Alison Derringer - Tax Intern

This summer there were 5 interns at PKM - Four in Audit and one in Tax. After collaboration we came up with some things new interns might want to know when coming to PKM. Hope this helps!

In General…

• You probably don’t know much or anything about what you are doing and everyone expects that, so always ask lots of questions instead of guessing.
• During training be extremely weary of sudden changes in your schedule such as flights out the next day and being double booked… it’s most likely a prank to see how you will respond!
• If you set your voice mail, don’t get creative with your access code, because you might forget it. You would need to contact Kim, who would contact the phone company and they will set your phone. It might take up to two weeks before you can retain access to your messages.
• Always lock your computer when stepping away. There are some pranksters at the office.
• Be prepared to speak in front of the entire firm at the intern dinner. You will be called out and stories will be told on any mishap you encountered!
• Don’t eat breakfast before you get to the office on Friday mornings because there is Krispy Kreme in the break room. Gaining weight during your internship will happen, just accept it!
• It might be a good idea to have a comfortable pair of shoes in your desk drawer. It is not fun walking down 18 flights of stairs in heels during a fire drill.

Audit Tips

• When talking with a client, act like you know what you are talking about, even if you don’t because confidence speaks louder than words.
• When doing a cash count, always take your calculator, pen and paper with you.
• Know what bait money and dye packs are and be careful handling them during cash counts! Bait money is strapped cash that is attached to an alarm in each teller drawer in case the bank is robbed. A Dye pack consists of strapped currency where the top two and last two bills are real currency and the middle bills are decoys that are filled with dye and explode when taken outside the bank.
• When you see the letters NCN, this means, “Not considered necessary”.
• When working with Candice, you must love Dolly Parton.
• All in-charges are different so be prepared to adapt to their style. For example, Candice has many unique phrases that you may have to ask for clarification on. (Scrolli-oli-oli means scroll down).
• Make sure you get rest before you travel to Cullman, Alabama because the client enjoys entertaining practically every day and night.
• Submit your time and expense report ahead of time whenever possible. When on an out-of-town engagement, you might have limited Internet access or the server might be down. It would be a good idea to have Margaret’s phone numbers on speed dial in your cell phone. Don’t get frustrated the first time you complete your time and expense report - it is confusing! Everyone is willing to help if you have any questions.

Tax Tips

• There might be days when you have nothing to do, enjoy them because when you cannot get your tax return to balance you will wish you had nothing to do.
• If you see a good snack in the break room, grab it, because if you don’t - someone else will.
• You can work on a couple of clients per day so make sure you keep up with your time. Also, if you are using the timer function in Practice Solution, make sure you stop it before going to lunch!