Work at a Tax Accountant's Office #7: Days Spent Muttering, 'Is This Really a Tax Accountant's Job?'

*This article is an episode essay based on events the author actually experienced.
The names of the characters are pseudonyms, and there is no intention to criticize any specific individual or organization.
The names of the characters are pseudonyms, and there is no intention to criticize any specific individual or organization.
The names of the characters are pseudonyms, and there is no intention to criticize any specific individual or organization.

'I joined a tax accountant's office, so why am I walking around Shinjuku with a parasol...?'
Back then, I would repeat that retort in my heart while walking through the city clutching a stack of documents.
This time, it is a record of the days when, despite being at a tax accountant's office, I was also doing the work of a labor and social security attorney.

A while after I joined the firm, a veteran male staff member named Saitama and I were put in charge of payroll for the eight group companies handled by Koishikawa-san.
The veteran Saitama-san was just as strict as Koishikawa-san.
Or rather, he was the type who basically taught me nothing at all...
Since my knowledge of payroll and labor relations was limited to what I had crammed from books I had just bought, I was constantly bewildered by the practical work.

What surprised me even more was that the client made 'hand-delivering documents' their standard practice.

Even 15 years ago, in an era where exchanging payroll slips and employee personal information by mail or email was the norm, we visited them in person every time.
Moreover, from there, it was a full course of: Nishi-Shinjuku Health Insurance Association -> Kabukicho Hello Work -> Higashi-Shinjuku Pension Office.
In any case, it took a lot of time to travel.
And summer was hell.

My heels would get ruined immediately, and when I tried suggesting travel by taxi, I was dismissed with, 'You think you're an executive! You're 100 years too early!!!'
The waiting time at Hello Work back then was on average 1 to 2 hours.
From March to May, there were many personnel changes, so the waiting time was sometimes even longer...
Since it was a company with many employees and a high turnover rate, some kind of procedure occurred every week.
Mistakes in writing documents, missing entries, forgetting attachments... If there was even one mistake, it would be sent back at the counter.
I failed many times until I got used to it, and each time I would drop my shoulders, thinking, 'Not again...'


Especially the separation notice.
There were many sections to fill out by hand, and even when I used sticky notes to specify where the client should place their seal, it would sometimes come back with the seal in a completely different place.
There were many times I wanted to scream, 'No way!? Why did you stamp it there!!!'
The Hello Work phone line never connected, and I couldn't even confirm things properly.
When a young staff member looked at the documents I brought in and snapped at me, 'Are you serious?!', my heart almost broke completely.
*By the way, a separation notice is an important document for receiving unemployment benefits after leaving a job.

And when I finally got used to the work, I learned that this labor-related work was actually within the scope of a labor and social security attorney, not a tax accountant.
'Wait, we were doing this as a service?! You've got to be kidding!'
Recalling that enormous amount of effort and time, I couldn't stop the internal retorts.

(Then Koishikawa-san, why don't you do it yourself...)
How many times did I think that in my heart.


Eventually, the My Number system was created, and the insurance association issued a notice that procedures would be done by mail in principle, so all other procedures also shifted to being done by mail.

The client finally accepted the mailing procedures, and the days of walking around Shinjuku in the sweltering heat drenched in sweat finally came to an end.

Even now, when I look back, I think it was truly tough in many ways.

Before I knew it, those days of being a jack-of-all-trades had cultivated my 'adaptability' and 'practical skills'.
And when a junior staff member asked me, 'How do you do this?', and I was able to teach them, I could feel my own growth.
It was only a little later that I was able to think that way.