As accountants, we’re all familiar with investments and assets, looking for options that promise the highest returns. With people looking to us for advice, we typically do not take investing lightly.

Whether it’s investment like mutual funds, Treasury bonds, or real estate, besides a Certified Financial Planner, the public often turns to us, their accountant, for investment advice.  We typically offer them suggestions that make the most sense based on the tax law and their short and long-term goals.

Depending on your area of expertise, you probably have certain financial philosophies and ideas about asset management, suggesting certain investments that will appreciate over time.  Since I live 30 minutes outside of Manhattan, my firm tends to work with various real estate investors, helping them not only invest wisely, but also take advantage of as many tax law benefits as possible.

As accountants, we also invest in things like technology, software, and programs that make the job of being an accountant as easy as possible.  We attend conferences, take potential connections or clients out to dinner, and put money into 529 Plans for our children’s education.

We pay down our mortgages, buy cars, and try to go on at least one vacation a year.  We pay for health insurance, donate to our favorite charities, and try to be generous when giving gifts to loved ones.

The choices we make about how we invest our money, however, extends beyond tangible possessions and monetary gains. No matter what your investment philosophy is, there’s one particular asset that consistently proves to be the key to long lasting success for accountants: our brain. 

Here’s the thing: the best investment for accountants, and really for anyone who wants to succeed in their career, isn’t buying more things. It’s about investing in understanding and managing your brain better.

Stay tuned because today I’m going to explain why investing in your accountant brain is the best investment you can make, with the greatest ROI.  My suggestion – come with an open mind because by the end you might be surprised by what you learn.

The Investment With The Greatest ROI

As accountants, we’ve all learned the concept of appreciation and depreciation.  We learned in school that there are various reporting requirements based on the type of asset on the Balance Sheet and whether it’s appreciable or depreciable.

For example, there are assets like a shiny new car that, the minute you roll it out of the dealership, it’s not as valuable as it was a few minutes ago when you bought it. The asset has depreciated without us doing anything.  

Then there are assets that become more valuable the longer you hold onto them – your home is a classic example. Over the years, it has most likely appreciated and is hopefully worth more than you paid for it.  

But I want to introduce you to the idea that although your brain isn’t something you can purchase or physically touch, the fact is that it’s not only your most valuable asset, it becomes even more valuable as you invest in it.

Here’s the thing – if you’re going to spend your hard-earned money on something that will give you the greatest ROI, it’s a no-brainer (pun intended) choice to invest in your brain.  As I tell my coaching clients, you have the best piece of machinery on the planet – your brain – so you might as well understand how to manage it better.  

I believe one of the most important reasons for investing in your brain is that it makes it easier to make informed choices. I’ve discussed the two parts of your brain on previous episodes of the podcast, but when you learn how to use your higher, executive functioning part of your brain more often, you make better decisions, you have the ability to eliminate stress and overwhelm, you’re better able to manage your time, and you can easily achieve your goals, to name just a few.  

When you invest in your brain, you become ready to tackle new challenges and make it possible to have an easier, more sustainable accounting career. If you really think about it, this isn’t just an investment; it’s a strategic move to future-proof your career.  

As accountants, we’ve all been taught the concept of compounding interest.  Well, your brain operates on a similar principle. The more you invest in it, the more it appreciates over time. 

So, as you contemplate where to allocate your money for the greatest ROI this year, consider the most reliable and long lasting investment – your brain. This isn’t merely about being book-smart; it’s about becoming a Smarter Accountant by understanding how to manage your brain.  

Here’s what I tell my coaching clients all the time – you’re bringing your brain with you, no matter what you do in your accounting career.  If you don’t understand how to manage it, you’re wasting your most valuable asset.

Realizing the Returns

If you’ve ever thought about your accounting career and said to yourself, “I don’t know how much longer I can do this,” then investing in learning how to manage your brain will be a game changer.  Consider the following:

• If you knew how to eliminate stress and overwhelm so that you could easily handle deadlines, how would you stand out from the crowd of burned-out accountants?
• If you had self-confidence and stopped using the number of hours you work as a sign of your value, what else would make you more valuable?
• If you had incredible time management, how much more could you get done in less time than everyone else?
• If you could be more productive, how would you excel?
• If you stopped comparing yourself to others and believing you fall short, what opportunities would you go after?
• If you could see feedback as information instead of criticism, how could you use that feedback to grow in your career?
• If you focused on ways to continue adding value, how much money do you think would be possible to make, and how much more would someone be willing to pay for your value?
• If you understood how to have good relationships with everyone and the importance of emotional adulthood, how much better would you be at managing people? 
• If you knew how to stop having work affect your health, how would you show up differently than everyone else?
• If self-doubt and imposter syndrome were no longer an issue, what goals would you go after?
• If you knew how to set better boundaries, how much more effective would you be at your job?
• If you felt happier, how would you stand out from the crowd?

When I teach my coaching clients how to manage their brain, they’re reinvesting in themselves.  When they become a Smarter Accountant, it’s not a one-time return; it’s a continuous growth in the value of their most important asset.   

Examples Of Accountants Who Made The Investment 

Now, I want to share how investing in your brain can help with various challenges and uncertainties.

One of my clients was a tax accountant.  She was becoming easily overwhelmed and not able to focus the way she wanted to.

By becoming a Smarter Accountant, learning how to manage her brain, she was able to keep her head above water.  When confronted with a major tax overhaul, she was not only prepared but also became a valuable resource within her firm. 

Since she learned how to manage stress and overwhelm, she became not only a trusted advisor to her clients, but an example to everyone else in the firm who was continuing to do things the old way – normalizing stress and overwhelm instead of understanding how to manage your brain to eliminate it.

Another client was a CFO and was facing the challenges of an economic downturn. He was struggling with managing everything on his plate and was feeling immense pressure.

By investing in his brain and becoming a Smarter Accountant, he was able to assess the financial health of the business and come up with a plan that wasn’t possible when he was feeling pressure. 

His investment in learning how to manage his brain allowed him to provide invaluable insights, guiding his company through tough economic times. Because he was able to demonstrate how to stay calm and focused no matter what, the Board shared how impressed they were.

Another client was an ambitious CPA who was dealing with setbacks in her career growth. She was working for a mid-sized firm and wanted to move up to senior manager, eventually looking towards partner status.

Instead of continuing to struggle, she decided to work with me to learn how to be the best leader she could be.  She addressed her issues with stress, people-pleasing, and how to effectively manage others.

When given the opportunity to lead a team through organizational changes, her investment in brain management and leadership skills allowed her to handle the situation seamlessly.  She is now on the partner track but with a managed brain to help guide her.

These are just a few of the stories of how clients have navigated challenges by investing in their brain.  The common theme is clear – when you learn how to manage your brain, you continue to increase the value of your most valuable asset.

Becoming a Smarter Accountant: Strategies For Making The Investment With The Greatest ROI

Now that I’ve explained how important investing in your brain is, I want to share specific strategies that you can use to have an easier, more sustainable accounting career.

Strategy 1: Manage Stress and Overwhelm Better

Let’s be honest, in the world of accounting, it’s far too easy to fall into the trap of thinking stress and overwhelm are just part of the job description. After all, when we’re surrounded by other accountants who are equally stressed and overwhelmed, it’s easy to think it’s just how things are. 

But have you stopped to consider what this assumption is costing you?

As I often remind my coaching clients, trying to tackle accounting work when you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed is like attempting to drive a car with the parking brake on while trying to drive 100 mph—it doesn’t work.

When you invest in learning how to manage your brain, you’ll also learn how to reduce and even eliminate stress and overwhelm.

Strategy 2: Effective Time Management

In the fast-paced world of accounting, effective time management is a critical skill that, in my experience, is not taught correctly.  We’re typically given work to do, possibly a budgeted amount of time to do it in, but not taught how to actually manage our time.

That’s why it’s easy to fall into the trap of relying solely on a never-ending to-do list to manage our workload. With countless tasks and deadlines looming, it might seem like the most practical solution. 

With the combination of brain management and effective time management, you’ll be able to get more done in less time, end procrastination, effectively handle interruptions, and feel much more in control of your time.

Strategy 3: Prioritizing The Right Things

As accountants, we often have a lot to get done, and not enough time to get it done.  That’s where prioritizing is indispensable. 

The problem is that we find ourselves focusing on the wrong things, or have no idea what to do next to get our work done efficiently.

A Smarter Accountant learns how sneaky our brain is when it comes to things that seem urgent.  In fact, they learn that their brain is wired to think everything is urgent, but they also learn how to override that default setting and prioritize in the most effective way possible.  

Brain management makes it possible to prioritize the right things.

Strategy 4: Improving Your Self-Confidence

As accountants, even though we’re smart people doing smart things, we are often surrounded by other smart people, which can sometimes lead to feelings of self-doubt or imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome, the belief that we’ll be exposed as a fraud, despite evidence of our competence, is a very common issue for accountants.

The problem is that many of us ignore these feelings, hoping they will go away on their own, or worse, we try to push through them without addressing the root cause.

An investment in brain management is an investment in lasting self-confidence and being able to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, opening yourself up to more possibilities.

Strategy 5: Setting and Sticking to Boundaries

As accountants, we often find ourselves juggling many responsibilities and deadlines, making it important to establish clear boundaries to protect our time and well-being. However, many of us struggle with setting and sticking to boundaries, often leading to burnout and resentment.

The problem is that without boundaries, we risk overextending ourselves, sacrificing our personal time, and ultimately, affecting our health and happiness.

If you feel guilty or anxious when you try to set boundaries or say “no” to others, brain management is your secret weapon.

Here’s the thing: investing in brain management makes it possible for you to eliminate stress and overwhelm, stop working so many hours, learn how to better manage your time, set and follow through with boundaries, develop leadership skills, and have a sustainable accounting career.  I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a pretty great ROI!

Well, that’s what I have for you.  Thank you for joining me as I discussed the investment with the greatest ROI for accountants.  I hope you’ve gained valuable insights and practical tools.

If you are struggling with any aspect of being an accountant, you can simply go to www.thesmarteraccountant.com/calendar and book a free session with me.

You can share what you’re struggling with and I’ll explain what it means to become a Smarter Accountant.

That’s what I have for you, but make sure you check back each week as I help you go from being a stressed accountant to a Smarter Accountant.

Make sure you go to www.thesmarteraccountant.com and take The Smarter Accountant Quiz. You’re going to want to know if you’ve been underutilizing your accountant brain so that you have a starting point for becoming a Smarter Accountant.

Also, I would appreciate it if you could get the word out to other accountants about this podcast.  The more accountants find out about it, the more we can begin to change the narrative in the accounting profession.

The truth is that you’re already smart, but this podcast will show you how to be smarter.