Accountants Should Not Discriminate

The author of “A Nice Niche—If You Minimize Liability Risk” ( JofA, Feb.01, page 49) warns practitioners to accept only the most ethical and upright potential clients. Similar advice is commonly given to auditors. The result is that the most experienced, resourceful accountants service the most solid, trusted clients. In contrast, less established or inexperienced practitioners provide services to unproven and unstable concerns.

From an experienced accountant’s point of view, making distinctions between clients may be considered wise, but I believe it could be detrimental to society as a whole. Almost any accountant can audit or provide other accounting services to the archdiocese. The public benefits when the most experienced accountants serve the questionable operators as well.

Neil D. Friedman, CPA
Boulder, Colorado