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by Stephen Parezo

Mumtaz (Taz) Hussain

January 19, 2006—Mumtaz (Taz) Hussain brings an international presence to his accounting practice in the Pacific Northwest. After working in corporate accounting on several continents, he now counsels small business clients as a Fiducial franchisee in Vancouver, WA.

Having earned his professional credentials from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, the largest professional accountancy body in Europe, Hussain noted that the certification process in becoming a chartered accountant is very similar to that of becoming a CPA in the U.S. because it involves the same professional qualifications.

Generally, chartered accountants work for a firm that provides fee earning advisory and management services to a variety of clients/businesses, primarily in the industrial, commercial and charitable sectors. They audit the accounts of other organizations and can also be involved in additional areas of financial advice such as tax.

Hussain gained valuable experience working as a financial manager in the Middle East for Fortune 100 companies. He served as a controller in his company’s regional headquarters in Riyadh, the capital city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“They put me through a variety of experiences,” said Hussain who has spent 38 years in the accounting field. “I worked for large companies and small companies, too.”

Accounting-wise, he says that the main difference between working in the Middle East and elsewhere is the lack of no strict laws governing accounting there.

“In the British Isles accounting was not as highly technical as it is in the U.S.,” he said. “It was very conservative and non-changing.”

Clients must be willing to listen

Hussain also found that accounting in Great Britain also lagged behind when it came to employing technological innovations. Back when he began his career in the late 1960s, he remembers data still being written by hand onto ledgers.

Eventually Hussain came to the U.S. where he bought a franchise 11 years ago in Dallas, TX. He moved his business to the Washington State in 2001 after his wife experienced health problems in the hot Texas climate. Since coming to Vancouver, he has built a modest practice that’s comprised mostly of small business owners.

Over the years, Hussain has had his fair share of client success stories. Always up front with those he’s advising, he sometimes finds that he has to repeat his messages several times before it gets through. Those clients that failed to follow his timely advice have gotten themselves into some difficult circumstances.

Take, for example, the case of a remodeling contractor who had a number of employees working for him. Hussain advised the contractor that the payroll deductions he collected from his workers’ salaries needed to be paid to the Internal Revenue Service but the contractor chose instead to use the money as working capital.

“The position of the taxpayer is a custodian and the money was not his,” Hussain said.

He kept telling the contractor that his actions were “indefensible” but the contractor persisted. It wasn’t until the IRS planned to seize the contractors’ business that the client realized the gravity of the situation. The client pleaded with Hussain to intercede on his behalf which resulted in setting up a payment installment program with the IRS which stopped any plans to impound the contractor’s property. It demonstrated that solutions can usually be achieved when you go through the proper channels.

“I have always found that if you are upfront with the IRS then they are willing to listen,” Hussain said. He uses this story as a lesson in what not to do for other clients that are at risk.

Happier now than in corporate world

Hussain says he felt good about the results he achieved since he did what he had to do. But he told the contractor that the whole mess surfaced because “you didn’t do what you were supposed to do.”

On his way to work, Hussain drives by horses and cows in nearby pastures. The area is still very rural but the landscape is changing.

Vancouver’s environs used to be known as a major logging region yet the area’s economic outlook these days seems to hinge more on high-tech companies coming in, attracting businesses and opening up industrial parks.

“Real estate is booming,” he said.

Most of his clients have been receptive to his advice but it took some getting used to dealing with companies making only a few thousand each year after working for those with $10 million in revenues.

“It was an adjustment but I am happier here than I was in the corporate world,” Hussain said. He likes to tell his clients that “if I was a taxi driver I would not drop you in the middle of the road because you only have $10.”

Stephen Parezo is the Media Manager for Fiducial.

Whatever your small business needs, your Fiducial tax and financial professional can analyze your situation and recommend an appropriate action plan. To locate a Fiducial office nearest you on fiducial.com, see the Zip Code Locator located in the upper right hand corner of the page. Do you have a particular topic that we should be writing about that can help your business? Please send your suggestions to: stephen.parezo@fiducial.com.

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