of lawyers’ jokes? Here’s sumthing (no) different…
Hmmm.. movies on accountants? I don’t think so…
Interesting site on accounting (duh, an oxymoron..)
Boring? Hmmm…
More good (and serious)stuffs on accounting.
Maybe the number-crunching & concentration put into the task yang buat accountants macam errrr boring? Tak jugak kan? But at the end of a hard working day, bila dah letih tu (letih otak) would you still have the energy to parrrrty?? I almost became an accountant but changed majors in junior year. Now I feel I could have stayed and enjoyed it and the chance to make money in that profession :)
ReplyDeleteYup, it's the nature of the work yg buat diorang nampak boring. It's not like sales or marketing yg memerlukan seseorg itu berpersonaliti extroverted. That's why I quit auditing after 4 1/2 years. La ni, buat management reporting jek, not that hectic la. Masih boleh tengok matahari kalau balik ke rumah...
ReplyDeleteMe - I love being in research, but am not in the prefession anymore. I still do some accounting work. My brother is an accountant - introverted macam tikus. Very bookish type, pakai specs, tak gila-gila langsung. :)
ReplyDeleteI think I'm very much like your brother la. Baru jek tukar spek (power dah bertambah !!) and yup, I am a nerd. And proud to be one !! Saya cuma gila2 kalau dalam blog jek.
ReplyDeleteMember2 yg kenal saya dulu pun heran camner saya boleh ada masa/ ideas utk tulis blog ni. I think my real calling is in creative writing la...:-)