Huh? ... Ask TaxMama ... September 10, 2004

Ask TaxMama.Com
Tax Information With A Mother's Touch

Published by Eva Rosenberg, MBA, EA
Volume 6, Issue 275 September 10, 2004


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Huh?

Do you ever look at something, scratch your head and wonder .... what's wrong with this? You can't quite put your finger on it, but...it's just not right.

What do YOU do? Just shrug and forget it? Or ask someone?

Me? I usually go ask someone.

This is one of those traits where, in my experience, women differ from men. Women generally aren't as afraid to look dumb. We'll ask the stupid questions.

Ironically, when I started my accounting career, I was thrown into an accounting job for Health Industries that I just didn't really understand. (I was an accounting major at the time, but hadn't actually taken my first accounting class yet.)

The job required me to reconcile intercompany accounts. I didn't have a clue what intercompany accounts were. All I knew was that I was supposed to look for two entries (or combinations of entries) that added up to the same thing - but one set was positive and the other negative - and they were supposed to cancel each other out.

I was really nervous because I didn't really understand why or how these things fit together. And numbers would keep showing up that just didn't fit the pattern at all. And I really hated to bug my boss and ask her, but ... I just didn't know what to do with those numbers.

So, I asked. And wow! Talk about positive reinforcement! Each time I'd ask about one of those things, instead of being upset, she'd be jubilant. And I'd be paraded around the office as a hero. It turns out all those odd amounts were errors. They didn't belong in that account - and the job was to FIND those errors.

OK, so I was lucky. But, really, it turns out, in life, asking about anomalies usually WILL make you a hero.

It will certainly make you look smart - and it's a great way to attract positive attention and earn promotions.

Just, ask nicely, in case you're treading on someone's toes. The person you're asking, just might be the one who made the mistake.

[This came up because I asked someone about something that didn't make sense to me. It turned out to be a major typo. Just tax pros. And correction letters are going out.)

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