Would LeBron James Succeed as a CPA?

IMGCAP(1)]As the NBA season enters its critical stretch of the remainder of the regular season and tax season winds down, the natural question to ask is this: would LeBron James be as great a CPA as he is a basketball player?

He has all the physical skills to perform on the basketball court, but how would he do in an office setting, meeting with clients? Reviewing tax solutions? Or analyzing financial statements?

Below is a list of qualifications that the typical CPA deals with on a daily basis. Let’s see how LeBron James would stack up against the best of the best accountants.

1. Can he perform under pressure? Yes. Plain and simple, yes! Imagine if you had millions of people expecting you to be the next Michael Jordan. In the face of the greatest expectations of any athlete in the modern world, he has lived up to those expectations, if not exceeded them. If that’s not enough to say he can handle pressure, LeBron’s newest shoes made by Nike are called X+ “Pressure”.

2. Can he learn and grow from his mistakes? During LeBron’s five years as a Cleveland Cavalier, he led his team to two NBA Finals series. He lost both of them. From this experience, he was able to explore his deficiencies and work during the off-season to improve his game. Not only has he improved his abilities on the court, but he has analyzed his actions off the court. He has been able to come to grips with his “decision” and has been successful in not making similar errors. Yes, he has learned and grown from his mistakes.

[IMGCAP(2)]3. Can he expand his service offerings? As a kid out of high school, he had the body and athleticism that was sought as a project with incredible upside. As he grew into his body, expanded his mind, listened to experts in and outside his field, he has become an all-around basketball player, marketer, stylist, role-model and actor. He has been able to rapidly and significantly expand his brand over his year career.

4. Can he manage and lead his staff? LeBron took a bunch of no-names from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA finals. It is clear he can make those around him better. Thanks to his basketball career, he has become one of the world’s most influential athletes according to Forbes magazine. In addition to his ability on the court and in business, he has been incredibility philanthropic with charities in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, and his adopted home of Miami, Fla.

5. Can he create solutions? I’ve seen LeBron perform some incredible acts on the basketball court. His entertainment value is off the charts. And despite his past heroics, he constantly is pulling a new trick out of the bag. Not to mention, he has the NBA award accolades to prove his ability to create solutions on and off the court. NBA MVP for four years running!

6. Can he work well in a team? Not often do you find an NBA superstar whose game is focused around passing first. Despite LeBron’s ability to score the basketball, he is at his best when he facilitates for his team. He doesn’t slack off on the defensive end and he supports his team while he rests on the bench.

The answer is clear, if LeBron James were to focus his time and energy in the accounting field, he would clearly be a top performer in the office. Not only that, he would be a great addition to your firm’s intramural basketball team!

Adam Blitz, CPA, is a manager at Wiebe Hinton Hambalek LLP in Fresno, Calif.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Recruiting
MORE FROM ACCOUNTING TODAY