--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I talked to one accountant, a very nice…" description: "\"I talked to one accountant, a very nice fellow who I would have been glad to have his family marry into mine. He said, \"What these other accounting fir..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/charlie-munger-458_accountants_i-talked-to-one-accountant-a-very-nice-f_2980092.jpg" --- # I talked to one accountant, a very nice fellow who I would… ![“I talked to one accountant, a very nice fellow who I would have been glad to have his family marry into mine. He said, "What these other accounting firms have done is very unethical. The [tax avoidance scheme] works best if it's not found out [by the IRS], so we only give it to our best clients…” quote by Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/charlie-munger-458_accountants_i-talked-to-one-accountant-a-very-nice-f_2980092.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/charlie-munger-458_accountants_i-talked-to-one-accountant-a-very-nice-f_2980092.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/charlie-munger-458_accountants_i-talked-to-one-accountant-a-very-nice-f_2980092.jpg) > “I talked to one accountant, a very nice fellow who I would have been glad to have his family marry into mine. He said, "What these other accounting firms have done is very unethical. The \[tax avoidance scheme\] works best if it's not found out \[by the IRS\], so we only give it to our best clients, not the rest, so it's unlikely to be discovered. So my firm is better than the others." \[Laughter\] I'm not kidding. And he was a perfectly nice man. People just follow the crowd...Their mind just drifts off in a ghastly way.” [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An accountant admits unethical tax practices, rationalizing them as exclusive to elite clients **In simple terms:** Some professionals justify wrongdoing by claiming exclusivity Key Takeaway Beware of rationalizations that hide unethical behavior Themes ethics corporate culture tax law Mood critical cautious Type ethical professional When to use this quote - Accounting firms - tax avoidance schemes - client selection - regulatory oversight Key Concepts Moral hazard groupthink Questions to Reflect On - What pressures lead to unethical rationalization? - How can firms enforce ethical standards? A Different Perspective Such justifications erode trust and legal compliance ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accountants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accountants/) [Accounting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounting/) [Avoidance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoidance/) [Best Irs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-irs-4630915/) [Clients](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clients/) [Crowds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowds/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Fellows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellows/) [Firm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firm/) [Firms Unethical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firms-unethical-4630913/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Ghastly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghastly/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Glad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glad/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Irs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irs/) [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mines/) [Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice/) [Nice man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice-man/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Schemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schemes/) [Talked Accountant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talked-accountant-4630912/) [Tax Avoidance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tax-avoidance-230800/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) [Unethical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unethical/) [Unethical Tax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unethical-tax-4630914/) [Unlikely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlikely/) [Very nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very-nice/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Unmarried couples should get married - that's an excellent tax avoidance measure, if a bit drastic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-whiting/unmarried-couples-should-get-married-that-s-an-excellent-tax/) [John Whiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-whiting/) > [The difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is the thickness of a prison wall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-healey/the-difference-between-tax-avoidance-and-tax-evasion-is-the-thickness/) [Denis Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-healey/) > [Crucially, African governments must ensure they prioritize the eradication of tax evasion and tax avoidance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-byanyima/crucially-african-governments-must-ensure-they-prioritize-the/) [Winnie Byanyima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-byanyima/) > [Tax avoidance and evasion by the rich undermine democracy by starving social programs and public services. They also send a message to ordinary citizens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagmeet-singh/tax-avoidance-and-evasion-by-the-rich-undermine-democracy-by-starving/) [Jagmeet Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jagmeet-singh/) > [If something looks like a tax avoidance scheme, then that's probably what it is - and there's lots of clever people working day and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rinder/if-something-looks-like-a-tax-avoidance-scheme-then-that-s-probably/) [Robert Rinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rinder/) > [The present tax codes inhibit the mobility and formation of capital, add complexities and inequities which undermine the morale of the taxpayer, and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-present-tax-codes-inhibit-the-mobility-and-formation-of-capital/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [Almost no one raises the real issue of tax avoidance, right? And of the rich just not paying their fair share.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/almost-no-one-raises-the-real-issue-of-tax-avoidance-right-and-of-the/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Local tax increases can cause high-net-worth individuals to move, tax experts said; tax avoidance and tax arbitrage are multitrillion-dollar affairs, and rich people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/local-tax-increases-can-cause-high-net-worth-individuals-to-move-tax/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [“Libertarianism elevated tax avoidance into a principled crusade.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/libertarianism-elevated-tax-avoidance-into-a-principled-crusade/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [Our international banking system allows banks to accept funds gained from tax evasion and other crimes and thereby facilitates and encourages embezzlement by public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/our-international-banking-system-allows-banks-to-accept-funds-gained/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [A large part of the income of the 'Big 5' accountancy and consultancy firms derives from tax avoidance schemes which flourish in the name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prashant-bhushan/a-large-part-of-the-income-of-the-big-5-accountancy-and-consultancy/) [Prashant Bhushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prashant-bhushan/) > [“I live in Alexandria, Virginia. Near the Supreme Court chambers is a toll bridge across the Potomac. When in a rush, I pay the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-dembitz-brandeis/i-live-in-alexandria-virginia-near-the-supreme-court-chambers-is-a/) [Louis Dembitz Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-dembitz-brandeis/) > [I am not in favour of the takeover of excellent and strategically important British companies by struggling foreign firms whose actions are fuelled by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sainsbury-baron-sainsbury-of-turville/i-am-not-in-favour-of-the-takeover-of-excellent-and-strategically/) [David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sainsbury-baron-sainsbury-of-turville/) > [Labour under Jeremy Corbyn is not afraid to take on the very wealthiest, committing to the most comprehensive anti-tax avoidance plan ever presented by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-lewis/labour-under-jeremy-corbyn-is-not-afraid-to-take-on-the-very/) [Clive Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-lewis/) > [If the tax loop holes that allow tax avoidance were shut down, it would go some way to sorting out our finances, would it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/if-the-tax-loop-holes-that-allow-tax-avoidance-were-shut-down-it/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) ## More by Charlie Munger > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/acquire-worldly-wisdom-and-adjust-your-behavior-accordingly-if-your/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I think time and time again, in reality, psychological notions and economic notions interplay, and the man who doesn't understand both is a damned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-think-time-and-time-again-in-reality-psychological-notions-and/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-have-what-i-call-an-iron-prescription-that-helps-me-keep-sane-when/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [The tax code gives you an enormous advantage if you can find some things you can just sit with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-tax-code-gives-you-an-enormous-advantage-if-you-can-find-some/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [The great lesson in microeconomics is to discriminate between when technology is going to help you and when it's going to kill you. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-great-lesson-in-microeconomics-is-to-discriminate-between-when/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Some years ago one oil company bought a fertilizer company, and every other major oil company practically ran out and bought a fertilizer company.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/some-years-ago-one-oil-company-bought-a-fertilizer-company-and-every/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [ They \[Mc Donalds\] take people and give them a first job, which enables them to get a second job. They do a very good… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/they-mc-donalds-take-people-and-give-them-a-first-job-which-enables/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [What good is envy? It’s the one sin you can’t have any fun at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/what-good-is-envy-it-s-the-one-sin-you-can-t-have-any-fun-at/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [We believe that almost all really good investment records will involve relatively little diversification. The basic idea that it was hard to find good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/we-believe-that-almost-all-really-good-investment-records-will/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [It is way less certain to be a wonderful business in the future. The threat is alternative mediums of information. Every newspaper is scrambling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-is-way-less-certain-to-be-a-wonderful-business-in-the-future-the/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [In the corporate world, if you have analysts, due diligence, and no horse sense, you've just described hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/in-the-corporate-world-if-you-have-analysts-due-diligence-and-no/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [We have to have a special insight, or we'll put it in the 'too tough' basket. All of you have to look for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/we-have-to-have-a-special-insight-or-we-ll-put-it-in-the-too-tough/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I've heard that one-half of the students at elite schools want to go into private equity or hedge funds. They want to keep up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-ve-heard-that-one-half-of-the-students-at-elite-schools-want-to-go/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Explore all 544 Charlie Munger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) ## More Accountants quotes > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [I deliberately look for colorful people. They're very right for theatre. Theatre has to be theatrical. If you can get color into the accountant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-deliberately-look-for-colorful-people-they-re-very-right-for/) [Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/) > [I could never have been an accountant. I got a D in math.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-marshall/i-could-never-have-been-an-accountant-i-got-a-d-in-math/) [Rob Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-marshall/) > [My greatest reward is knowing for certain, as I do with many other acts and artistes, that without Jonathan King being alive and involved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-king/my-greatest-reward-is-knowing-for-certain-as-i-do-with-many-other/) [Jonathan King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-king/) > [It is a maxim of cryptology that what one man can devise, another can unravel. This principle keeps armies of tax lawyers and accountants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wriston/it-is-a-maxim-of-cryptology-that-what-one-man-can-devise-another-can/) [Walter Wriston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wriston/) > [Fact is, the work place to a great extent is "where we live." We need star accountants. Boffo saleswomen. Over-the-top creatives in marketing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/fact-is-the-work-place-to-a-great-extent-is-where-we-live-we-need/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Films are now made by accountants. They pick a pretty young female or male face out of the air and give them a part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lee/films-are-now-made-by-accountants-they-pick-a-pretty-young-female-or/) [Christopher Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lee/) > [She was my accountant, so I just believed her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-howard/she-was-my-accountant-so-i-just-believed-her/) [John Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-howard/) > [The rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason - to pass the tax bill on to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-rich-hire-lawyers-and-accountants-for-a-reason-to-pass-the-tax/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A lot of labels are hiring a lot more accountants than people that know music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/a-lot-of-labels-are-hiring-a-lot-more-accountants-than-people-that/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [We're living in a time period where if a kid is on a plastic scooter that's one inch off the ground, mom and dad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramin-bahrani/we-re-living-in-a-time-period-where-if-a-kid-is-on-a-plastic-scooter/) [Ramin Bahrani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramin-bahrani/) > [And it does no harm to repeat, as often as you can, 'Without me the literary industry would not exist: the publishers, the agents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/and-it-does-no-harm-to-repeat-as-often-as-you-can-without-me-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I didn't do anything differently than what my father was doing. It's a really hard family to rebel in. I could have become an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-townes-earle/i-didn-t-do-anything-differently-than-what-my-father-was-doing-it-s-a/) [Justin Townes Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-townes-earle/) > [While Donald Trump was busy with his accountants trying to figure out how to keep living like a billionaire, and all the while he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/while-donald-trump-was-busy-with-his-accountants-trying-to-figure-out/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Property is my major investment. My accountant has put money into various long-term savings arrangements. To be honest, I am a bit vague about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-robinson/property-is-my-major-investment-my-accountant-has-put-money-into/) [Anne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-robinson/) [Browse all 226 Accountants quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accountants/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I talked to one accountant, a very nice fellow who I would have been glad to have his family marry into mine. He said, \"What these other accounting firms have done is very unethical. The [tax avoidance scheme] works best if it's not found out [by the IRS], so we only give it to our best clients, not the rest, so it's unlikely to be discovered. So my firm is better than the others.\" [Laughter] I'm not kidding. And he was a perfectly nice man. 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