Numbers ~ The Life of an Accountant is So Intense!

“Numbers” was released in 2023, has 12 episodes, and can be categorized as Office Drama; Revenge Drama; with Romance subplots.

Some people are just good with numbers. It’s a gift. It’s an excellent gift to have when you need to examine the financial and accounting records of a corrupt accounting firm and MAKE THEM PAY!

♦ The Fate of a Business Depends on an Accounting Firm’s Decision

In “Numbers”, Jang Ho-Woo is the first high school graduate to be recruited by the Taeil Accounting Firm. WOW! Everybody went to college or attended a university first. He skipped that and wanted to get to work right away! WHY? He was angry but his rage had no power.

The accounting firm had issued a report that caused Haebit Construction to be shut down. The man he called father was the CEO and he committed suicide as a result. Many people lost their jobs and others lost the money they invested. Jang Ho-Woo wanted to work at the accounting firm so that he could gain access to the reports and figure out what really happened. He knew what happened was wrong but needed to prove it.

Why does an accounting firm think they have the power to play with people’s lives? Or as Jang Ho-Woos said: “You make money by stabbing others in the back and call that success. You’re scum.”

Han Seung-Jo was in charge of the team of accountants who issued the report about Haebit Construction. However, the report that was used to shut down the company was not the report he had signed. He knew that his father, Han Je Kyun, who was a vice president at the Taeil Accounting Firm was responsible for the final “nail” in the coffin of that company.

Seung-Jo’s father’s greed was insatiable. When asked if he had a guilty conscience about the things he did he replied: “Have you seen a predator feeling guilty about biting off the neck of its prey?” His father only cared about the money to be made and the client who could pay the most is the client he served. If his client wanted to swallow up other businesses, that meant Taeil Accounting had to find a way to make it happen.

• {NOTE: “Going concern is an accounting term for a company that has the resources needed to continue operating indefinitely until it provides evidence to the contrary. This term also refers to a company’s ability to make enough money to stay afloat or to avoid bankruptcy. If a business is not a going concern, it means it’s gone bankrupt and its assets were liquidated.” (SOURCE)}

Jang Ho-Woo understands accounting and knows that there was no valid reason to liquidate Haebit Construction. The accounting report should have described the construction company as a “Going Concern”, rather than declaring that it should be “liquidated”. His main purpose for working as an accountant at Taeil Accounting Firm was to find the people responsible and make them pay!

Main Characters:

• Jang Ho-Woo (played by Kim Myung-Soo, “My Lovely Girl”)
• Han Seung-Jo (played by Choi Jin-Hyuk, “Zombie Detective”)
• VP Han Je Kyun (played by Choi Min-Soo)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.1 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7.8 out of 10 stars
• Kyahaha: 7.4 out of 10 stars
• Amazon/Kocowa+ customers rated this series 3.6 out of 5 stars
• Viki viewers rated this series 9.4 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is the same as the Viki viewers. “Numbers” certainly makes you think about bean counters in a different light. You could see sparks fly when the two male leads engaged with each other, as well as when they interacted with the rest of the employees at the accounting firm.

Whether or not they considered themselves a “team”, the new recruit (Jang Ho-Woo) and the son of the Vice-President of the accounting firm (Han Seung-Jo) were clearly both aiming at the same target. They worked well together and you couldn’t help but be their cheerleader. Plus, they were both “eye candy”. LOL.

Also, watching “Numbers” was like taking a crash course in accounting. You quickly learned accepted accounting principles and practices. Then you learned how accountants – from the lowest level in the firm to the top executives – could screw up the records of a business and destroy it. That analogy about the goose laying the golden eggs was “priceless”.

This quote from one of the characters says it best: “Even if the accounting system becomes nearly perfect, human greed always finds a loophole.”

Sheesh! When did being an accountant for an accounting firm become so intense?

LINKS OF INTEREST:

• ‘Numbers’ Review: Three Reasons Why It’s Unfamiliar Yet Captivating | My Music Taste
• K-drama Recommendation: Why “Numbers” should be on your watchlist | Annyeong Oppa
• K-Drama First Look: “Numbers” Explores The Power of Accounting Firms In Business World | kdramadiary

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

KOCOWA TV. “[Teaser] Numbers | ENG SUB | KOCOWA+.” YouTube Video. YouTube, June 9, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drS6BwOKB4g.‌