As strategic alliances go, accountants rank pretty high on the desirability scale. They are industrious. They are detail-oriented to a fault. They are well-connected. And, like lawyers and politicians, all of these defined qualities make them easy to caricature. Accountant jokes have become de rigeuer, especially in April. Here are seven to make your tax season a bit lighter.
A man piloting a hot air balloon discovers that he has wandered off course and is hopelessly lost. He descends to a lower altitude and locates a man on the ground. He lowers the balloon further and shouts, “Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?”
The man below says, “Yes, you are in a hot air balloon, about thirty feet above this field.”
“You must be an accountant,” says the balloonist.
“Yes I am” replies the man. “And how did you know that”
“Well” says the balloonist, “what you tell me is technically correct, but of no use to anyone.”
The man below says, “You must be a manager.”
“Well, yes I am” replies the balloonist, “how did you know?”
“Well”, says the accountant, “you don’t know where you are, or where you’re going, but you expect my immediate help. You’re in the same position you were before we met, but now it’s my fault.”
A patient was at her doctor’s office after undergoing a complete physical exam. The doctor said, “I have some very grave news for you. You only have six months to live.”
The patient asked, “Oh doctor, what should I do?”
The doctor replied, “Marry an accountant.”
“Will that make me live longer?” asked the patient.
“No,” said the doctor, “but it will SEEM longer.”
A guy in a bar leans over to the guy next to him and says, “Want to hear an accountant joke?”
The guy next to him replies, “Well, before you tell that joke, you should know that I’m 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, and I’m an accountant. And the guy sitting next to me is 6’2″ tall, 225 pounds, and he’s an accountant. Now, do you still want to tell that joke?”
The first guy says, “No. I don’t want to have to explain it two times.”
An accountant dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter, of course, is there, looking through the files and asking a few quick questions. “What sort of accountant were you?” “Oh, I was a CPA”, was the reply. “Name?” asks St. Pete. The accountant gives his name and St. Peter finds his file. “Oh yes, we’ve been expecting you. You’ve reached your allotted time span.” The accountant says, “I don’t get it. How can that be? I’m only 48 years old.” Pete looks again at the file and says, “Well, that’s impossible.” “Why do you say that?” asks the accountant. “Well,” says St. Peter, “we’ve been looking over your time sheets and the hours you’ve charged your clients. By our reckoning, you must be at least 93 years old!”
An accountant is walking along the beach and he finds an old lamp. He picks it up, rubs it and of course, a genie appears. The genie says “I am the most powerful genie that has ever lived. I can do great and wonderful things and I can grant you your dearest wish. But only one.” Well, this accountant is a deeply caring individual. He pulls out a map of the Mediterranean area and says, “My dearest wish is that you solve the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. The genie strokes his beard and looks worried. “Oh dear, ” he says , staring at the map. “That’s a tough one. Those people have been fighting for eons. No one has been able to come up with a successful solution. I’m not sure if I could do any better. You should probably make another wish.” The accountant is understanding and says, “All right. Listen, the IRS has asked me to re-design their 1040 form so that everyone can understand it. Can you help me with that?” There’s a long silence and finally the genie says, “Let’s have another look at that map.”
It’s Halloween and when the man answers his door, there’s a well-dressed young boy there wearing a suit and matching tie, who says “Trick or treat”. The man’s a bit confused so he asks the boy what he’s dressed up as. “I’m an IRS agent,” says the boy, and with that, he snatches 40% of the candy, and leaves without saying thank you.
The latest income-tax form has been greatly simplified. It consists of only three parts: 1. How much did you make last year? 2. How much do you have left? 3. Send amount listed in part 2.
