Anyone who follows the taxosphere knows there are several unenrolled, non-CPA, non-lawyer tax bloggers who hold themselves out as “professionals.”
Although these tax preparers may in some cases be quite competent, the fact is they are unregulated and not answerable to a direct regulatory authority or held to an objectively determined set of standards. This makes their description of themselves as “professionals” misleading.
Merriam-Webster defines profession as follows:
1 a : of, relating to, or characteristic of a profession b : engaged in one of the learned professions c (1) : characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession (2) : exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace.
Investor Words.Com defines profession as,
An occupation, especially one which requires an advanced education.
One of the more competent unlicensed tax bloggers has been preparing tax returns for his clients for more than 30 years. Some would claim his experience makes him a member of the fraternity of professional tax preparers. I disagree.
The truth is even if an unlicensed tax preparer were the most competent and accomplished tax preparer this side of the Canadian border, that fact alone would not confer on him the status of professional.
The reason for this is simple and obvious: No impartial third party regulatory body has determined his core competence.
To illustrate the absurdity of conferring professional status on anyone who practices an occupation for a certain number of years let’s imagine what would happen if that standard were applied to other professions:
- A man who has performed successful brain surgery for 30 years is a Professional Surgeon even though it is discovered that he never attended medical school and was never conferred a license to practice medicine.
- A man who successfully flew jets for a commercial airliner for 30 years is a Professional Pilot even though he has never demonstrated his competence to any aviation licensing authority.
- A woman who has competently prepared prescriptions and sold them to the public for 30 years is a Professional Pharmacist even though she never obtained a degree in pharmacy and does not have a license to fill prescriptions.
In each of these cases I have assumed that the individuals holding themselves out to be professionals performed their jobs as well as or better than their licensed counterparts. I likewise assume those unlicensed tax preparers who have blogs are above average tax preparers.
But the fact that some unlicensed preparers happen to be competent is irrelevant to the issue of whether or not they are members of a profession. After all, if self-asserted competence is insufficient to confer professional status on a surgeon, a pilot and a pharmacist, it should likewise be insufficient to confer professional status on a tax advisor.
And consider this: If it were true that competence alone were sufficient to convert an amateur into a professional we might as well send an open invitation to people to practice whatever occupation they so choose and allow them to gain sufficient on-the-job training so as to confer upon themselves professional status before they are caught by the regulatory authorities.
Of course this is absurd on its face and would result in the reduction of all professions to mere races against the clock.
It is true that unlike the unlicensed surgeon, pilot and pharmacist the unlicensed tax preparer is not breaking the law by preparing tax returns, but the mere fact that he has competently prepared tax returns in the past does not make him a member of a profession.
Professionals must obtain an advanced education of some sort and are required to conform to basic, objectively determined technical and ethical standards of conduct.
No matter how painful this fact is for the accomplished unlicensed tax preparer to accept, it is nevertheless a fact.
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18 responses so far ↓
1 Mary // Oct 16, 2009 at 8:26 am
I have worked with many terrific school teachers over the past two decades. Some of those terrific teachers whom I know and admire work in public schools and others work in private schools.
Public school teachers are all licensed by the state. Some of the private school teachers are not licensed by the state, but they have advanced degrees and many years of experience.
The public school teachers say that there was very little value in many of the methods courses required for their certification. I do not see that acquiring such certification would make the private school teachers I know any more “professional” than they already are.
In some states, certified teachers are legally allowed to teach high school subjects other than those in which they have been trained and certified.
So much for state certification and regulation as a guarantee of professionalism.
2 Peter // Oct 16, 2009 at 8:46 am
I have already conceded that there are non-professionals out there who would do a better job than a professional.
For example, I would hire a random 14 year old to handle my stock investments before I would hire the highly credentialled Bernard Madoff.
The term professional merely means you are required to meet some objectively determined, impartially enforced set of standards.
3 Mary // Oct 16, 2009 at 10:47 am
I believe the private school teachers I know and respect are not just “competent,” they are professionals.
The definition of “profession” that you cite above is “an occupation, especially one requiring advanced education.” They are pursuing an occupation, and they have an advanced education required by their employer, but it is not required by any government regulatory body.
There is nothing inherent in the definition of the word professional which requires a government certifying body. Most people would say that Yoyo Ma is a professional musician, despite the fact that he has no government certification.
Athletes and actors are considered “professional” if they can make enough money at their occupation to support themselves, but they are not licensed by any government body.
The word amateur is not necessarily something to sneeze at either. Historically, there were some superb amateur athletes. An amateur is someone who does something for the love of it, rather than for pay. Paid preparers do not qualify as “amateurs.”
There were “professions” long before there were government bodies regulating them. Personally, I’m very glad that the government regulates some professionals, including doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, and CPAs. I also think it’s important that public school teachers should be regulated, since school districts are spending taxpayer money. All those regulations can certainly stand improvement, but I have no argument that they are needed.
But I don’t think private school teachers need government regulation to earn the right to call themselves “professionals.”
Some professions need regulation, in my view. Others do not. For that matter, some amateurs need regulation.
I believe that all paid preparers should be regulated with annual testing at least as rigorous as what we “amateur” volunteer preparers undergo. Our work, whether paid or amateur, is directing billions of dollars of Treasury funds into the bank accounts of the taxpayers we assist.
4 Mary // Oct 16, 2009 at 11:03 am
Pilots, by the way, are another example where I think that both amateurs and professionals should be regulated. Someone piloting a plane can do as much damage to his passengers, to others in the air, and to people on the ground, whether he’s being paid for his work or not. The same is true for drivers. If you’re going to drive a “big rig” for the fun of it, or to move yourself across country, you ought to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the government that you are competent to handle that type of vehicle.
5 Dylan // Oct 16, 2009 at 11:20 am
I think your argument is a real stretch. Being a licensed attorney or CPA may extend you certain privileges and rights relating to matters of taxation that non-attorneys or non-CPAs don’t have, but is not a license to prepare taxes.
Based on the definitions you cite, a tax preparer that conforms to the technical or ethical standards of tax preparation is a professional, especially (but a requirement) if they have advanced education.
You’re entitled to your opinion about who is a professional and who is not. But as a professional attorney, do you really think you embody higher learning and objectivity by labeling your personal belief that is not founded on proof or certainty as fact?
And for the record, I am not a tax preparer, attorney or CPA.
6 Peter // Oct 16, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Mary,
I agree that one may act in a professional manner without being a member of a profession.
But what makes someone a member of a profession is that they are required to demonstrate at least some level of initial competency and are bound to certain, objectively determined standards.
7 Peter // Oct 16, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Dylan,
CPA’s at least have had to demonstrate that they are good with numbers and know basic accounting rules.
Lawyers have had to demonstrate that they have a basic understanding of settled principles of law and that they are capable of doing basic legal research.
Unlicensed preparers have not even been required to demonstrate that they can add the numbers 2 and 2 together.
For the word “profession” to have any meaning at all, it must operate to include some folks and exclude others.
I think I have drawn the line fairly as follows:
What part of this definition offends you?
8 Dylan // Oct 16, 2009 at 12:45 pm
No par of it offends me; is actually fairly agreeable. It’s the conclusions you draw from it that are at issue.
First, you “have drawn the line,” yet state, “it is nevertheless a fact.”
Second, your definition says, “has been required.” Required by who? And “held to a set of objectively determined technical and ethical standards.” Held by who? You seem to conclude that when it comes to preparing a tax return, only a state bar or board of accountancy is able to make a determination.
Aren’t tax preparers (the ones that “act in a professional manner”) required to obtain a certain level of education, enough to perform their duties?
held to a set of objectively determined technical and ethical standards, at least buy those paying them to prepare their taxes?
Ones that cant add 2+2 are not going to be professionals along with ones that don’t have the required knowledge and skills. Those people are clearly excluded.
9 Professionalism: The Cafone’s Rebuttal // Oct 16, 2009 at 1:59 pm
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10 Peter // Oct 16, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Dylan,
The only conclusion I draw is that some folks are members of professions and others are not and that is wrong to say you are a member of a profession if you are not required to meet any objective, third-party determined and enforced, conditions of entry and standards of conduct.
Right now anyone over the age of 18, regardless of his educational background, IQ, or criminal record can prepare tax returns for a fee.
There simply are no standards and no barriers to entry for unlicensed preparers.
I am a licensed tax preparer because the IRS accepts my CPA and law license as sufficent evidence of my basic competency.
11 Peter // Oct 16, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Mary,
I suppose you could say that Yo Yo Ma is a professional musician in that he gets paid for playing the Cello, but he isn’t a member of a profession in the sense that we are talking about here because he’s an artist and art is subjective.
The better analogy is someone who practices medicine for a fee without a license. We would never call him a professional.
12 Mary // Oct 16, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I still maintain that there were “professions” long before there was any government regulating entry into those professions.
Not all professions require government regulation. The ministry is a profession, and I would strenuously object to any notion that the government should regulate that. The word profession derives from the word “to profess,” which means to declare or to take a vow, and it does not necessarily denote doing so in a way that is acceptable to an external objective government body.
Many professions should be regulated, as should be many amateurs, as I have said, but a person who happens to work in an occupation which is not regulated at a particular point in time is not, ispo facto, a non-professional.
The same is also true in reverse. I might, just for the heck of it, decide to sit for the Enrolled Agent exam some day, but passing it won’t make me a professional tax preparer, because I have no plans to charge anyone for my services.
13 Dylan // Oct 16, 2009 at 3:00 pm
The IRS accepts your CPA and law license as sufficent evidence of your basic competency for activities above and beyond preparing tax returns for a fee because, as you acknowledge, anyone over the age of 18, regardless of his educational background, IQ, or criminal record can prepare tax returns for a fee.
It sounds like you are trying to make the case that in order to be a “professional,” you must be subject to regulation in the performance of your occupation by an exclusive license granting authority.
I disagree.
I’m not trying to chance your opinion, just challenging the notion that your conclusion is more than just an opinion.
14 Peter // Oct 16, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Dylan,
You are confusing the word “professional” with the word profession.
I have already said that many unlicensed preparers conduct themselves more professionally than many licensed ones.
But that’s not the point.
The phrase “member of a profession” assumes the existence of some exclusive fraternity of individuals who have met predetermined admission standards.
And of course it’s my opinion. Who else’s opinion would it be?
15 Peter // Oct 16, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Mary,
I think you’re confusing the words profession and professionalism.
I agree anyone can conduct themselves in a professional manner, but only those who meet certain predefined standards can belong to a profession.
And yes, I am saying that in order to be a member of a profession you must be subject to some independent, recognized regulatory regime.
The mere fact that you have done something for a certain length of time does not make you a member of a profession.
16 Mary // Oct 16, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Here is the complete unabridged definition of profession from Merriam-Webster’s Third New International Dictionary:
“Main Entry: pro·fes·sion
Etymology: Middle English professioun, from Anglo-French profession, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin profession-, professio, from Latin, public declaration, from profitēri
Date: 13th century
1 : the act of taking the vows of a religious community
2 : an act of openly declaring or publicly claiming a belief, faith, or opinion : protestation
3 : an avowed religious faith
4 a : a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation b : a principal calling, vocation, or employment c : the whole body of persons engaged in a calling”
There is absolutely nothing in the definition which requires validation by an independent, recognized regulatory regime. Some professions have such validation; others do not.
I consider myself to be in the economics profession. I have a PhD in economics, am paid for using my professional expertise in economics, and belong to professional societies in economics. I believe my professional credentials would stand up to scrutiny in a court proceeding, even though I am not subject to any “independent, regulatory regime.” It is also worthy of note that I have taught aspiring lawyers and accountants courses that counted toward obtaining THEIR professional credentials, despite not having any government license myself.
17 Mary // Oct 16, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Lest anyone misinterpret, I should hasten to point out that I certainly don’t believe that a standing as a professional economist, even with public finance expertise, is a sufficient credential to prepare tax returns.
I feel strongly that all tax preparers, whether professionals or amateurs, ought to be subject to annual testing at least as rigorous as that required of me as a VITA volunteer. If a CPA or lawyer wants to volunteer at my VITA site, I will welcome him or her with open arms, but IRS rules still dictate that he or she must take the certification test each and every year.
18 “Professionalism: A Love Story” (Soon to be a Major Motion Picture) // Oct 21, 2009 at 12:24 am
[...] Who is a Professional? [...]
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