I was on a train a few weeks ago next to a woman reading a mystery novel. Involuntarily I've glanced at the page and my trained eye spotted the word "accountant." I couldn't help myself and read a couple of sentences: "Detective Jones came out of his office. He looked like an accountant. He asked me...."
The "accountant look" has become a social and cultural cliche long time ago. So, what do people have in mind when they say that? They mean Charles Grodin in "Dave" and Barry Kivel in "Bound." They mean Will Ferrell in "Stranger than Fiction" and Gene Wilder in "The Producers," etc. The numbers of cinematic portrayals available as references is not that large, but the principle idea is clear: they mean, bland, boring, meek.
And yes, it is unlikely for an accountant to have a blue mohawk or to strut around in red patent leather boots with 4" heels. An accountant is not expected to stand out even if he is clad in a $3,000 Italian suit.
But, let me tell you, very-very frequently that nondescript appearance is just a cover. Like Superman under his Clark Kent persona, an accountant may be hiding a secret identity, an ambition far beyond his outer image.
Charles Grodin's character cracks Presidential budget's problems overnight. Shelly in "Bound" steals $2 million from Mafia in attempt to incite his boss's beautiful wife to run away with him. Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) abandons his regimented life as an IRS agent to become a singer. Both Gene Wilder in "The Producers" and Jack Lemmon in the "Apartment" get the Girl.
Let's push the movies aside for a second. In real life the accounting profession is responsible for some fascinating alumni: J.P. Morgan, John Grisham, Bob Newhart, Thomas Pickard, Kenny G. (well, maybe we should keep that one in secret).
The front page of this blog Raison d'etre expresses my firm believe that CFOs and Controllers regardless of their appearances are the cerebral force behind adventurous entrepreneurs. It's just that our daredevil streaks are tamed by critical reasoning.
Let's come back to the movie references. Standards for women are different: here we have Cher in "Moonstruck" and Kirstie Alley in "Look Who's Talking" series.
So, it is Ok for a female accountant to be attractive. Well, maybe the fact that it is more difficult to stick an accounting label on women is the reason why they don't rise to the positions of the perceived "highest level of success" as frequently as men do. According to CFO.com, Women CFOs Holding Steady: to be exact, steadily under 9% among both Fortune 500 companies and mid-cap 1500. You see, they don't "look like accountants."
All I can say is that every time I am in the General Admission pit at a rock concert, the young people around me don't believe that I am a CFO.