In First Person

Seth Morgan: Tips for the Transition From College to the Real World

Transitioning from college to the working world is exciting and daunting at the same time.  You have a chance to make something of yourself and show your true abilities in your profession.  When starting out you want to give yourself every advantage to show what an asset you are to your company.  Through this transition you should be aware of some of the smaller aspects of how to conduct yourself in this new professional environment.  The two areas I think are most important to be mindful of are (1) what you say and (2) the things you do.

It is very important to understand the professional environment you work in is very different from the college environment.  As a very talkative person, this was a very important lesson for me to learn.  Talking to co-workers, bosses and supervisors especially, about a crazy night/weekend out with friends, is definitely not a good idea.  As nice and down to earth as your bosses may be, it is still a place where labels can be placed very easily.  Especially when starting out, people establish a perception of who you are very quickly, and a perception of being a partier or an irresponsible new hire can be a long-lasting blemish.  It takes much more work to restore that perception than it does to mess it up.  Another aspect of how to watch what you say relates to talking about clients.  Confidentiality is a concept that we don’t have to worry about in college as much, but the reason for not talking about clients at all outside of work is often who is listening to your conversation that can hurt you.  You never know when an employee or relative of the owner of the client is standing nearby and listening to your conversation.  Even when at lunch with co-workers, it is important to not use client names or even distinguishing details about the company.  Confidentiality is part of our professional standards, and must be taken very seriously.  Be mindful of what you say, regardless of who you are speaking to.

Secondly, I know this may seem very obvious to be mindful of what you do at work, but there may be some aspects that you may not have thought about.  The concept behind why I bring this up is “perception is reality.”  Similar to being careful of what you say, often the small things you do can impact perception of you, especially to managers and partners who don’t work directly with you on a regular basis.  What I consider one of the more frequently made mistakes is texting on your phone at work.  You really shouldn’t text at work at all.  This may seem harsh, but let me explain.  Let me start by stating your bosses are always watching, whether you see them or not.  This is because they hired you and need to make assessments of how you can handle yourself.  All it takes is pulling out your phone to send one text as your manager or partner walks past your cube for them to consider you a “texter.”  Especially when out with clients or out to eat with coworkers, put your phone away.  It is very disrespectful to be texting while at a table with other people, because it makes them feel like whatever you are doing on your phone is more important than they are.  Our generation is so used to our friends and family being at our fingertips through technology, but in a professional environment, unless you are the boss, that doesn’t leave a good impression.

I only touched on a few of the major mistakes I can think of.  Being conscious of these areas will help not distract from a good work ethic and the value you can bring to your company.

Sam Dillman: Not An Intern Anymore...

As an intern I worked with many teams and on different audits.  It was not until I became a full-time accountant that I had my own start-to-finish audit with only my manager with me.  Boy is it different!  I knew many different items needed to be addressed, but I did not know the real extent until I started full-time.  Of course, I knew the most important areas that required the most work, but there are so many other processes involved.  Let’s just say my full first audit was a real eye opener.

An audit starts with the information that we receive from the client or the administrator.  This step was not within my sphere as an intern.  The information and schedules were provided to me when then I began the work.  Now, a full time employee, I was the auditor requesting the material through our audit request letter.  I was the one making changes to the letter and making sure everything we needed was on that list.  I had more interaction in the whole initial stage than ever before such as the audit planning and more client interaction.  I knew this too when I was going into this situation.  I understood I was not an intern anymore and more responsibility would fall on me.  So right from the beginning, I knew this audit was going to be a completely new experience.

This client was also new to the firm as well, so this added more to my first full experience.  Additional procedures need to be done when we perform an audit for the first time.  It just seemed like everything new that could possibly come up did during this audit.  I accepted the information and worked it.  I made sure to really focus and dedicate myself to this.  I asked as many questions as I could think of; no matter who I asked.  If I ran into a situation I was not sure about, I just asked whoever was closest at the time.  Sometimes I just needed reassurance that I had the right answer.  Other answers eluded me.  That happens when you are going through things for the first time.  I was never fearful to ask a stupid question.  I knew that if I needed help I would have everyone’s support, especially with considering it was my first solo audit.  Everyone was around when I needed them and that was a great feeling to have.  We also had to travel for this audit, which I enjoy.

This travel experience felt different than the times I traveled as an intern.  Maybe it was the feeling of traveling as a full-time accountant and not as an intern.  There could be so many reasons why, but it was a great feeling to be able to interact with administrators one on one like I never did before.  It felt like a whole new game, and I was starting.  This was a trip with Curt (my manager) where the expectations were higher. I knew this was a different trip than all the previous ones.

Overall, I finished this audit with a sense of accomplishment, but with room for improvement.  I am trying to touch both ends of the spectrum.  I finished feeling proud of what I did and with the understanding I can do so much better and will do better.   I’ll be the first person to tell you that. I can take criticism, especially from myself.  It just adds to my tenacity to improve.  I felt like I knew so much more going into the next round of audits.  I knew what to expect and what to look for.  I saw things out of place that I did not see before.  No matter how much time it took, the job would be finished.  It was a great feeling at the same time.  I was working in this area that I enjoyed, and I was part of something huge and important.  I know others like friends of mine who continue to search for jobs.  Finishing this audit impressed upon me how fortunate I am.  I took this assignment, did my best, and will strive to be the best as time goes on.  So, until next time, good luck in all that you do. 

Nick Stever: BBD's Investment Management Group

When our HR director asked me to rank which group I would like to work with the most, I ranked IMG first.  IMG is the Investment Management Group.  I chose to put IMG first because I was interested in learning all the details of the investment management world.  I started with the Investment Management Group last October.  Coming out of school with an accounting degree, I thought I knew a little about investments, yet over the past few months I have learned so much about the industry that I did not know before.

In the IMG group, we primarily audit mutual funds and hedge funds.  In the course of auditing mutual funds, I have learned all the details of the relationships between the fund accountants, the custodians, and the transfer agents.  All of these entities affect the audit, and we communicate with each one in order to gain comfort in the fund’s financial statements.  Also I have gained a better understanding of the rules and regulations relating to registered funds with the SEC.  We test different aspects of the fund’s holdings in order to gain comfort that the funds are in compliance with the rules and regulations of the SEC to remain as a registered fund.  Another interesting thing I learned a great deal about is mortgage-backed securities.  We all know about the mortgage crisis that occurred a couple years ago.  I knew the basic concept of mortgage-backed securities, but through the course of auditing funds holding them, I have gained a much better understanding of exactly what makes them up, how they are priced, and how they are bought and sold.  Over the past few months, my investment management knowledge has grown immensely.  As I continue to grow and learn in this field, I’m excited to see how much more I can learn.

 

Frank Rongone: What I'm Doing Day to Day

As many of you who are following our blog may not have had an internship in an auditing role, the thought of what a first year auditor does throughout the day has probably crossed your mind.  In case you are unfamiliar with how the auditing process works, in order to issue an audit opinion on financial statements, certain steps must be performed known as auditing procedures.  These procedures are tailored specifically to a company according to, for example, the industry in which it operates, whether the company is new and has never had audited financial statements, the comfort level in the internal control structure of the entity, etc.  The way we perform and document the procedures in each engagement is through what we call "work papers."  Work papers consist of pretty much anything such as the planning considerations of the audit, tests supporting our opinion, client prepared ledgers and journals, confirmation documents, contractual agreements, and anything else under the sun that we feel is necessary to support our conclusion.

As a first year staff accountant, I was surprised how much exposure I was given to different auditing procedures, specifically “testing procedures.”  As I mentioned, in order to give an opinion on financial statements, we have to gain comfort in the information presented on the statements (which was prepared by the management of the entity).  This comfort is primarily gained through the test of assertions such as “existence and occurrence” (aka, the balances/transactions of the underlying financial statements are real and actually happened), “completeness” (aka, ledgers/journals/source documents/etc. contain all transactions and are recorded properly and are reflected within the financials).

Not to get into specifics, but within the investment management group, there are several major tests related to the audit of a mutual fund.  We test the dividend income earned by the fund through the securities held within its’ portfolio, we test the purchase and sales transactions of the fund and we also test capital stock activity of the fund by examining the subscription and redemption activity throughout the year and the Net Asset Values that correspond with the activity.  These procedures are important, but they only represent a few of the many considerations that go into the auditing process of a mutual fund.  As a first year staff accountant in the investment management group, you can expect your day to day tasks to include everything I just mentioned and a lot more.   

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.

 

Frank Rongone: Successfully Navigating the First "Out of Town" Business Trip

As a rookie in the accounting profession, one experience I remember anticipating was my first visit to a client's office.  Working with our Investment Management Group, I got to experience things a little differently than most "first timers." The sites that we visit are actually the offices of the mutual funds' service providers (or fund accountants).  Our clients' service providers are located throughout the country which typically requires traveling long distance (in my case, a plane ride and a hotel stay). This particular visit was to a fund accounting office in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Being that I'm not exactly a frequent traveler, I was feeling a little anxious the morning of my flight.  My ride to the airport wasn't helping things either, considering I was stuck in traffic for half the way there.  All I could think about while I was sitting on the highway was how several of my co-workers had jokingly warned me not to miss my flight (because apparently it had been done by others in the past).  Things turned out smoothly though.  I made it to the security gate with an hour to spare, ate a cold, soggy breakfast sandwich before I boarded the plane, and landed in Ohio, ready to work, about two hours later  (jet lag not being an issue).

Thanks to these technological times, we receive the majority of our audit evidence electronically without having to leave the office.  As soon as I got to Cincinnati though, I immediately had to start digging into filing drawers and pulling out files.  Contrary to the majority of my generation, I’m not a huge fan of working on the computer with electronic files, so examining paper documents was, oddly enough, a treat.

Before I arrived, I was curious as to how I would be perceived by the client’s staff.  I take my role as an auditor very seriously; however, I feel that as a recent college graduate, there is always the potential to be viewed by others as a young kid who doesn’t know much.  After interacting with various members of the client’s staff, I did not feel like that was an issue at all.  Everyone was very cooperative and helpful; in fact, I think I might have even made one woman nervous when I asked to see a couple files at her desk that she had worked on (she calmed down after a second though).

Overall, it was a great first-time experience.  Seeing the operations of a service provider firsthand was a major growing step for me.  I was also able to work closely with my manager throughout the visit, so any questions that popped up were addressed immediately.  To say the least, I was upset to see the week come to an end.  If nothing more, it was great just to be able to work in real (not electronic) files.

Chris Mefford: My First Engagement

When I came into work my first week and was told I was going to my first client I did not know what to expect.  I was both nervous and excited at the same time.  I had some experience with not-for-profit audits from a past internship with a different firm.  However, I was still nervous being it was my first engagement.  The next day myself and another NFP staff accountant (Mike Haubrich) walked a few blocks to the client’s office.  When we arrived, I was introduced to the finance staff and the CEO.  We then settled into our work space and began to work.  At first, I was worried that I was not going to know what to do.  However, Mike was very helpful in teaching me what to do and what was expected of me.  At the same time, he did not spoon feed me everything-- I did have to prove myself knowledgeable in some aspects. 

 

After the first few days at the client, the nerves faded away and I became more comfortable in what I was doing.  I credit that mostly to Mike and the other staff at BBD.  They were very helpful in teaching me what I needed to do and explaining the reasons behind the actions.