Does "bean counter" have a Spanish equivalent?

Question

This seemed appropriate given the word of the day. I looked in the dictionary here and at the wordreference forum, but couldn't find an equivalent to "bean counter."

Answer 1

Ver la frase 'contador de frijoles' me hizo imaginar la imagen de abajo hasta que leí lo que significa. Quería compartir malentendido.

Seeing the phrase 'bean counter' made me imagine the image below until I read what it means. I wanted to share the misunderstanding .

Answer 2

Quizá cuentachiles o pesetero.

cuentachiles

1. com. coloq. Méx. cicatero (? mezquino).

pesetero, ra.

1. adj. Dicho de una persona: Aficionada al dinero, ruin, tacaña, avariciosa.

2. adj. Se decía de lo que costaba o valía una peseta.

Answer 3

Yo he tenido que traducir esta expresión hace relativamente poco, y he utilizado «fanático del ahorro», creo que es bastante aproximada.

Cheers, Karraspito

Answer 4

I don't think there is an equivalent expression. You'll have to paraphrase with something like "contable obsesionado con los números".

P.D. Maybe you could use "contable meticuloso/puntilloso/formulista". While these terms are not necessarily negative, they all stress that they take their job far too seriously.

Answer 5

I'm not sure of understanding well the expression. At first sight I can't think about an equivalent of this.

So, this is just a guess: "los especialistas en números" or "los expertos en cifras".

It is a negative expression to describe an overly obsessive or fastidious accountant. - lazarus1907, Oct 30, 2010