Why You Need an Accountant Who Can Translate, Not Just File Taxes

Most accountants speak in jargon. The right one speaks your language.

Have you ever left a meeting with your accountant more confused than when you walked in?

Do you ever wonder if they’re speaking a completely different language... o ne you’re somehow expected to understand?

That feeling of confusion and frustration is actually pretty common. Many business owners nod along through financial conversations full of unexplained jargon and unspoken assumptions.

At Patrick Accounting, we’ve spent the last two decades translating accounting language for business owners just like you. 

In this article, we’ll explain why this communication gap exists, how it’s impacting your confidence and decision-making, and how to finally get the clarity you deserve from your financial conversations.

Why Talking to Your Accountant Feels Like Ordering from a Fancy Menu

Have you ever sat down in a high-end restaurant, opened the menu, and immediately felt out of your depth? You see words like “béarnaise,” “au jus,” and “confit,” and suddenly you’re second-guessing everything.

You don’t want to ask the waiter to explain because that feels awkward. So instead, you either order the chicken tenders (because you know what that is), or you pick something at random and hope for the best.

That’s exactly what happens when many business owners sit down with their accountant.

Every profession has its own lingo. Lawyers use legalese. Electricians talk circuits and voltage. Restaurant owners discuss covers and ticket times. But accounting? It might be the worst offender when it comes to unexplained terminology.

And here’s the problem: When you don’t understand what your accountant is saying, you stop asking questions. You shut down. You avoid your reports.

That avoidance? It can lead to missed opportunities, bad decisions, and real financial loss.

Why Accounting Terms Don’t Mean What You Think They Mean

Accounting wasn’t built to be user-friendly. It developed over hundreds of years, with its own specialized vocabulary and internal logic.

That’s why so many terms that feel obvious to your accountant feel completely foreign to you.

Take the word “asset.” When I took my first accounting class, I asked my mom (who had worked in bookkeeping) what an asset actually was.

She said it could be a truck, a house, a bank account, or accounts receivable.

I was confused, “How is accounts receivable an asset if I don’t even have the money yet?”

That’s a perfectly reasonable question. And it illustrates the core issue: Accounting terms often contradict your everyday understanding of language.

To make matters worse, accountants aren’t trained to explain any of this. Most accounting programs focus on how to produce accurate reports and file taxes, not how to translate financial concepts and explain them in plain English.

So what happens?

Your accountant assumes you already know what they’re talking about. You assume you’re supposed to know.

And neither of you speaks up.

What Happens When You Pretend to Understand Your Accountant

This language gap with your accountant isn’t just confusing. It’s emotional. And it’s affecting how you run your business.

Here's what that looks like for most business owners:

• You feel dumb, even though you're not.
  When your accountant drops terms like “adjusted gross income” or “flow-through deductions,” and you’re totally lost, it’s embarrassing. So you smile, nod, and move on, even though you’re full of questions.
• You’re afraid to ask for clarification.
  You might think, “I’ve been in business for five years... I should know what depreciation means by now.” That quiet shame keeps you from asking.
• You avoid your financial reports.
  When you don’t understand what you're looking at, it creates anxiety. So you stop opening your P&L entirely… or you just scan the bottom line and call it a day.
• You make decisions based on your bank balance.
  If you don’t trust your reports, you default to the one number you do understand: your bank account. And that’s a terrible way to make strategic decisions.

This creates a vicious cycle: confusion leads to avoidance, and avoidance leads to even more confusion.

And all the while, you're missing out on insights that could grow your business or help you avoid costly tax surprises.

The Accounting Terms That Confuse Nearly Every Business Owner

Some of the most common accounting terms look deceptively simple… until you try to apply them.

Here are just a few categories where business owners routinely get tripped up:

Financial Statement Vocabulary

Words like asset, liability, and equity may sound familiar, but they often mean something very different in an accounting context.

• An asset isn’t just “stuff you own.”
• A liability isn’t just “bills you owe.”
• And equity? That’s a full conversation on its own.

Tax Terminology

Terms like adjusted gross income (AGI), taxable income, deductions, credits, and tax brackets all sound similar, but they affect your tax bill in very different ways.

And good luck figuring out statutory vs. effective tax rates without a translator.

Accounting Methods

The difference between cash basis and accrual basis isn’t just technical. It changes when income and expenses show up in your books and on your tax return.

It’s one of the most common sources of confusion we see. (And that’s why we created a guide to help explain the difference.)

Industry-Specific Terms

• Restaurant owners hear terms like prime cost, COGS percentage, and covers.
• Service providers get hit with realization rates and utilization.

These may be second nature to your industry and your accountant, but they’re not universal.

We’ve putting together a comprehensive glossary to translate these terms into plain English. You can download and refer to it anytime.

Because you shouldn’t have to go to accounting school just to understand your own financial reports.

How to Bridge the Communication Gap With Your Accountant

Fixing the disconnect between you and your accountant requires effort from both sides.

What Your Accountant Should Be Doing

A good accountant doesn’t just prepare financials and file taxes. They should:

• Translate technical terms into plain language
• Use examples from your business (not generic hypotheticals)
• Pause often to check your understanding
• Create space for questions without making you feel dumb

If they’re not doing these things, they’re not doing their job completely.

What You’re Responsible For

You don’t have to learn accounting, but you do have to speak up.

• Ask questions when you don’t understand
• Request real-world examples and visuals
• Don’t default to silence; that only makes things worse

Think of it like traveling abroad. If you're in France and don’t speak French, you may ask, “Do you speak English?” You don’t just smile and nod your way through conversations pretending like you understand. (At least you shouldn’t.)

The same goes here. If your accountant is speaking in a way that doesn’t make sense, it’s your right (and your responsibility) to ask for clarity.

If your accountant makes you feel stupid for asking questions or seems annoyed when you need clarification, that’s not a you problem. That’s a them problem.

You deserve an advisor who makes you feel informed, not inferior.

6 Things to Do When You Don’t Understand Your Accountant

If you're in a meeting with your accountant and things start flying over your head, here’s how to get back on track without feeling embarrassed.

1. Stop pretending you understand.
Nodding along only encourages them to keep going. If you’re lost, hit pause and ask for clarification.

2. Ask for a plain English explanation.
Try: “Can you explain that like I’m not an accountant?” or “What does that mean in real terms for my business?”

3. Request examples from your own numbers.
Abstract concepts stick better when they’re tied to your actual financials.

4. Ask them to point it out on your reports.
If they say “gross profit margin,” ask them to show you exactly where that shows up on your profit and loss (P&L) statement.

5. Take notes or ask to record the meeting.
With permission, record your sessions or jot things down. You don’t need to remember it all in the moment.

6. Follow up via email.
If you walk away and still have questions, send them. A strategic advisor welcomes ongoing dialogue, not just once-a-year conversations.

Remember: It’s not your job to understand accounting speak. It’s your accountant’s job to make sure you understand your finances.

What the Right Accountant Does Differently and Why It Matters

The biggest difference in your accounting experience often comes down to one thing: Whether your accountant acts like a translator or a technician.

Here’s how the right accountant helps you feel confident instead of confused:

They translate before you have to ask.

• Instead of: “Your COGS is 42%.”
• They say: “You’re spending 42 cents of every dollar on products, which is a little high.”

They use industry-specific examples.

• For restaurants: labor cost %, prime cost, and cover
• For service businesses: job profitability and utilization

This helps the numbers make sense in the context of your actual operations.

They check in regularly to make sure you’re tracking.

• Not just saying: “Any questions?”
• Real check-ins like, “Does that make sense?” or “Want me to explain that a different way?”

They create a safe environment for questions.

There’s no such thing as a stupid question, just something you haven’t learned yet.

When you work with the right accounting team, conversations about your finances leave you feeling clearer, more confident, and more in control, not confused or overwhelmed.

You Deserve an Accountant Who Speaks Your Language

The problem here isn’t you. It’s the way accounting is communicated. And now, you know why it feels so frustrating.

Understanding your finances doesn’t require learning a new language. It requires the right translator.

You’ve been nodding through meetings, avoiding reports, and second-guessing your decisions. All because no one ever explained this stuff clearly. But it’s time for that to stop.

If you’re ready to stop pretending and start making informed decisions with confidence, we’d love to talk.

• Check out who we work with to see if Patrick Accounting is the right fit.
• Or reach out for a complimentary evaluation. We’ll meet you where you are (not where your accountant expects you to be).

At Patrick Accounting, we believe clear communication is just as important as accurate financials. Translating the numbers is part of the job, and it’s what our clients appreciate most.

Because you shouldn’t need a decoder ring to understand your own business’s finances.

Need help with the terms your accountant keeps using?

Download our free Accounting Glossary for Business Owners for plain English explanations you can actually use.