Results: The toughest IFA quiz to date

Peter Falk: Accountant

Peter Falk, who played television’s Columbo, followed in his mother’s footsteps to become an accountant.

Falk worked in a government role prior to leaving accounting behind, for Connecticut’s state budget office.

We like to think accounting skills – with all that professional scepticism that goes into due diligence processes – make a pretty good detective.

Only 21.5% of respondents picked this one.

Mick Jagger: Studied finance (briefly)

After less than a year studying at the London School of Economics, Mick Jagger started rehearsing with Keith Richards and Brian Jones.

The Rolling Stones won out, and he dropped out of university.

Not to say accounting isn’t still part of his rock’n’roll life though.

A few years ago, Jagger’s former accountant Laurence Myers told The Observer about the fledgling rock star’s pension plans:

“We started chatting, started talking about pensions. [Mick] said, ‘after all, Laurence, I’m not going to be singing rock’n’roll when I’m 60’,” Laurence Myers, an accountant who set up a music business, told the Observer. “We roared. It was just a ridiculous thought that a young man would be singing rock’n’roll when he was 60. Needless to say, he carried on beyond 60 and he created his own pension.”

Four in 10 respondents picked Mick Jagger.

Kenny G: Accounting major

Kenny G graduated from the University of Washington in his hometown, Seattle. He graduated with an accounting major despite having already landed a paid gig with Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra, when he had been just 17.

He told the University of Washington student newspaper in 2019 that the greatest challenge in his music career is “to keep working hard and to keep improving”. The secret to his music success – “lucky for me I have a very disciplined personality”.

We suspect he probably would have made a great accountant, but then, who would have been first to set the record for playing the longest note on a saxophone?

Just 26% picked this answer correctly.

Al Capone: Guilty

Al Capone had already been to prison for short stints of time when, in 1931, he pled guilty to tax evasion charges, expecting a relatively light 2.5-year sentence.

Capone changed his plea when the judge clarified that he would not be bound by a deal for a light sentence, but was convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison, as well as having to pay almost US$300,000 – in 1930s money.

If you didn't pick Capone, you’re in the minority – 75.1% of respondents did.

Martha Stewart: State tax inquiry

Martha Stewart paid US$200,000+ in back taxes, plus penalties, after a state tax inquiry found that her claims not to have lived in New York State in 1991 and 1992 were contradicted fairly emphatically by evidence in her magazines and books.

This one was easy – 62.6% got it right.

Wesley Snipes: Convicted

In 2008, Blade star Wesley Snipes was convicted on three misdemeanour tax convictions.

Despite going to prison for more than two years, he was relatively lucky, according to San Francisco-based tax agent Robert W Wood – Snipes had been convicted of ‘failing to file’ charges, which were misdemeanours, rather than the felony charges he had been facing for the US$7 million in taxes avoided.

More than half of respondents picked this one, with the remainder split pretty evenly between Batman and Elvis Presley. And look, the jury is out on Batman.