Ben Brackmann- Audit Associate

As we are now in the middle of “busy season,” the amount of hours worked, and the need to prioritize to-do’s becomes very important. As the first real rush to get audits out the door is upon us, it makes sense to have a good system in place to ensure that nothing slips through the cracks. A few good organizational tips to help manage the stress and rigors of busy season are:

• Make a master to-do list: Put overall projects and goals down on paper, with details and due-dates to make sure you know when and where things have to get done

• Use a calendar: Sure, it may take more time up-front, but if you mark all due date for work and personal events down in one place, you’ll get a great picture of how things are stacking up (and how to balance everything that’s going on this time of year)

• Make a habit of staying current: Update your lists and schedule to ensure that you stay current with all of your to-do’s

With that said, putting these tips to good use will make sure that “busy season” is a little less stressful, and that you get a lot more done -and on time too!

Jenna Green-Systems Associate

We all know that passing the CPA exam is a huge milestone in the life of an accountant and that the commitment involved in passing the exam can be overwhelming at times. I know that before the exam, you need all the advice you can get so I thought I would share some of the tips I have learned along the way.

First, begin studying for the exam as soon as you can, especially while you are still in college. I know you hear this from everyone but it is absolutely true!! You may be busy studying in school but as you begin working full-time it only becomes harder to sacrifice social events with co-workers during the week and time with family and friends on the weekends. Getting a head start will take you a long way!

Second, make a commitment to go over the Becker reading material at least once and to complete all of the Becker study questions. If you successfully complete the Becker study questions and mark those questions that you did not get right the first time around to practice the second time around you are right on track to passing the exam. This seems like it is an easy feat, however, many times the reason people do not pass parts of the exam is because they do not complete all of the study questions at least once beforehand.

Third, do not get discouraged if you are unable to pass parts of the CPA exam on the first try. This can be a very difficult task and it is important to stay positive and focused on the end-result to ultimately accomplish your goal.

Fourth, reward yourself for your achievements! Each time you pass a portion of the exam give yourself at least a week off to enjoy yourself and have time with friends and family without the stress of the exam weighing on you! Just remember, the sooner you pass the exam the more relieved you will be and you will be on your way to a successful career as a CPA.

Alison Derringer- Tax Staff

Most candidates studying for the CPA exam are working professionals and let’s be honest, at the height of “busy season,” when accountants are clocking in anywhere from 50 to 70 hours a week, studying is not going to be at the top of your list of priorities, it’s just not. At the same time, you don’t want to just put the CPA exam on hold; you want to become a CPA as soon as possible. So, how do you find time to study when you’re just too, for lack of better words, “busy?” Well, you are an accountant aren’t you?? Numbers are you’re thing. You know how balance sheets, statements of cash flows, and income statements work. You can balance a financial statement in your sleep so presumably you should be able to balance your own time, right? Here are a few valuable tips for keeping on track during the seemingly endless months of January through April.

1.Know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. First and most importantly, you need to have a vision. Remember what your ultimate goal is and stick to it. Without keeping your goals in mind you are bound to lose sight of where you want to be and end up getting discouraged. You might ask yourself, “Wait, why am I spending hours on end reading books and taking notes?” Then, light bulb! Oh yes because I want to become a CPA. Be sure to remind yourself of all the benefits of eventually achieving your goals and studying won’t feel nearly as hollow.

2.Fail to plan and you plan to fail. Without a plan it is much easier to get sidetracked and in turn minimize your efficiency. You wouldn’t hop on a plane and fly to another country without having an itinerary, would you? Well maybe you would, but most of us would want to at least know where we’re staying, how much things are going to cost, mode of transportation, etc. In much the same way, you can’t just dive into your books without first having a plan. Ask yourself plenty of questions. …how much time do you realistically have to dedicate to studying? What will you do if you get sick? And so on. Once you have a plan laid out you can focus your energy on studying rather than worrying about what you’re going to do next.

3.Don’t neglect your health! Speaking of getting sick….if you have ever heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, physiological needs are at the bottom of the pyramid. Maslow wasn’t just arbitrarily placing them there for fun. It’s because if your physiological needs are not met you can’t progress to meeting your other needs like self actualization or achieving goals and desires…hmmm sound familiar? Make sure through all the chaos that you are allotting time in your planning stage for plenty of sleep, exercise, and healthy food because we all know when you’re sick all your other priorities become insignificant.

4.No one likes a Hermit! Last, but of course not least, remember to plan time for your friends and family during this demanding time. We all know you want to become a CPA, but what good is becoming a CPA if it ends up costing you imperative relationships. Don’t lock yourself in a dim lit room, hovered over your desk. Not only is that slightly creepy, but no one likes a hermit, save them for the beach. Your friends and family will understand that between work and studying you are realistically not going to have much time for them. That’s what planning is for and make sure they are penciled in somewhere. If you keep positive relationships with people that are closest to you they will inevitably be more inclined to help you out when you are say, engrossed in the middle of a chapter and good old Rover needs to go outside and do his business.

Keep these tips in mind and you will make it through busy season and pass the CPA exam with flying colors!

Doug Kant- Audit Associate

In this industry, working 40 hours or more a week is far from a phenomenon. After a while, your daily routine may become monotonous, and you cannot always rely on external incentives to get you going- which is why it is important to be able to motivate yourself. Donald Latumahina’s recent article on self motivation summarizes many realistic ways to keep yourself driven, whether it be at work or any other aspect of your life.

1.Have a cause- Find a cause you care about. While other causes could inspire you temporarily, a cause that matters to you can inspire you indefinitely. It’s a spring of motivation that will never dry

2.Have a dream. A big dream- Having a dream is important because it’s difficult to be motivated if you don’t have anything to shoot for. You need a goal. That’s what your dream is for.But just having a dream is insufficient. Your dream must be big enough to inspire you. It must be realistic but challenging. It must stretch your ability beyond your comfort zone.

3.Be hungry- To be truly motivated, you need to have hunger and not just desire. Having mere desire won’t take you through difficult times since you don’t want things badly enough. In many cases, hunger makes the difference between the best performers and the mediocre ones.

4.Run your own race- Comparing yourself with others is an effective way to demotivate yourself. Even if you start with enthusiasm, you will soon lose your energy when you compare yourself with others. The only competitor

5.Take one more step- When you meet obstacles along the way, there could be the tendency to quit. You may think that it’s too difficult to move on. You may think that your dream is impossible to achieve. Just focus on taking one more step forward. Don’t think about how to complete the race. Don’t think about how many more obstacles are waiting for you. Just focus on taking the next step.

6.Let go of the past- Today is a new day and you have the chance to start again. No matter how bad your past might be, you still have a bright future ahead waiting for you. Just don’t let the burden of the past stop you.

Keep these tips in mind and you will be able to keep yourself motivated even when your goals seem completely unattainable.

Debbie Sessions - Partner & Chief Operating Officer

A recent article written by Peter Vajda, a founding partner of SpiritHeart, discusses an issue Americans and a lot of the world are now facing with all the advancements in technology. Vajda states, “The reality is within this electronic, ‘transactional’ world, what is happening is that more and more folks may be ‘connecting”; however, fewer and fewer folks are ‘relating.’” With all the new technologies we live in a much more interconnected world, but the technology is also causing us to live in a much less “interrelated” world.

This is not only occurring in the business world, but also in people’s personal lives. Between email, iPhones, Blackberrys, LinkedIn, MySpace and many more, we are losing the “relationship” and simply “connecting.” This type of new relationship lacks an emotional connection and a deeper sense of commitment and intimacy.

Vajda goes on to state, “Healthy, conscious relationships that exude openness and trust can only be cultivated when and where all parties experience an ‘emotional safe zone’. As relationships are replaced by ‘electronic’ interactions and transactions, emotional connection, the ‘human factor’…erodes.”

Here are some self-reflection questions to ask yourself:

• What is your preferred mode of communicating? In person or by electronic device (even when in-person is very do-able)?
• How would you describe the nature of your relationships at work, at home and in friendships: connecting or relating? What would others say about how you relate?
• Are you usually physically available when folks need you? Emotionally available?
• How often do you have face-to-face conversations with each other as opposed to snippets sitting side by side while watching TV, or reading the paper or some business document, etc.?
• When you and your family sit down for meals, is the cell phone also a required utensil?

To read more on this topic view the entire article here, “Connecting vs. Relating - Wall Street is But a Symptom.”

Peter G. Vajda, Ph.D, C.P.C. is a founding partner of SpiritHeart, an Atlanta-based company that supports conscious living through coaching, counseling and facilitating. With a practice based on the dynamic intersection of mind, body, emotion and spirit, Peter’s approach focuses on personal, business, relational and spiritual coaching.

Jenny Price - Audit Manager

According to Brian Tracy of Brian Tracy International, the most common form of stress that people experience is the feeling of being overwhelmed with far too much to do and having too little time to do it in. Would you agree?

“Time poverty” is the largest single problem facing most professionals in America today and that is probably true for most college students as well. Between classes, studying, group meetings, creating resumes, looking for jobs and even working your current job having skills in time management are going to be key in your success.

In Brian Tracy’s article, “Too Much to Do, Too Little Time” he lists the keys to time management. Tracy states, “The two indispensable keys to time management are: 1) the ability to set priorities; and 2) the ability to concentrate single-mindedly on one thing at a time.” Setting priorities is the way to make sure the items you must get done, will actually get done.

Ask yourself the question, “What is the most valuable use of my time right now?” This will help you stay on track because the natural tendency is for us to clear up the small things first rather than focusing on the important items.

Time management takes a lot of self-discipline, but when done right you’ll see your stress levels continue to fall!

Doug Kant - Audit Staff

Do you ever find yourself wanting to just relax on a Sunday night, but all you can do is worry and stress about the upcoming workweek? Taking a few moments to plan for the week will help lower stress levels and help you take control of your life! Having a plan in place will help the week run more smoothly and ensure that you can relax with family and friends on the weekend. Here are some tips from Monster’s Career Advice to help you plan for your upcoming workweek:

Prepare to Be Happy: Happiness is a choice and you’ve got to take the choice back. Choose to be happy, passionate and organized, and what you want to accomplish will happen.

Know What You’ll Eat: Don’t sit at work worrying about what you’re going to make for dinner, have a plan for both lunch and dinner meals for the whole week before it even begins!

Get Up 15 Minutes Earlier: Use the extra time in the morning to have a relaxed breakfast, rather than grabbing a random fruit or cereal bar as you run out the door. Remember, Mom always said, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!”

Write It Down: Make a list of items you regularly take with you to work and put it somewhere visible in your car to make sure you don’t forget anything in the morning. A visual calendar made for the fridge is also a handy tool and it let’s everyone know where everyone else is and what he or she are doing.

Be Ready to Ask for What You Need and Also How You Can Help: Everyone needs something from work, whether it be the chance to be more creative, the opportunity to manage, etc. Make sure you also take the time to see how you can help your coworkers to make their lives a little easier too!

Christian Albarracin - Audit Staff

Are you struggling to maintain your career while having a personal life at the same time? It may help to draw out a plan to help you create that work/life balance that everyone is trying to achieve. In writing out your plan you may discover what it is that is causing you to be burnt out. Once you know the cause of the problem it will be much easier to fix it. Once you outline what you want out of your career and your personal life it will be that much easier to find balance. You will realize that you don’t have to sacrifice your personal life for a successful career.

Start out by figuring out what you want to accomplish in your career. This could be a broad outline of where you want to go in the next five to twenty years, or just what you want out of your current position. It could help to think about what skills you want to develop and what responsibilities you would like to have. The next step is to define what you want out of your personal life. This includes anything from hobbies, health and nutrition, or spending time with loved ones. This should include everything that is important to you. Now, to create a measure of how to determine if you are living up to your ideals create your definition of success. You should do this in terms of your career and your personal life, separately.

Now it’s time to create your plan. This is where you can plan for accomplishing something important in both your career and your personal life. Establishing a schedule for completing your goals is essential, as well as a contingency plan in case you need to switch a few things around. It is also important to let the people in your life know about your plans and work together to accomplish your goals.

Chelsea Carpenter - Audit Senior

With all the technology and gadgets available to us these days, it is very easy to stay connected to our work 24/7. From the Internet to Blackberries, there is always a way to find yourself doing work related tasks when you’re outside of the office. Setting some boundaries in your life to keep this from happening may be difficult, but in order to maintain some work/life balance it is very necessary! Here are some excellent tips to help you separate your work and personal life.

Choose hobbies that engage you - engaging in hobbies that have clear objectives and challenge you is a great way to stay away from work. Participating in sports, painting, games, or even crossword puzzles are some great examples. These activities, unlike watching TV, will provide you with a sense of challenge that you will find in your work.

Set personal goals - Setting goals for your personal life, just as you would your professional life, will give more meaning to your activities other than just recreation or relaxation. This will motivate you more to meet the goals and stay away from work outside of the office.

Make plans with others - Making after work plans to meet a friend at the gym or go out to dinner together will not only involve the social interaction that every human needs, but it will be more likely that you’ll keep the plans. Solo plans are much easier to break or postpone, but when others are involved it is more likely you’ll put down the cell phone and turn off your laptop.

Create tech boundaries - Set up a separate email and instant messaging account, or even a completely new computer just for your personal use. This way you can avoid work related questions and discussions that can distract you the entire weekend.

Sarah McCracken - Tax Intern

A career in public accounting can cause for stressful times, especially during the busy season. Even if your career does not lead you into accounting, it is almost guaranteed there will be stress related to your job. A recent article in Atlanta Woman states that today, 90 percent of visits to primary care physicians are stress-related. Stress is the number one disability in the world and it is time that we start taking the necessary steps to better our health. The following are five tips to de-stress your life.

1. Schedule Mini-Vacations - You can create a “mini-vacation” by doing things you would usually do while on vacation. This could be anything from taking a walk outside to going to a local art festival. Don’t waste your vacation time - use these days to take a long weekend or even a half-day one afternoon. Spend this time with friends and loved ones.
2. Eat Mindfully - When you experience food for all it has to offer, your body will be well nourished. Take time to eat your meals and stop always eating on the go. Foods that are rich in vitamin B-6, such as bananas, mangos, peppers, chicken, and sweet potatoes, are excellent in reducing stress. Also, eating at least three servings of fish a week will help protect your brain from the diseases of aging, as well as other health benefits.
3. Stay Connected with Family and Friends - A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that individuals with strong social ties had dramatically lower rates of disease and premature death than those who felt isolated or alone. So call up your friends and family and get together for lunch, dinner, or anything you can do to spend time with others.
4. Create Rituals in Your Life - Establish daily rituals by setting time for family, dinners, or time just for yourself. You should also plan events to look forward to throughout the week. Research shows people just anticipating watching a funny movie had 27 percent more beta-endorphins.
5. Laugh as Often as Possible - Laughing releases endorphins, or “healing hormones.” Studies show that laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, increases muscle flexion, triggers the release of endorphins, and boosts immune function.

Laura Snyder - Director of Marketing

PKM’s very own, Debbie Sessions, is featured predominently throughout an article in the current issue of Accounting Today entitled, “Look Out Below! Taking a Hammer to the Glass Ceiling.” Debbie, in her role as Partner and Chief Operating Officer, helps the firm to develop internal programs that enable women (and men) to better manage work and personal responsiblities. Through flexible work schedules, teleworking and reduced schedules, PKM demonstrates its understanding of the importance of maintaining healty work/life balance.

Debbie is well versed in the field of work/life balance and has been involved on state and national levels with gender and work/life balance initiatives within the CPA community. Through a series of workshops, she consults with other firms on the issue of work/life balance and helps professionals:

• Understand and value gender differences
• Utilize gender-based strengths to embrace new challenges and opportunities
• Build a business case for alternative work patterns
• Achieve a healthier, long-term work/life balance