In First Person

Jesse LaGrossa: Not An Intern Anymore!

Greetings!

A little bit about me: I graduated from Rutgers University this past May. Believe it or not, my major was accounting. While I did not officially declare a minor or double major, most (if not all) of my elective courses were Finance related. What better way to combine these two interests than working in BBD’s Investment Management Group.   

I was born and raised in South Jersey, where I currently reside. I come from a large family including 9 siblings, a dog, two cats, and a couple of other animals excluding my brothers. I played hockey and golf growing up and I am an avid Philadelphia Flyers fan.

I began my career in public accounting one month into my freshman year of college. At the time, I had been entertaining the idea of declaring accounting as my major, but I wasn’t certain.  I figured it would be in my best interest to find out what public accounting is all about sooner rather than later. That being said, I did not want to wait until my junior or senior year and realize that this isn’t what I want to do for the rest of my life. I was fortunate enough to land a part-time job with a regional public accounting firm a few minutes from my home in South Jersey. I spent over three years there before coming to be BBD as an intern in January 2011. Finally, after a combined almost four years of interning with two public accounting firms, I’ve begun my full-time career.

Even though I started full-time only a couple of months ago, I’ve been with BBD for almost a year at this point. So far, I’m extremely happy with my decision to join the BBD family as they provide a friendly and welcoming work environment. Everyone is down-to-earth and willing to take the extra time to explain the technical aspects about the job that might be confusing to some. Over the next year I’ll writing about my first full year in public accounting giving you the inside scoop that you won’t get anywhere else (except from the other bloggers). 

Nick Pollander: And So It Begins...

So here I am, launching a career in public accounting.

Through the next year I’ll be taking you with me on my journey through the world of public accounting. This journey will not only include the details of my work, but a first person perspective of the emotional roller coaster that has already begun.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nick Pollander. I am currently a member of the firm’s Not-For-Profit Group. I’m 22 years old, reside in New Jersey, and graduated from Rutgers-Camden. I’m the oldest of 4 sons and have the greatest parents in the world. I’m not your average 22 year old. I’m actually a lot more boring then that. I’ve had the same girlfriend for the past 5 years, enjoy relaxing weekends, and I'm actually excited about my career in accounting. Some of my hobbies include playing/watching sports, lifting weights, and embarrassingly enough- playing video games. So if any noobs out there want to get pwned, just let me know.

Well, that’s me in a nutshell. The CPA exam textbook is calling and I must attend. Tune in next time to hear about how I got my foot in the door at BBD and the power of networking. That is, of course, unless a better topic comes to me in the mean time. Feel free to post comments below. After all, who wouldn’t want to comment on an accounting blog?

Sarah Bilotti: I'm Back!

Hello, I’m Sarah Bilotti, and I’m a member of BBD’s Class of 2011.  I graduated this past May from The University of Scranton, and started full time at BBD in July.  My experience with BBD actually began during my sophomore year of college.  I met Bobbi, our HR director, at my school’s recruiting event.  She invited me along with some other students to come visit the office to learn more about what the firm does and the kind of people that make up BBD.  Everyone I met that day was so nice and so excited to tell us about what an awesome firm BBD is. In the few short hours that my visit to the office lasted, I was able to witness the dynamic and friendly culture of BBD, and see what a great place it would be to work

During my junior year when it came time to consider an internship, I knew that BBD was where I wanted to be.  I was fortunate enough to have an internship in the Investment Management Group, which is the group I have now joined full time. 

The internship was an incredible learning experience because I was able to experience working on audits first hand.  If you have the opportunity to do an internship, I would absolutely recommend it. Of course, while it’s necessary to take accounting and auditing classes, there are some things that just cannot be taught in a classroom. I learned so much during my internship and feel like it definitely prepared me to begin my career in public accounting.

In the three months since I have been back at BBD, I have learned more and more each day and had a lot of great experiences.  I can honestly say that I’m certain BBD was the right choice for me.

Kate Rada: Hello!

Hi, I’m Kate Rada and I will be writing about some of my experiences during my first year at BBD.

Just to give you some background information on myself, I graduated in May from West Chester University with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance. It was a very hard road, but having both Accounting and Finance under my belt has really helped and prepared me for this job. Along those lines, if you still have time and are debating to take the extra step, at least try to minor in finance because it really helps you obtain a greater understanding in applying accounting concepts. While at WCU, I was a member of the Women’s Varsity Rugby Team, which definitely helped mold some time management skills and gave me various opportunities to get involved in the community.

During my sophomore year of college, I had a tax internship with a regional-size accounting firm located in Delaware.  Although I had a great learning experience there, I assumed that every public accounting firm was just black and white and impersonal like that firm was, but that was before BBD.

In the following year, I decided that I wanted more and I wanted to be able to grow.  I was so excited when I got the call from Bobbi, our HR Director, for the audit/tax internship.  I don’t even know how to begin to explain my amazing internship with BBD.  I was given such a wide array of opportunities, ranging from preparing my first 1120S, vouching invoices, searching through historical records, preparing endless Excel worksheets, and I loved it all.  And of course, during any busy season, you work long hours, but when you’re working with people that are so funny and friendly, time flies by as your crunching numbers.

I just started full-time this past August; I’ll admit I had a bit of nerves coming back but they left once I saw everyone again. BBD has such a warm, inviting environment; this is what makes them stand apart from the rest.

Frank Rongone: An Eye Opening Experience

Reflecting back upon my chance to serve the Christian Appalachian Project with my co-workers this past June is a humbling opportunity that will not be forgotten.  Before even beginning the 10 hour journey to Kentucky, I did a little research to know what to expect about the area we would be traveling to.  I came to find that it one of the most economically depressed areas in the United States.  Many of the residents of the surrounding Appalachian communities suffer from various health problems, rarely complete a high school level education, and usually live below the level of poverty.  In order to survive, help from the government, volunteer workers (for example, from the CAP program that BBD served), and donations from the public are vital.

The trip began early on a Sunday morning as I made my way along Interstate 64 with my fellow co-worker, Cristi Tilden, and her husband, Pete.  I will admit that the scenery was extremely rural, but also very refreshing.  On the way down, we were hit with a huge surprise when we came by a mall in Charleston, West Virginia that housed a Starbucks coffee shop.  After we left, it was back to the rural hilly views until we arrived at the CAP house in Salyersville, Kentucky on Sunday night.  It was there that we met Anita, the volunteer that would be cooking dinner for us that week.  My expectations were not set high, but she blew them out of the water with some of her homemade recipes.

On Monday morning we got to work.  One of the full time CAP volunteers, Bob, had been working on a house for a needy couple since March.  This couple had been living in an extremely run down home with a leaky roof, boarded up windows, and no electricity.  They clearly did not have the means to make a better situation for themselves, and I was thrilled to be able to help them.  By the end of the week, our BBD team was able to complete a substantial amount of work on the house including the outdoor siding, a handicap ramp to the front door, and a prime and paint job to all of the interior walls.  The couple who we were building the house for personally thanked us throughout each day to let us know how much of a blessing we were to them.

On the way home, I was extremely thankful that I was afforded that opportunity.  Not only was I able to help others, but I also felt like it was an eye opening experience to appreciate how fortunate I am in my own life.  Everyday it is taken for granted when I have the electricity to flip a light switch on, the clean, running water to take a shower, and the means necessary for groceries in a refrigerator.  I never knew that there were so many people in this country without the necessities that most of us would find it so difficult to live without.  For these reasons, I look forward to the BBD service trip next year, and hopefully we will be able to have the same impact that we did this past year.

Sam Dillman: Grateful For the Life I Have

I had no idea what to expect when I signed up for our firm’s service trip to Appalachia, Kentucky.  I heard stories, and I knew the reputation the area had from the news.  I understood how my colleagues felt about the trip and whether they were interested or not.  I had never been there, so this would be a new experience for me.  I personally felt obligated to go.  I felt obligated to my firm to show my support and to show them that I want to do these things and I am that kind of person.  I didn’t know what to expect. All I had to go on were videos and other life experiences to guide me.  After my service to that community, I left Kentucky with a new grasp of reality and even more gratitude for what I have.

First of all, I love the outdoors. I am an outdoorsman kind of guy.  This is coming from a sportsaholic and a kid who went to day camp almost every summer of his life and had a job there as well. My family looks to me for help with the maintenance of their house.  If something needs fixing or attending to, I am the son they call.  I was not worried about the labor aspect of this trip.  I already knew I loved working outdoors. It was what I would be working on and the reason why I was working on it that bothered me.  The realization of why we were building is what struck me so hard.  We were building a whole new home for a couple who were living in a place which should have collapsed years ago. This family needed to get out just for safety reasons alone.  I do not know how it was really still standing.  When I saw their home for the first time, I did not know how to describe it.  Still, only one word comes to mind when I think back on it and that’s dangerous.  This house was just dangerous.  So, when I first saw what needed to be done, I had already begun to understand why we were there.

This also became apparent when I took my first drive from where we were staying to our worksite.  I was too busy to notice much the night before when we were trying to find the house where we were staying for the first time.  We were lost, and I wasn’t really paying attention to my surroundings except for street signs.  However, the first trip the next morning to our worksite was an eye opener. Some homes were very large and beautiful, and others are rundown and looked deserted. There were two extremes.  To be honest, there were many more low class homes.  It also seemed that the upper class homes were tucked away into the woods, so they would be more distant from the lower class dwellings.  This was an interesting observation.  I was just imagining what I would be doing on our project during the drive.  Was our project going to be similar to the homes I was seeing?  Would it be worse?  Would it be an average home we were fixing?  Our project was definitely the worst I had seen.

I loved what I did.  I loved what I was working on.  I knew why we were working, because I was staring at the reason all day.  All I needed to do was look up from the hammer and nail and see the reason why I was helping build this new home.  Yes, I was hot and sweating profusely all day, but I really did love what I was doing.  It was a break from the desk and numbers.  My hands felt alive again with blisters that turned into calluses.  Yes, even with gloves, I still had blisters.  I was able to spend time outside of the office with my coworkers with whom I always have a great time.  The main reason for this trip was to help a community in need and this community really needed the help.  It was also a trip for me.  It was a trip to explore and learn about other communities that I would never see at home.  I learned how far I can reach to actually help another in need.  I learned more things about work and everyone involved.  I already felt grateful for every opportunity so far in my life, especially when it comes to work. My firm provided me with a great opportunity. This trip made me consider how grateful I am for the life I have.

Nick Stever: The View From the Siding

BBD went back to Kentucky in early June this summer.  This was my first service trip with BBD so I really didn’t know what to expect.  I have heard all the stories about the previous two service trips the firm went on, but haven’t got to experience it for myself.  We made the trip on a Sunday morning and drove ten hours to Salyersville, KY.  Once we got close to the location we were staying at, I was very surprised at the range of types of homes.  There would be stretches of very nice gated homes, and then there would be stretches of poverty-stricken homes.  A representative from the Christian Appalachian Project explained the two extremes and said that this is very common but a large portion of the population was extremely poor.  We drove about a half hour to our job site each morning and the final turn to get to the house took us up a dirt road, which was interesting because it was lined with chicken coops.  My team was building/finishing an entire new home for a very nice couple.  Their house was in very bad condition and needed to be replaced.  So our team broke up into three groups for different jobs to be completed.  One team sanded and painted the inside of the house, one team build a deck and handicap ramp in the front of the house, and my team was responsible for hanging siding on the outside of the house.  After a quick crash course in how to hang siding, we (Mike Boyle, Frank Rongone, and I) went to work.  It took some time to get the hang of it, but by day two we were moving.  By the end of the week, our team became proficient in hanging siding.  Working on a 20 foot ladder while holding the siding up and trying to nail in the siding isn’t an easy task.  But it was all worth it knowing you are helping someone less fortunate.  I thought the manual labor was a nice change from the typical day in the office. 

Of course being from Philly, we had the Phillies on our mind.  On Monday night, the Phillies were playing on ESPN.  So when we got back from the job site that day, Frank and I decided to make it our mission to find a sports bar in the area to watch the game.  With the help of a neighbor’s WI-FI network, we were able to search and find the only sports bar in the entire area.  Everyone went out to the sports bar to watch the game and relax.  We met some nice local people and got to bond with co-workers over popcorn, a couple drinks, and the Phillies.  It proved to be a great trip.  We worked hard, helped people in need, and had a good time doing it. 

Nick Stever: The Shot Heard 'Round the Office

Before I started working at BBD, I didn’t think sports and public accounting would go hand in hand.  Once I started at BBD, I quickly realized that sports are an integral part of the culture at BBD.  Being a huge Philadelphia sports fan, this proves to be a great part of the job.

Last summer, PICPA Emerging CPAs Group hosted a networking event at the Phillies game.  BBD sent about ten people from the firm including myself to the event.  It was a great opportunity to network with other CPAs and emerging CPAs from the area.  I got to mingle and network with CPAs from other firms that varied from managers, seniors, and staff levels.  The event included a happy hour, food, and ticket to the game.  You can’t beat that, and I got a chance to meet new people in our field of public accounting.  It was great event!

BBD also has a fantasy football league.  Last football season, I joined the league.  The league has twenty people from BBD.  The games and matchups during the season become fun and spirited debates at work during the week.  At the end of the season, there is a champion crowned and a toilet bowl champion crowned, which is awarded to the worst team in the league.  Luckily, I stayed out of the toilet bowl but unfortunately I didn’t come close to winning the championship.  There are two plaques hanging in our lunch room with all the champions and toilet bowl champions engraved on them. 

March Madness.  Those two words are enough to make anyone excited.  Like many other offices, BBD has a March Madness pool.  This makes the office a very interesting place during March.  Towards the end of some games, a few people would migrate over to the TV in our lunch room to catch the final seconds of the games.  One game in particular stood out.  BBD has quite a few Temple alumni working at the firm including myself, so the Temple game against Penn State was a must see in the final minutes.  Temple’s Juan Fernandez hit a buzz beater to win the game.  Simultaneously, everyone watching the final seconds screamed from the lunch room.  It has since become known as “the shoot heard round the office” because the reaction could be heard everywhere in the office.

Cristi Tilden: Supervisors- The Go-To People

When starting a full-time job, you start to develop an understanding of how people manage differently.  This coming August will be a year since I’ve started at BBD. and I have seen that each person has a different personality and style.  Three of the supervisors I have worked under are Mike Haubrich, Melissa Dunn, and Ben Hoover.

Each supervisor has a different approach to the way they oversee staff. Some are more laid back and some are very organized and prefer work done in a specific way. It’s a good learning experience to see the different styles and to see the way they handle situations and problems. I get to see them interact with clients and hear how they talk on the phone with clients. Every work-related question and problem I face, I can approach them and they will have an answer or some solution. They are the go-to people!

I can say that there is one thing that all my supervisors have in common and that is that they are fun to work with. I never feel uncomfortable or awkward asking questions. That is really important to me, especially in accounting where there is such a learning curve.  So, if you’re about to start a full-time job or ever get the opportunity to work at BBD-- keep your eye on your supervisors and managers, you will surely learn something! I know I have!

Sam Dillman: How I Became Managing Partner During My First Year at BBD

I remember peaking into the “Managing Partner of the Week” raffle bag at our annual Christmas party and seeing the numerous tickets which had been dropped in there.  I dropped mine in, turned to my girl friend, Erica, who straight out said, “You’re going to win that.”  What was funny at the time was that I actually believed her.  I always have a knack for getting the lucky draw with something.  The only time my Mom gambles is when I’m leaning on the slot machine.  She thinks I am the luckiest.  Then the time arrived to draw the names and what do you know?  Mike Boyle, our managing partner, says, “I don’t believe it.”  Now when I heard him say that I imagined the name Rosemary, our firm accountant, would be called.  Mike had just thanked Rosemary for all she has done, so the “I don’t believe it” line made me believe Rosemary’s ticket was in his hand.  It was actually my name he called.  Everyone looked to the other side of the room from where I was sitting like there was another Sam at BBD I did not know about.  I turned to Erica; she just nodded as if to say “Yes, I was right” and that is when I began to brainstorm.

Now, plenty of ideas came to mind when I received this prize.  Some were too extreme to follow through with, but at the same time I wanted to take advantage of this.  I wanted to have fun with it.  I immediately knew a pizza party and dress down day had to be two of my initiatives.  It was only proper to dedicate it to the Flyers for their game seven.  Of course, I received many emails to expedite salary increases, and I wish I could have tackled every decision my way.  I signed an expense report for Bobbi, and then I was told at home by my family that it was fake and it was only meant to entertain me.  All fun and games at home, but I still enjoyed adding my signature.  Of course, the best part was the big corner office.

The corner office is that known item in a business environment.  Everyone knows what the corner office means.  While Mike was leaving for vacation, I was coming in with my fish tank.  I mean I had to give the fish some light.  It’s pretty bright in the morning too before the sun goes behind the nearest buildings.  Sometimes I would just find myself looking out the window.  I’m sure our partners and others who have windows like that have gotten used to it, but it was new to me.  I was disappointed I did not see a window washer.  Do not worry; this was not hours upon hours of day dreaming.  What can I say?  It was nice. 

All in all, my experience as managing partner for a time was great.  It was unfortunate that I lost a day with Good Friday and a half day with going to the Phillies game, but I definitely enjoyed the time that I had.  I enjoyed all the stares as people walked by noticing me instead of Mike sitting in his office.  I enjoyed all the little things from swinging a mini golf driver to staring out the window at the Parkway during the sunny morning.  I enjoyed the visits and recognition that comes with sitting in that office.  It was a great feeling and I could only imagine the true feeling of accomplishment felt by those who are the real owners of those offices.  It is only a goal that I can strive to achieve some day with lots of hard work. Hey, I have a week under my belt already.