The CEO fired his accountant. He decided to see if other professionals could do the job. He interviewed several.He decided to select the individual that could answer the question "how much is 2+2?"

The engineer pulled out his slide rule and shuffled it back and forth, and finally announced, "It lies between 3.98 and 4.02".

The mathematician said, "In two hours I can demonstrate it equals 4 with the following short proof."

The social worker said, "I don't know the answer, but I am glad that we discussed this important question.

The attorney scratched his head and said, "I think it's 4, but I can convince a jury of 12 people that it's something else."

The trader asked, "Are you buying or selling?"

The economist said, "It's four, but in a period of rising inflation it's worth less than that."

The accountant looked at the business owner, then got out of his chair, went to see if anyone was listening at the door and pulled the drapes. Then he returned to the business owner, leaned across the desk and said in a low voice,


"What do you need it to be?"