Stuff Accountants Like

A major pastime of accountants is office pranks. While this post can’t do justice to all the great pranks out there, it can serve as a basic primer.

As seen on The Office, office pranks are a daily reality that make the work environment tolerable. It can be argued that more energy goes into planning pranks than getting workpapers done.

Office pranks are especially fitting as everybody can make a great target. Accountants tend to be especially mean to new hires who are eager to help out and make a good first impression. You can tell an accountant has a good working relationship when they pull pranks on their own boss (and vice-versa).

Pranks range from harmless to malicious. An example of a harmless prank would be getting someone to fax you over a whole ream of paper because you “ran out.”

Accountants can turn everyday busy work into great pranks. Having someone foot a schedule that can’t be footed is a great one. This is an especially good prank when the work returns w/o/e and accountants discover they have a ghost ticker on their hands.

The general rule is that the more people involved in a prank, the better the prank. This is due to the strong negative correlation between productivity and enjoyment (i.e. as less work is done, the better time everyone has).

If you’re working with accountants for the first time, you need to be wary. Another tip, if the accountants you work with consistently pull great pranks, you know you’re working with top tier people.

Post your favorite pranks in the comments.

Tags: #45, Office Pranks, The Office, What are your favorites