Interview with the accountant Bill Underwood

Tell us shortly about yourself and your accounting experience.

I am 61 years old, married to Nancy for almost 40 years. I have one son that is an attorney. I have been a certified public accountant for 38 years and serve on the professional regulatory board for accountants for the state of Tennessee. I am currently the CFO for NABCO, the company owned by Christian brothers Greg and Wes Bowman.

What do people from our country have to expect from this financial crisis?

It is global and we will have many of the same problems. I believe that when the recession portion is over, inflation and devaluation of currency will be the major problem. It is not going to be settled or solved quickly. This is a long term crisis. It will change the way all of us do business in the future.

What are the main causes of this world financial crisis and what is the role of USA and other countries?

I can only speak as an American and only what I see in our economy. I believe that people have been too quick to want instant gratification of wants and desires. I believe that greed, envy and selfishness have been common. The Lord warns of that nature and the destructive attitudes brought on by them. I also believe people have lost a work ethic. People are not willing to toil as they once did.

How will this crisis affect other countries of the world?

I believe that the economies of the world are so interlinked and the resources are so inter-twined that we will all be subject to the same affects. If we have recession, the world has recession. If we have limited resources, the entire world will be limited. And, vice-versa.

What should we do in order to “survive” during this time of crisis?

Listen to the Lord, read the Bible and pray. We cannot spend ourselves out of trouble. We need to restrict debt that we incur for ourselves and our family. We need to look out for those in need. We need to show mercy on those suffering. It is perhaps one of the greatest opportunities of Christians to stand up and do the right thing at the right time.

What are the wrong actions people usually do during financial crisis?

Panic, fail to pray, fail to turn to the Lord. But, the Lord gave us a brain to do for ourselves. We need to seek work if we have none. We need to save, contribute to our churches. In American, when the stock markets/investments decline, we have a habit of selling when down. When things go up, we start buying again! Seems like we sell cheap and buy high. That makes no sense. We all need to have long-term goals for our financial life. Investing, retirement, spending, contributing, etc. Periodically, we need to review our progress and our “scorecard” on those goals. All and all, the best things we can do is remain faithful to the Lord, be patient, help those in need and continue to work hard. We need to manage our money. We need to be content. This is not original but contentment is:
No regrets of the past
No fear of the future and
No envy of the present.