Alyzabeth Smith on the Joy of Tax

Part of our Joy of Tax series, where we sit down with the CPAs of Gelt to talk about what makes this work matter.

Liz Smith's path into tax started, by her own admission, as a boring one. "I was taking a very pragmatic approach. I was thinking, what's going to be something that won't be an issue finding a job down the road, something I'll be able to wake up to every day and still enjoy my life."

What she found was something she never expected. "It turned out that taxes ended up being a way to see behind the scenes in so many different businesses. That turned out to be really exciting. Now I'm able to look at the world in a whole new light." Fourteen years a CPA, she's still looking.

Watch the clip below for the Joy of Tax in her own words, then read on.

The creative accountant

People are usually surprised to learn what she does. "I'm very creative. I was a writer for a long time, and that's where people expected my career to go."

But the creativity didn't get left behind. It found a home in the work. "The communication styles, the ability to transfer complex ideas to people and do it in a way that's casual and understandable, those skills really came into play."

The moment it pays off

Ask Liz what makes the job genuinely satisfying, and it's not the returns. It's the people on the other side of them.

"The absolute best thing about compliance and advisory services is getting to the point where people have achieved their goal, where they're so thankful and grateful to you for walking them through the process, holding their hand step by step," she says. "Achieving something they saw as a blurry vision at first, and seeing that come to fruition. That's very rewarding."

Why Gelt

On how Gelt compares to where she's worked before, Liz doesn't hedge. "Gelt is incomparable. There's no comparison."

What sets it apart, she says, is restlessness in the best sense. "It's the innovative style, the fact that we're always trying new things, wanting to stay ahead of the curve, following trends and industries so we can help clients as they progress and let their businesses expand."

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A half-million-dollar second look

Most business owners, Liz points out, are in business to do business, not to sweat the compliance details. One client learned how much that can cost.

They came to Gelt with tax questions, but really they weren't sure their books were being kept properly. Like many small businesses, they'd handed bookkeeping to a family friend with little oversight, someone helping out who didn't know all the details of how things should be recorded. So they asked Gelt to take a pass at the books.

The pass turned up a serious problem: their payroll had been recorded incorrectly. After Gelt revised the books and amended the returns, the client walked away with a refund of nearly half a million dollars over a couple of years.

"Needless to say, they were pretty loyal after that," Liz says. "Anytime you can come to a new firm and they save you half a million dollars, the gratitude runs pretty deep."

Frequently Asked Questions

Can incorrect bookkeeping cause you to overpay taxes?
Yes. When the books are wrong, the returns built on them are wrong too. In one case, a business owner's payroll had been recorded incorrectly by a well-meaning family friend. After Gelt revised the books and amended the returns, the client recovered nearly half a million dollars over a couple of years.

Should I have a second set of eyes on my books and prior returns?
Often, yes. Many owners hand off bookkeeping with little oversight and never have it checked. A review of your books and prior-year returns can surface errors and missed opportunities while they're still correctable.

Want a second look at your books? Talk to a Gelt CPA.