Some careers attract people because they’re full of excitement. Being a skydiving instructor means action every single day, and being a firefighter requires bravery, quick thinking and a willingness to protect others. Meanwhile, other jobs are enticing because of how much income they’ll bring home or because they offer plenty of benefits. And some are simply sought after because they’re predictable and won't ever cause an adrenaline rush.
One field that’s often stereotyped as incredibly boring and monotonous is accounting. But this list might actually change your opinion on the job. Accountants of Reddit have been trying to beat the allegations that their work lives are mundane, so we’ve gathered their "wildest" tales down below. Enjoy reading through these stories that might just make you reconsider how you view accounting (or more likely, reinforce the views you already held), and be sure to upvote the ones that you find most amusing!
#1
Sometimes when I'm really hacked off with someone I sign my email with "Regards" instead of "Best Regards".
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46points
#2
Auditor here. Not my story, but a co-worker was out auditing some kind of grain farm. He was testing the existence of some kind of large tractor and there were supposed to be two of them. They show him the first one, he matches up the tractors info to the inventory sheet, all good. Then the client says the second tractor is down the road. They drive him down some back roads for awhile until they get to another tractor. He looks at the tractor's inventory number and its the exact same as the first one. They thought they could drive him around in circles while they move the tractor and pass it off as a second tractor.
Worst attempt to commit fraud ever.
Worst attempt to commit fraud ever.
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35points
#3
One time I ran out of narrow post-it flags and switched to wide flags. It was too much for me so I searched the floor for more narrow flags.
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32points
To learn more about this thread, we reached out to the Reddit user who started it in the first place, MetalWing. They were kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and reveal what sparked this conversation.
"The inspiration for the question comes from the fact that someone I know worked as an accountant at a bank," the author shared. "And while their job was fairly mundane, ultimately, the whole thing was a cover up for money laundering by the local mafia. It was still a normal legitimate bank, but with some... Side business. Most employees weren't involved and just performed their regular duties, but everybody knew what was going on."
The OP also revealed that the same person was also driven by a private chauffeur who was a former KGB agent. "One time, they were involved in a car chase. Another story is that I got locked in a bank vault with that person. Fun times."
#4
A few years back I was doing taxes for a client that were quite complex and I stayed up past midnight.
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31points
#5
I worked as a project accountant for an engineering/design firm for a while, when the job market was bad. I basically tracked the profits and losses of projects as they were implemented. The first thing I noticed was that the sales people would underbid projects and we would end up LOSING money to complete them.
What happened was that when I brought these cases up the sales people would issue the client a bunch of fake change orders for $5,000-$10,000 a piece and say that if they didn't pay them we would walk off the project. 90% of the time it worked, and these change orders ended up bringing the projects in the green. They never told me they were doing this, I just saw them coming through and they never really made sense so I always questioned them. Finally, the VP told me what was going on and to keep quiet about it.
Another thing was that I noticed a small amount of funding being transferred to other accounts. Like $100-$200 here and there. I couldn't track what those accounts were for, but I was able to compile an inventory of every instance that happened and it ended up summing up to around $10,000,000 over the course of about 20 years. I built a report, showed it to the owner of the company, and it was determined that the previous CFO was embezzling money into offshore accounts. I was mentioned in the local paper and the FBI arrested the previous CFO.
What happened was that when I brought these cases up the sales people would issue the client a bunch of fake change orders for $5,000-$10,000 a piece and say that if they didn't pay them we would walk off the project. 90% of the time it worked, and these change orders ended up bringing the projects in the green. They never told me they were doing this, I just saw them coming through and they never really made sense so I always questioned them. Finally, the VP told me what was going on and to keep quiet about it.
Another thing was that I noticed a small amount of funding being transferred to other accounts. Like $100-$200 here and there. I couldn't track what those accounts were for, but I was able to compile an inventory of every instance that happened and it ended up summing up to around $10,000,000 over the course of about 20 years. I built a report, showed it to the owner of the company, and it was determined that the previous CFO was embezzling money into offshore accounts. I was mentioned in the local paper and the FBI arrested the previous CFO.
31points
#6
I wrote off a bank difference of 34 pence once. Didn't even consult my boss.
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27points
We also asked the author if they believe that there are some unexpected aspects hidden in every job. "I definitely think that every job has a chance at being fun and wild - depending on the people working there," MetalWing says. "I'm sure that even those that work in very repetitive and tedious job, like packing and logistics, may have stories to tell."
"In fact, recently I heard (by way of a friend of a friend of a friend) that a logistics company lost a truck. Like... It wasn't stolen or crashed. They just... Lost it," the author explained. "Forgot where it went. Just hearing that is wild and mildly amusing to me. So whether it is the job itself, the tasks, the circumstances, or the people - [there's] always something that can turn boring into a dinner-time tale."
#8
One day I felt like going back to the old fashioned pen and paper route instead of excel and I got a papercut. I only cried for 20 minutes.
22points
#9
My grandfather used to work as the accountant for an upper class military prep school in upstate new York. A lot of the schools customers would pay their entire tuition in 20$ bills, so much so that he bought several bill counters to handle the amount. When he had to go and testify at several trials of said customers and they asked him if he ever found the payments suspicious, he said that these payments were the only ones consistently on time.
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22points
Finally, we asked the author what they thought of the replies to their post. "I found them quite amusing! From the tongue-in-cheek ones that poke fun at how boring the job really can be, to the more serious ones that show that there are in fact some interesting moments to be experienced in that profession," they told Bored Panda.
"I think the allegations of accounting life being mundane and boring actually have been beaten, simply because the people that answered had a sense of humor, and I cannot imagine that working with such people would be boring, even in accounting," MetalWing says.
#10
I tried my hand at accounting during an internship. It was a dire mistake that I won't be repeating. There was no talking, no music, nothing - I was afraid to chew my mid-morning snack for disturbing the silence.
Anyway, one day my colleague told me he was getting a new car that weekend and was obviously very excited. I was thinking, this must be the most exciting thing thats happened to him in months. So I asked: "ooo what are you getting?"
him: "It's the same car as I have now, just newer"
me: "...oh okay, well, what colour?"
him: "...the same colour"
HOW BORING DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO BUY THE SAME CAR, IN THE SAME COLOUR?!
TL;DR: Accountants are indeed mundane.
Anyway, one day my colleague told me he was getting a new car that weekend and was obviously very excited. I was thinking, this must be the most exciting thing thats happened to him in months. So I asked: "ooo what are you getting?"
him: "It's the same car as I have now, just newer"
me: "...oh okay, well, what colour?"
him: "...the same colour"
HOW BORING DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO BUY THE SAME CAR, IN THE SAME COLOUR?!
TL;DR: Accountants are indeed mundane.
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19points
#11
I worked for a major Toy Manufacturer for about 15 years. They have a write-off policy were claims (deductions/shortpayments) that were deducted from an invoice, that were under $100 could be instantly credited off their account. The reason is that the time it took to resolve the claim, did not exceed the amount of salary paid to employees to resolve it. So on any given day, deductions would roll in and just be auto-credited to clear their account.
However, I was noticing that one company was taking large amounts of deductions, in the hundreds, and they were all for $8.30, or $16.60, etc.. stacks and stack of deductions rolling thru. I asked my Boss if I could suspend the automatic write-off on the account so I could investigate what was happening. He said no. Thought it was a waste of time.
So I brought the work home. In about a month's time this company had deducted about 33,000 claims totaling $8.30, all coming from various their various warehouse locations all over the USA. The claims were legit, BUT, they had also taken a duplicate LARGE deduction at the Corporate level, for a cumulative country-wide recall of the same item. They just forgot to tell their warehouses that their Corporate team would be deducting the claim. So we received 33,000+ instances of double-dipping, all coming in under the wire. No one noticed but me.
I put my case together, gathered evidence, and sent the company a letter. They repaid back to us an approx. total of $275,000.00.
My boss said, "I'm not paying you overtime for that work."
Asleep yet? Accounting is boring, unless you get off on stuff like this. Which I do.
However, I was noticing that one company was taking large amounts of deductions, in the hundreds, and they were all for $8.30, or $16.60, etc.. stacks and stack of deductions rolling thru. I asked my Boss if I could suspend the automatic write-off on the account so I could investigate what was happening. He said no. Thought it was a waste of time.
So I brought the work home. In about a month's time this company had deducted about 33,000 claims totaling $8.30, all coming from various their various warehouse locations all over the USA. The claims were legit, BUT, they had also taken a duplicate LARGE deduction at the Corporate level, for a cumulative country-wide recall of the same item. They just forgot to tell their warehouses that their Corporate team would be deducting the claim. So we received 33,000+ instances of double-dipping, all coming in under the wire. No one noticed but me.
I put my case together, gathered evidence, and sent the company a letter. They repaid back to us an approx. total of $275,000.00.
My boss said, "I'm not paying you overtime for that work."
Asleep yet? Accounting is boring, unless you get off on stuff like this. Which I do.
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19points
#12
I'm a corporate accountant. Nothing crazy really happens but you do learn which of your coworkers are morons. Since I review financials, I also get to learn which managers don't understand how their bonus works.
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17points
#13
On my first day of work, all the newly hired staff accountants were given free meal vouchers so we could all sit in the cafeteria and get to know each other. Ya girl can't resist a jello cup topped with cool whip, so I picked one out of the fridge and sat down with another dude who happened to have picked up a jello cup too. Twinsies! We started chatting and as he dug into his jello cup, he said the cool whip tasted off and he pushed his aside. Then I dug into mine and I couldn't discern anything was off so I polished the whole cup off like a giddy fat kid.
Fast forward towards the end of the day, the cool whip gave me the worst bubble guts ever. I had no idea where the bathroom was on that floor, so just I sped walked/ran to the nearest door praying that it was a bathroom and I started swiping my access card against the key pad like crazy tryna bust into the bathroom.
The frantic *BEEP BEEP BEEP* of key pad caught the attention of a senior accountant, so she walked up behind me and asked me what I was doing. I froze and internally I was like "S**t this is not a good look," so I wiped the sweat off my forehead before I turned around and nonchalantly said "Oh darn I think haven't been granted access to the whole building yet. My card can't even swipe me into the bathroom. ¯_(ツ)_/¯" Then she started biting her lips so hard they turned white and she stifled a laugh.
I looked up at the door sign and it was either a telecom closet or electrical closet, I forget. My forehead and armpit turned into sprinklers and I didn't know what to say, so I awkwardly left her hanging and I hurriedly shuffled away looking for the bathroom.
Fast forward towards the end of the day, the cool whip gave me the worst bubble guts ever. I had no idea where the bathroom was on that floor, so just I sped walked/ran to the nearest door praying that it was a bathroom and I started swiping my access card against the key pad like crazy tryna bust into the bathroom.
The frantic *BEEP BEEP BEEP* of key pad caught the attention of a senior accountant, so she walked up behind me and asked me what I was doing. I froze and internally I was like "S**t this is not a good look," so I wiped the sweat off my forehead before I turned around and nonchalantly said "Oh darn I think haven't been granted access to the whole building yet. My card can't even swipe me into the bathroom. ¯_(ツ)_/¯" Then she started biting her lips so hard they turned white and she stifled a laugh.
I looked up at the door sign and it was either a telecom closet or electrical closet, I forget. My forehead and armpit turned into sprinklers and I didn't know what to say, so I awkwardly left her hanging and I hurriedly shuffled away looking for the bathroom.
17points
#14
Audit courthouses for a living. Actually have crazy stories!
-Bookkeeper stole 2 million dollars by stuffing money into a large suitcase under her desk. Apparently no one noticed she use to walk in and out with a large suitcase time to time
-Bookkeper stole money by stuffing her bra and dirty panties
-Probation officer sold a gun to his probationer (who was a prostitute) in exchange for "services". She sold the gun for d***s
-Noticed there were no evidence in the evidence room, found tons of guns stored on top of bookshelves.
-bags of money in the evidence room were ripped open with money missing. Weapons were left out with dried blood on it (specifically a weapon that was used to cut open prostitutes by some sick f**k)
-while auditing some cases, found my exs mug shot. (Best part).
-Bookkeeper stole 2 million dollars by stuffing money into a large suitcase under her desk. Apparently no one noticed she use to walk in and out with a large suitcase time to time
-Bookkeper stole money by stuffing her bra and dirty panties
-Probation officer sold a gun to his probationer (who was a prostitute) in exchange for "services". She sold the gun for d***s
-Noticed there were no evidence in the evidence room, found tons of guns stored on top of bookshelves.
-bags of money in the evidence room were ripped open with money missing. Weapons were left out with dried blood on it (specifically a weapon that was used to cut open prostitutes by some sick f**k)
-while auditing some cases, found my exs mug shot. (Best part).
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17points
#15
The most exciting day of my career was the day I had to replace tape, staples, and the paper in my adding machine. What a wild time .
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16points
#16
Not the normal type of accounting but...
I kind of fell into accounting for films. The films shoot for about a month and you do a bit before and after. No particular stories but let me tell you it's weird to go from a film that has a shoestring budget to a multi-million dollar one the next week. You go from sitting on set because you have so little work you're bored to working 17 hour days, not leaving your hotel room and arguing/shouting with A-listers on the phone.
I kind of fell into accounting for films. The films shoot for about a month and you do a bit before and after. No particular stories but let me tell you it's weird to go from a film that has a shoestring budget to a multi-million dollar one the next week. You go from sitting on set because you have so little work you're bored to working 17 hour days, not leaving your hotel room and arguing/shouting with A-listers on the phone.
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13points
#17
A friend who was an accountant related this story: Was doing the taxes for a farmer. Small family farm in the UK, been in the business for generations. All went well, yet as they were wrapping up, the farmer happened to mention 'the other money'. The conversation went like this:
Friend: "What other money"
Farmer "Well you know the money i earn after work"
Friend "What..?"
Turns out the farmer had the idea in his head that he only owed taxes on 8 hours a day that he worked on the farm. If he worked more than 8 hours a day, well that was his money and he didn't feel that he owed taxes on it, as it was done 'after work'.
AND HE HAD BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS.
My friend was like "oh god, no.."
They had to go back, calculate the taxes owed, hire a lawyer, meet with the authorities. It took ages to sort out.
Friend: "What other money"
Farmer "Well you know the money i earn after work"
Friend "What..?"
Turns out the farmer had the idea in his head that he only owed taxes on 8 hours a day that he worked on the farm. If he worked more than 8 hours a day, well that was his money and he didn't feel that he owed taxes on it, as it was done 'after work'.
AND HE HAD BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS.
My friend was like "oh god, no.."
They had to go back, calculate the taxes owed, hire a lawyer, meet with the authorities. It took ages to sort out.
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13points
#18
Maybe I chose the wrong job field. I'm tattooed with bright red hair, I'm buying a hellcat, I go on vacations and I enjoy an exciting life.
Oh well. I also enjoy filling out forms and order instead of chaos.
Oh well. I also enjoy filling out forms and order instead of chaos.
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13points
#19
I used to take a power nap in the handicapped bathroom stall during busy season. That's how tired I was. A manager before I was there would often work until 5:00 AM, go home and be back by 10:00.
The crazy stuff isn't so much from work, but the clients. We had a doctor who hadn't paid taxes in years that wanted to use his motorcycle as a business-use vehicle. The auditors once told a story of counting at least five shoe boxes full of cash.
The crazy stuff isn't so much from work, but the clients. We had a doctor who hadn't paid taxes in years that wanted to use his motorcycle as a business-use vehicle. The auditors once told a story of counting at least five shoe boxes full of cash.
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12points
#20
In the Office we sometimes compete who can carry the most Folders and files.
I always win.
I always win.
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12points