The weekly TGCvocations column asks practitioners about their jobs and how they integrate their faith and work. Interviews are condensed.
Brent Wallace is a Certified Public Accountant in Little Rock, Arkansas. He specializes in small business and personal tax consultation and preparation. Brent graduated from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Arkansas. Prior to starting his accounting firm in 2005, Brent was an auditor for 18 years with the Arkansas Division of Legislative Audit. He has spoken nationwide on asset protection, tax planning, and tax reduction strategies for numerous organizations, including Trump University and the Wealth Structuring Institute. Brent and his wife, Kelly, have been married for 27 years and have 3 kids.
How do you describe your work?
I’m a Certified Public Accountant in private practice, focusing on small business, individual taxes, and bookkeeping services. Since I’m the only accountant at my firm, though, I’m more like a sole proprietor. Having a small practice gives me much more one-on-one interaction with clients than if worked at a larger firm.
As an image-bearer of God, how does your work reflect some aspect of God’s work?
The service I provide is necessary for all walks of life. Everyone has to fill out a tax return. I provide a required service for all demographics. As an accountant, I like logic and order. So I enjoy converting the complex situations of my clients into a completed tax return.
How does your work give you a unique vantage point into the brokenness of the world?
People tend to try to cheat on their taxes. Sometimes I’ll finish a return for clients, and they think they’re entitled to a bigger refund than they really are. Someone may suddenly “remember” additional charitable contributions or miles they drove for work in order to increase their refund. I have to balance these requests with the IRS code and my personal convictions. My name is on the return. I’ve actually lost clients because I won’t compromise my conviction or the rules of the IRS for their requests. While I may never get audited in this life, the biggest audit for me comes at the end of my life when I stand before the Lord and give an account for how I worked for his glory.
Jesus commands us to “love our neighbors as ourselves.” How does your work function as an opportunity to love and serve others?
When a client receives an IRS letter telling him he owes more money than he thought, he often feels nervous, and I try to remove some of that nervousness by remedying the situation. Of course, I can’t take away the IRS, but I try to be compassionate through that process. I also have a lot of clients who can’t afford tax services, so I will do whatever I can to help them with their taxes regardless of their ability to pay. God doesn’t allow me to judge a person’s situation, so I try to think about the individual I’m helping regardless of how they are coming to me for my services.
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