The Accountant Negotiation Analysis

The Accountant: An Analysis of Negotiation

"Can one man, one hard drinking, chain smoking, backwoods accountant, stop a national conspiracy, change the course of history, and save a way of life? It's do-able... but it ain't gonna be purdy." The tagline for the 38 minute 2001 Oscar winner for Best Live Action Short Film, The Accountant, helps illustrate two men sharing a common goal, saving the farm to preserve a way of life.

The Accountant does an excellent job illustrating David's internal negotiation for how to save a way of life for his kids, which his family has managed for five generations. The accountant helps provide David options to achieve that goal because it his goal to preserve family farms and prevent corporate takeovers that

It is apparent that David is unprepared, which is a critical in all negotiations. For the meeting, he has gathered all of his financial documents, but has done no preparation to learn who about the accountant himself, which plays a critical factor later. Tommy explains that this accountant is the one who helped their neighbor, Johnny Vance, save his farm from financial trouble by reaping the insurance benefit of losing his arm in a hay bailing "accident". Tommy continues by saying, "From what I understand, there's only one

This process starts out creatively as they methodically attempt to problem solve, but ultimately ends up shortsighted. According to Herb Cohen, negotiating is a continuum that often requires creative problem solving (Negotiate This!, 173). It is established during this discussion that they share a common goal, which is a main first step to collaborative negotiations. Normally, it would be best to establish this before the discussions begin, but it is done here in the midst of the negotiation, which seems to be an effective tactic to convince David that these horrific solutions are in his best interest. Obviously ethics are ignored by both men because they are only concerned with the outcome, but the dialogue is noteworthy here. In many negotiations, it is not just the tangible options that are important, but how they are communicated and "sold." The accountant convinces David that his father would prefer the farm be partially destroyed than lost altogether. This option moves along successfully throughout the stages in which the accountant is well prepared. He seems to understand his counterpart's inventory and perspective on his father well. The accountant fails to recognize that losing two legs and an arm does not allow this option to be sustainable. If he had thought this through ahead of time, he may have been able to come up with an alternative plan to get the