Off the Ledger

David Berry- Audit Associate

For many of you, as college graduates, this will be the first time you will be expected to fully support yourself. You finally land a job and are so excited to start “rolling in the dough,” but make sure you don’t get ahead of yourself. According to the Illinois CPA Society there a few things you need to remember to make sure you start off on the right foot, at least financially, if nothing else….

Money is Real. In this wired world we often don’t see our friends, or our money, face to face. You can bank and pay bills online and get cash from a machine. Using debit cards, charge cards and electronic transfers can make personal finance seem like a game. Make it real - know what you spend and where you spend it. (For a dose of reality and a little discipline, try the old-fashioned envelope budget method: get the cash you need for a month, put it in envelope and see where it goes and how long it lasts.)

Save Something. Even if it’s just a jar of loose change, find a simple way to put money aside and away from the possibility of being used for expenses. Start early in life with the idea that there should always be some money, no matter how small an amount, you don’t use but save for the future. It’ll be much easier to start saving now than to break spending habits later. Making an automatic deposit from your paycheck directly to a savings account is an easy way to save before you spend.

Think twice, spend wisely. Your first apartment doesn’t need to be in the trendiest neighborhood; maybe for awhile you can put money aside by staying with your parents. Do you really need new shoes, and if you do, does the designer label really matter? Question yourself before buying anything - from a home to a cell phone. Do you need it and need it now? How much will it cost you in the long run?

It’s not just about having money; it’s what you do with it. Big salaries, any salary, might make you feel as if you can do everything and buy anything. Maybe you can, but not right now and not all at once. Consider money management a part of your life as you would your career or your education. Set goals - a new car, a dream vacation - and plan how to achieve them. Work towards where you want to be financially. Keep good records, track your progress, ask questions, understand financial terms, stay informed about news affecting your money, and get help when you need it.

So, for all you future CPA’s who will be reviewing everyone else’s finances, make sure you have yours in check first!

Click here for a link to the article or here to visit the local Georgia Society of CPA’s homepage.

Courtney Stillwagon- Audit Staff

We all know that when the time to interview arrives, everything suddenly becomes really chaotic as you try to prepare for the interview and continue doing everything else in your life. Especially if you are a college student preparing to interview for the first time, there are so many things to remember to “check-off the list” before the interview date arrives; but, while you are busy going over your strengths and weaknesses in your head, don’t forget to address the little things that will most definitely make a big difference.

o Have your appropriate interview attire ready. Don’t wait until the day before. When was the last time you wore your suit and does it need to be dry-cleaned?

o Have extra copies of your resume printed and ready to take with you. Be prepared to talk about your resume and specific examples of things you have learned and/or accomplished.

o Don’t have gum anywhere near what you’re taking to the interview to avoid accidentally chewing it as you walk into the interview.

o Be sure to get a good night of sleep the night before. Make a point to schedule an early bedtime.

o Plan to arrive early and leave your cell phone in the car.

o Consciously think about making good eye-contact during your interview to express your interest in what the interviewer is saying to you, but don’t enter into an eye-staring contest with your interviewer.

o Avoid controversial topics and talking badly about past employers, colleagues, peers, professors, etc. The interview is about you and your strengths!

For more helpful tips to help you be prepared for an interview, visit: http://www.quintcareers.com/jobinterviewchecklist.html

Kristel Imeraj- Audit Staff

It’ s summer time, but let’s be honest who really wants to lounge by the pool all day when instead you could be gaining valuable work experience through an internship? Nowadays, having a degree is almost the bare minimum for obtaining an ideal job. Having work experience is critical, and one of the best ways to gain that experience is through an internship.

Once you decide to commit your time to an internship, and actually land the internship, make sure you make the most out of your experience. Dr. Randall S. Hansen, founder of the web site “Quintessential Careers” has come up with a list of key internship Do’s & Don’ts to follow for a career in any field.

Some of the most important pieces of advice he offers is “Don’t be afraid to ask questions.” This is one of the most important tips I would give to any intern. If you don’t understand something, ask. If you just want to know why something works the way it does, ask. If you really like your supervisor’s pens and want to know where they’re from, ask! If you don’t ask questions, you will miss out on valuable information that may be critical to performing your job, or may help you excel and stand out from the others. Another internship “Don’t” is “Don’t burn any bridges.” Even if your internship does not work out the way you would have liked. Let’s say, no one talks to you. For the months of June through August you sat in a dim-lit room and made an excess of photo copies all day. Whatever you do, never bash your internship or appear ungrateful. Just because your internship did not go the way you would have liked, you still want these people to have good things to say about you for recommendations, or for all you know, they may have connections to someone that could help you obtain the job of your dreams. Finally, some of the most important “Do’s” for any internship is “do be open to learning new skills and methodologies” and “do get as much exposure through the internship organization as possible.” When you are open to learning new things or venturing to unfamiliar territory, you have the best chance of finding what you truly excel at. Make sure you meet as many people as possible and be open to trying different jobs at the organization, you might be surprised by what you find.

Click here for the complete list of internship Do’s & Don’ts, or to read some of Hansen’s other articles.

Shannon Lambe- Marketing Assistant

Summer is finally here. You’re finished with your exams and all of your friends are debating which beach they want to go to for the summer. Obviously while they are weighing the pros and cons of Panama City against South Padre Island you are trying to decide if a career in Public Accounting may be right for you. You are great at math and have an awkwardly strong passion for numbers, but for some reason have just never thought of trying a class in Accounting. There is no better way to get a taste of a subject than by taking an introductory level course during the summer. Summer courses are great for a ton of reasons:

First of all, the classes are going to be small. Summer courses will have varying class size depending on which school you attend. In some cases, classes can have as few as five students in them! This can see overwhelming at first, but in reality works to your benefit. You will inevitably receive special attention from the professor and they will be better able to hone in on the areas you want to have covered. Also, this is a great chance for you to bond with your classmates. Small classes enable you to develop stronger relationships with your peers, who will in turn be more inclined to work with you or help you study when you’re in the weeds.

Summer courses only last a relatively short period of time. An entire semester worth of material is covered in as little as 6-8 weeks. This is the perfect opportunity to try out a class you are not one hundred percent sure about. It will give you enough time to become acquainted with the material, yet at the same time, if you end up hating it, you only have to deal with it for a couple of months. Seems like a win-win situation to me.

OK, we all know that summer is supposed to be a time to relax and have fun, but think about it this way—you may miss out on one or two concerts, baseball games, or trips to the lake in the summer but you definitely won’t miss out on everything. By taking classes during the summer session, you have the potential to significantly lighten your course load in the fall. It is often a much smarter decision to spread out your courses. This way you are able to really focus your attention on the classes that you are taking, and have a better chance of doing well. So, even though taking classes in the summer time may feel like a drag, it will pay off when you aren’t missing a single football game in the fall or pulling all nighters trying to study for all of your classes at once.

So, whether it is to get a feel for a class you never thought of taking or to lighten up your normal class schedule, taking a summer class is always a good thing to consider. If nothing else, it can even help you save money and graduate early, so you can get a head start on your possible career as a CPA!

Matt Urbizo- Tax Intern

I have to admit that I was very nervous walking into the office on my first day. PKM is my first internship and I did not have a clue what to expect. Lucky for me, I walked in and met Gail Hoggard right away. Gail was great, making myself and the other interns feel right at home. She took us on a tour of the office so we could meet everyone and introduce ourselves. We started off the week with orientation. We covered a lot of the policies, the culture, the evaluation process, and proper conduct and attire at the firm. I was told very quickly that I could lose the tie that took me thirty minutes to tie that very morning. It was good news. I learned a lot about the philosophy of the firm, “professional service with a personal touch,” and the importance of maintaining that attitude at all times. Nevertheless, I would say the most important thing I learned during orientation was how to provide the best service to the clients and what is expected of me in doing so.

On day two we started the training. We started off with our computers and a lot of IT training. The knowledge I gained about the security of the firm and the importance of it was extremely valuable. Security is a high priority for the firm in the sense that they work with very important information that needs to be kept private for the clients. We covered how to do everything in a secure manner such as creating good passwords, how to send a file securely, and being smart with your computer in taking good care of it.

The next few days were very interesting! I started to be trained by various employees in the tax department. Everyone was great and a lot of fun to be around. I was taught how to use GoFileRoom which is where all the files are stored electronically and how to use GoSystemTax which is a program that you do tax returns in. The most interesting thing I was trained to use was “RIA”. This is a research database in which you can find anything and everything on tax laws, rules, regulations and so much more. This led to me receiving my first research project! You would never know that research is an art until you have done some tax research. I learned new techniques on finding information from some of the tax managers, and went to work. I found it really interesting and thought it was cool to learn some of the issues and questions that are being raised right now. Coming from school, I had just assumed everything in tax is black and white. Now I get to laugh at myself for ever thinking that. Researching is a great tool and an opportunity to learn and create value for the firm.

The first week of my internship was a great experience. I honestly feel at home and feel like I have known everyone for so much longer than a week. We all go out to lunch together and have a good time…I have been treated to some really great food! One of the Partners took me and some of the other interns to a Braves game. I had such an awesome time with some good seats, good food, and great company. I also joined the firm’s softball team which is going to be so much fun! PKM is an amazing firm and it was been a great first week!

Julie Yeomans- Tax Intern

The first week of my tax internship at PKM was filled with loads of information. From the moment I walked through the door, I learned about the unique and fantastic culture that encompasses the firm. Everyone greets you with a smile and truly makes you feel welcome even after your very first day. The first week is mainly spent in training which involved us learning a lot about the computer system. I think creating passwords was one of the most stressful parts of the week, but if that’s as bad as it gets, I really can’t complain. Even though the training was long, I know that everything I learned will be useful throughout my internship. Also, I would say that it is a good idea to take notes during your technical training! Watching someone who knows what they are doing makes you think that you can do it too, no problem….until you try it for the first time on your own. Taking notes definitely helps to keep the information fresh in your mind and is a great reference to go back to when you can’t remember how something is done.

Now, not all of the time spent in training was technical. The training was well organized to teach us about the firm as a whole, PKM’s functional areas, and how their systems work. We learned about the career path at PKM, their policies, and stories of past events, which in my opinion was the best part! These stories included examples of what not to do at the office or at a client’s office, stories of firm outings, amusing employee anecdotes, and much more. Hearing these stories was not only entertaining but yet again reinforced the unique “family-like” culture that PKM prides itself upon.

In addition to the training, I was able to spend time getting to know my fellow interns as well as the other members of the firm through many lunches and breaks throughout the day. We had a wonderful opportunity to attend a Braves game with one of the tax partners during our first week. We had a ton of fun at the game, and I really enjoyed spending time outside of work with fellow PKM employees.

Towards the end of the week, it was time to start applying the knowledge I acquired during training about the various computer applications to a project. We were assigned a research project that allowed us to develop upon our research skills. This project was an opportunity for me to gain an understanding of the research complexity within the field of tax because the project contained a lot of grey areas. There was not a specific rule that I could look up and say, “Here is the answer.” In the beginning, that was frustrating because I was not sure if there was a straightforward answer, which I just kept missing. During that project, I felt like I asked a million questions… but at the same time I learned that there is nothing wrong with asking questions! By the end of the project, I was able to notice that I could find what I was looking for more quickly because I had determined the best ways to search within my topic.

The first week was a completely new and exciting experience for me. Every day I looked forward to coming into the office because I never knew what the day was going to hold for me. I would have to say, the highlights of the first week were getting to know everybody and having the opportunity to work on a complex tax issue. I learned many things during that first week that I will use throughout my professional career, and I am excited to continue learning more as the summer continues.