January is a mad month in my office and I don’t think we’re unique amongst small firms of accountants. We come back to work in the new year, full of hope and anticipation for the months ahead and the first thing we have to do is work out how many, and which, of our clients have not so much as provided us with the information to produce their tax returns by the end of January and tell them how much tax they have to pay. Why do people leave it so late?

A lot of time is spent worrying about matters outside our control

Over the next few weeks, in amongst trying to keep those pesky resolutions that we made, we send numerous e-mails and make countless calls to get the information that we need. And all we are trying to do is help them (and earn a crust for ourselves of course!).

We spend time worrying about matters outside our control. Will the staff be off sick? Will our IT systems cope? Will the weather hold up or disrupt travel arrangements? And, most importantly, will the clients actually turn up with their records?

Just as most years before it, we could have saved ourselves the stress because we got there in the end. My staff are a resilient bunch, I’ve invested in the fastest broadband I can afford (highly recommended by the way, it’s transformed our operating speeds), the snow and the floods stayed away from our area, and the clients did all turn up in the end.

Symptomatic of the whirlwind speed at which we lead our lives

It all left me wondering why things get left until the last minute. When I think about it a bit more, it is actually symptomatic of the whirlwind speed at which we lead our lives, particularly in business. There is a well-known internet company that uses the practice of last-minutism as its name and makes good money out of what I spend January regarding as bad business practice.

Maybe I’m wrong? Maybe it’s the best way to organise yourself. Perhaps I’ll ask clients not to bring any of their records in until after Christmas. I’m only joking before any of my staff read this in disbelief or my clients get crazy ideas of waiting! At least the panic is over for another year and we can settle down to enjoy the remaining eleven months.