Pop Culture's Most Iconic Number Crunchers

In pop culture, as in life, accountants often get a bad rap. Most people don't fully understand what accounting entails, and even fewer care to find out. But as these characters prove, the number-crunchers of the world play a pivotal role in everything from international heists to office dynamics. Whether they're solving crimes or keeping businesses afloat, their expertise is often more important than it seems.

In this post, we’re rounding up some of the most iconic accountants and accounting-adjacent figures in pop culture.

Christian Wolff

Ben Affleck really did the accounting profession a solid in 2016 when he starred as Christian Wolff in an action movie called The Accountant. While not the most accurate representation of the profession, Wolff does make accounting look awesome, showing that accountants can be just as thrilling as action heroes. It’s weird, though, that there was no mention of QuickBooks.

The Accounting Department (Oscar Martinez, Angela Martin, and Kevin Malone) - The Office

Behind the receptionist’s desk, past the printer, you’ll find the accountant’s corner at Dunder Mifflin—a quiet hub of number-crunching chaos. Oscar, Angela, and Kevin taught viewers the value of accounting, from handling payroll and balancing budgets to the finer points of declaring bankruptcy.

And let’s not forget Kevin’s legendary financial hack: inventing “keleven” to fix any discrepancies. Their mix of competence (Oscar), rigidity (Angela), and, well, creative problem-solving (Kevin) proves that accounting is both an art and a science.

Louis Tully — Ghostbusters 

I’m sure when all of us watched Ghostbusters as kids, our main takeaway was… I want to be just like them! By which, of course, we meant, I want to be an accountant like Louis Tully. Sure, ghostbusting looks thrilling, but it’s also dangerous and highly unstable employment. 

Luckily, Louis has a solid fallback in accounting—a career that doesn’t involve getting slimed or possessed by an ancient demigod. And let’s be honest, every ghost-hunting operation could probably use a good accountant to keep track of all those proton pack expenses. Hey, we’d hire him. 

Scrooge McDuck — DuckTales

All five seasons of “Breaking Bad” were nothing short of intense. Walter White might have been the leading character, but his wife, Skyler, also deserves some serious credit. This woman — perhaps the character viewers most loved to hate — showed fans how complicated people can be personally and professionally. She disapproves of her husband’s illegal activity, though as an accountant, she’s the brains behind purchasing a car wash to launder his ill-gotten gains. (Needless to say, we’re not going to help you with any questionable business ventures.)

Andy Dufresne — The Shawshank Redemption

They can convict you for a murder, but they can’t take away the months you spent studying for the CPA exam. Even in prison, Andy Dufresne finds a use for his accounting knowledge. He skillfully launders money for the corrupt warden, creating a complex web of fraudulent transactions under a fake identity. 

His expertise in finance ultimately becomes his ticket to freedom, as he outsmarts the system and escapes with the very fortune he helped conceal. It’s a reminder that accounting isn’t just about crunching numbers. It can be a powerful tool, even in the most unexpected places.

Ben Wyatt - Parks and Recreation

Former teen mayor, widely hated state auditor, highly sought-after political campaign manager, father of triplets, inventor of the Cones of Dunshire, Pawnee resident, and above all, accountant.

Ben Wyatt shows us all the places your day job in accounting can take you. Whether he's balancing Pawnee’s disastrous budget or obsessing over board game mechanics, his analytical mind is always at work. Proof that even in government (or game night), a good accountant can be the real MVP.

Deirdre Beaubeirdre - Everything Everywhere All at Once

Sure, many of us suspected that original scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis would one day win an Academy Award—but who would have guessed it would be for playing an IRS agent?

Surprisingly, she’s not the biggest villain in Everything Everywhere All at Once, though her character’s audit of Evelyn’s (Michelle Yeoh) laundromat does set off a chain of events that spirals into full-blown multiversal chaos. Without a doubt, it’s the most mind-bending, action-packed story ever told inside an IRS office building. And that’s even before the kung fu battles, googly eyes, and hot dog fingers show up.

Oscar Wallace - The Untouchables

What finally took down Al Capone? Hint: It wasn’t bootlegging or murder. It was tax evasion.

Capone landed in Alcatraz after being convicted on 22 counts of tax fraud, thanks in large part to the work of IRS accountant Oscar Wallace. At least, that’s how The Untouchables tells it. Wallace, the film’s number-crunching hero, was inspired by real-life forensic accountant Frank Wilson, who meticulously built the case against Capone.

While Wilson may not have been dodging bullets like in the movie, his financial expertise was just as lethal. So, shoutout to The Untouchables director (Brian De Palma, if you’re wondering) for making an accountant the unsung hero who brought down one of history’s most infamous criminals.

Chandler Bing - Friends

Does Chandler truly belong on this list? You can find plenty of arguments on Reddit. 

But what we do know is that he works with numbers, and absolutely no one in his life cares to find out more than that. Could he BE any more relatable? The man spent years dropping hints about his job, only for his friends to remain completely clueless until he finally switched careers.

Honestly, if you've ever tried explaining your accounting job at a party, you probably understand his struggle.

Mark Scout - Severance

Mark Scout from Severance might not be a traditional accountant, but as a data refinement worker at Lumon Industries, he embodies the eerie precision of corporate finance.

His job? Sorting and "refining" mysterious numbers with no clear purpose—an absurd, dystopian take on financial data processing.

Thankfully while accounting may be detail-oriented, at least it doesn’t require surgically enforced work-life balance... yet.

These characters prove that accounting is far from boring, showing how vital and versatile the profession can be. Whether they’re solving crimes, managing multimillion-dollar fortunes, or just trying to make sense of office chaos, accountants in pop culture prove that their skills are more crucial than ever.