Life at Intuit

Welcoming opportunity at every stage of your career

Written by Kent Abney
Published Nov 18, 2021 - [Updated May 22, 2023]
4 min read

I’ve been a tax and financial services professional for most of my life. After a wide-ranging career as a CPA, advisor and tax attorney for almost 49 years, I started to wind down my consulting practice and become more selective about accepting new work. Helping clients was still one of the most rewarding parts of my life, but I was hungry for new experiences and greater flexibility for this stage of my career. I started to explore different ways I might be able to share my expertise. When I became aware of the seasonal opportunities for tax experts at Intuit, a global technology platform serving millions of customers worldwide with TurboTax, QuickBooks, Mint, and Credit Karma, I was immediately intrigued. Let me explain why.

Charting a New Path

During my career I had worked almost exclusively with high net-worth individuals. Intuit offered the opportunity to work with a cross-section of people from every demographic across all 50 states. I’ve always loved engaging with new people and it seemed like a fun challenge, so I signed up for my first season and genuinely loved it from day one.

As an Intuit tax expert I have the opportunity to make a meaningful difference for more people. For many of my clients the tax refund I help them get is the biggest check they receive all year. Equally as important, the job pushes me to learn about many new areas that I hadn’t been exposed to with my previous client base. But perhaps best of all, it keeps my skills up-to-date and my thinking sharp as I learn new ways to work. When you’re over 65 you quickly find out you have to keep learning new things or you start to stagnate, and helping Intuit customers online quickly became the highlight of my work day.

After a while it became clear to me that this could grow into something more than some extra work on the side. What I thought was going to be a one-time gig turned into a second season, and then a new position as a seasonal manager, and eventually a full-time job. I am now starting my second year as a permanent manager.

Managing Excellence

The most important part of my job is to motivate my team and help facilitate their success. I keep them engaged with our customers and show them how a career helping others can be the most rewarding way to earn a living. Most of them are younger than me and I’m able to say “Listen, I’m almost 72 years old. I’m having the time of my life. Don’t you want to be where I am in 10 or 15 years? This is how you get there!”

I tell my experts that the person they’re giving advice to isn’t their next door neighbor. They won’t see them when they drop their kids off at school, and they’re not going to sit next to them in church on Sunday. But they do have a chance to make a real difference in their lives. And when you hang the phone up, you should feel very good about that.

An Exceptional Company

Having been in the business world for over 50 years, I’m fairly opinionated about corporate culture and ethics. What I’ve been most impressed with about Intuit is that they put their values and their ethics at the forefront of every effort. No company is perfect, but it makes a real difference when every idea starts with the desire to do the right thing for your customers and your community. It’s more than a catch-phrase or a motto—It permeates everything we do.

The Best Is Yet To Come

I’ve always tried to stay physically active and in shape, and I place equal importance on keeping my mind sharp and engaged with new ideas. Working as a tax expert at Intuit has helped me keep this practice up. It’s a wonderful place for people in the later years of their career. So many people say they want to retire at 55, but I think the best option is to never retire. Whether you’re 55, 65, or older, you still have a great deal of value to contribute to the world.

Intuit is an exceptional company on the leading-edge of innovation, and that’s exciting for an old dog like me! To be around young, smart, enthusiastic people at this stage in my career is so motivating and gratifying. I take that energy with me when I walk away from the computer, and it makes it real easy to then lace up my hiking boots, go out the door and take off. I’ve always been extremely positive about life, but working at Intuit has really energized my feelings about being 70 years old and beyond. I’ve learned that regardless of where you are in your career journey, there’s always new opportunities to learn, grow, and share your experience.

If you’re interested in learning more about Intuit’s expert network and opportunities, visit our career site today.

Kent Abney is a tax expert and manager for TurboTax Live. He makes a meaningful difference in clients’ lives by helping them get a tax refund, which is often the biggest check they receive all year. Helping clients is one of the most rewarding parts of his life and – now that he’s over the age of 65 – he’s realized that learning new things as part of Intuit allows him to remain sharp and motivated.

After a wide-ranging career as a CPA, advisor, and tax attorney for almost 49 years, he started to wind down his consulting practice and become more selective about accepting new work. He thought working for TurboTax Live would be a one-time gig, but it turned into a second season, and then a new position as a seasonal manager, and eventually a full-time job. He’s now starting his second year as a permanent manager. He loves keeping his team engaged with our customers and showing them how a career helping others can be a fantastic way to earn a living.