In First Person

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!

Cristi Tilden: A Friendly Debate- Pennsylvania vs. New Jersey

 I recently got to access our firm’s camera and found this photo. I thought any faithful readers out there, might want to see who the bloggers are. Above is (starting from the left) Seth, Nick, Me (Cristi), Sam, and Frank.

 
 
One of my favorite things about BBD is our lunch room and most importantly – the interaction that takes place in the lunch room.  We have a lot of fun people at BBD who love to joke around and just know how to have a good time. The lunch room is where I have gotten to know a lot of people that I normally would not interact with at BBD. This brings me to a fun story about a person I rarely interact with— Chris Cahill.

As you can see above, I’m not a very intimidating or threatening person, but when you bring up sensitive issues it tends to boil my blood. So, a lunch room conversation arose about which state was better, NJ or PA.  At the time, we were working on Saturdays due to the busy season, and it was me vs. Chris Cahill from our tax department.

It all started when I overheard him say something unkind about New Jersey.  It was the type of insult that would offend all Jersians. He probably was not speaking in seriousness; he tends to be a guy that likes to joke. I of course was enraged and went on a tangent listing everything good about NJ.

Needless to say some of my fellow employees found it quite hilarious that I was getting so bothered by this. It was the talk in the lunchroom for a couple of weeks. I had even at one point told Chris Cahill that if he kept talking badly about New Jersey, he was no longer allowed to eat our great produce.

Don’t misunderstand me, I like PA as well. I am thankfully employed at the most awesome firm in PA, but ultimately, I am a Jersey girl by heart – I grew up in the state!

So another great thing about BBD – is the ability to joke with people. I wanted to play a prank on Chris Cahill about this and instead settled for buying us matching shirts.  Here is Chris in the best shirt ever:

 
 

He finally surrendered and admitted I won this debate.  What can I say?  Only the strong survive! 

Cristi Tilden: Working in the Non-Profit World

I’m part of the non-profit group at BBD.  There is so much to know about non-profits that I would consider it a niche within the accounting field.  Most non-profits’ year-ends typically fall on June 30 or December 31, so needless to say it is a busy time for the group. As we’re out in the field auditing our clients’ financial statements, we also are gathering information to file their 990s, which, if you remember from your tax class, is an “informational return.”  The 990s are a lot of work because one has to create work papers that document where the client has obtained the information for the return.

Being part of our group has exposed me to several kinds of non-profit organizations. There is a non-profit dedicated to everything you can imagine – headaches, hand therapists, Halloween, pet sitters. It has been really fun to see what’s out there!

I would contend that the non-profit group at BBD has the most fun out of all the teams at the firm. We get to be on-site with our clients more than most of the groups at BBD, so when traveling you get to know the person you’re auditing with pretty well. We work hard to get the audits done, but always find time to chat and laugh together. We also get to audit companies that don’t just look at the bottom line, but instead have a purpose and mission they want to push for – a mission for the greater good.

The cool thing about accounting is that there are so many areas one can pursue – tax or audit, public or private, government, non-profit, etc. I definitely enjoy working with the non-profit group here at BBD and would highly suggest it to anyone who gets the opportunity to join us.

 

Cristi Tilden: Matching Expectations With Reality

Going into my first full-time job I had a lot of expectations. I think most people do when they start anything new. Some of those expectations included:

• Full-time work would be easy
• Working in the city would be exciting
• Passing the CPA exam would be less difficult
• Partners are scary

Full-time work isn’t necessarily easy, but it is a great next-step after college.  Sure, I miss the flexibility that comes with a college schedule – sleeping in, staying out late, or going to the gym whenever I wanted – but working full time has encouraged me to keep a steady, enjoyable routine which I hadn’t maintained since high school. It can be challenging sometimes, but always rewarding.

I also can confirm that working in the city is fun! There are always people out getting lunch or going to happy hours.  There are amazing places to eat/shop and you can pretty much get anywhere by foot—which really helps burn a few extra calories.

Now let’s be honest: passing the CPA exam is difficult! But I was right – the opportunities provided on the job proved to be a practical way to apply what I’ve been studying.  Having been used to college exams, I quickly realized that the CPA exam is an exam that you really, REALLY have to study for, and one that requires a comprehensive grasp of the material. You can’t do the typical college thing – cram the whole night before and magically get a B+ on the final.  The CPA exam is a constant work in progress…studying must be continual.

Okay, I admit it! When I first started working at BBD I was very intimidated and scared of the partners – I knew they were knowledgeable and smart.  While it did take time to feel comfortable approaching the two partners I work with – Ron Scaramuzza and Adam Watson – I found that overall they are very helpful and approachable.  I am no longer anxious to talk to them about a question or issue.

Overall, there are so many expectations we have about the future.  Working at BBD is helping me match my expectations with reality, and the results have been pretty exciting.

Cristi Tilden: A Jersey Girl Commutes In Pennsylvania

My first day at BBD was on August 9, 2010.  Like any new job I was nervous and had no idea what to expect.  I met with Bobbi, our HR Director, to go over the new hire information: health benefits, time off, etc. After the morning passed I finally settled into my cubicle to fill out new hire forms. Ron Scaramuzza, one of the not-for-profit partners, approached my cubicle and told me I would be going out to a client in the Pennsylvania suburbs the next day. I was excited and anxious. 

As someone who was born and raised in New Jersey, I was very unfamiliar with Pennsylvania. A few of my co-workers, when giving me directions, explained to take the Blue Route to the Pennsylvania Turnpike- that just confused me. I had no idea where the Blue Route was located! 

Most of our not-for-profit clients are in the Pennsylvania suburbs, and some are in New Jersey. One of the clients I helped audit had their offices in a very old house.  The house used to be an orphanage, and of course the floor we were on used to be the old infirmary.  That was a bit creepy. The employees that worked there told me that an older woman used to care for the children and still haunts the old house. Of course knowing this made me quite uneasy if I was the last one there in the building.

Working in the Not-For-Profit Group here at BBD, I quickly noticed that we travel a decent amount.  Within my first month or two at BBD I had learned certain roads and places that I would probably have never explored on my own. The exposure to different places has been such a unique and enjoyable aspect of working at BBD.

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