[Anonymous]

Hi guys, I graduated in May and began studying for the CPA exam this summer. I managed to fail AUD and am retaking it in October and took BEC recently, (no score yet but expecting something bad) Anyways, I start my first ever accounting job next month at a fairly large mid size cpa firm in NYC and will be commuting from home on Long Island.

I am starting to really freak out. I just recently was emailed my benefits package and employee manual. It hit me that I am really going to be working full time now and college life is over. I was having a panic attack and havent been able to sleep well. The thoughts of summer vacations and Christmas breaks never happening anymore have begun to scare me. I just started to feel things were moving way too fast.

In addition, I have no idea what to expect. I have never done an audit in my life before, the only audit experience I have is the 2 courses I took in college, and I have NEVER done a tax return in my entire life, only looking at one and doing a some research in my tax class in college.

I am afraid my peers who have experience in accounting will have an advantage and that I will be left in the dust to fend for myself. I heard in general that formal trainings are nothing like the real thing.

I guess what I’m trying to find out is, what will I realistically be doing my first year with the firm? (Specifically) What can they expect me to know and know how to do.

Thanks in advance guys. Just been very anxious, I tend to be anxious in general trying to break the bad habit.

[Kim4]

I understand how you feel…and probably everyone on here has felt that too.

Your company will not expect you to understand ‘real world' stuff just yet. Theres a difference between the way things happen according to the textbook, and then there's the way it really happens in real life. I'm just saying that they know they hired you right out of school and that you've never been on a real audit or done a real tax return yet … It is ok. You'll probably be getting coffee and making copies at first anyway 🙂

Just a suggestion…bring lunch on the first day, nothing that you have to heat up, just a brown bag lunch. But, be prepared to go out to lunch, and if someone invites you, go. The first month or so is all about getting to know everyone and fitting in the office. Kinda like the first day at a new school.

FAR -- 90
AUD -- 95
BEC -- 82
REG -- 92

DONE!

[Anonymous]

Time has the lovely quality to speed up and then abruptly slow down to a crawl.

Unfortunately, it slows down when you don't need it 😀

Don't worry about not having experience. You'll gain some pretty soon. It's a different kind of knowledge. Your theoretical knowledge is more sophisticated.

And there will be summer vacations and Christmas breaks, only much shorter. Don't you know that all working people are also living for them :)))

[Keely]

I just started my first public accounting job last week, and I feel like I could have written this post. I have already cried a few times because I am so depressed about having to be somewhere 8 hours a day five days a week (and more during busy season).

My first two days were HR stuff in headquarters and was given a VERY brief overview of our accounting system. I was freaking out because I had absolutely no idea what was going on. Both days we new hires were taken out to lunch. It was very laid back and everyone was nice. Thursday and Friday I was at my office and they had me working on stuff right away. Granted, it was ridiculously tedious, but it was stuff that had to be done. I basically worked in Excel the entire two days. I did expense testing, search for unrecorded liabilities, fixed asset testing, etc. I really have no idea what any of that means, I was just given some supporting documentation and told to make sure the numbers add up. It was a lot of copy/paste and formatting Excel spreadsheets. You definitely catch on fast though, by doing. I figured out our system better within 30 minutes of hands-on use when I hadn't figured it out in 8 hours of training. I was also taken out to lunch again!

I honestly don't know what to expect either. Whether it's high-stress, how much time is spent out of the office, etc. I guess it varies, but I'm just doing what I'm told right now. It's nice to have a forum like this to get some feedback and insight into what to expect.

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[Anonymous]

Congratulations on graduating college. Welcome to the real world.

You will get used to this. No need to panic.

One tip: Do not think of your responsibilities as one huge impossible task. All the big projects are broken down into smaller bite size chunks. You're not going to eat that footlong sub in one bite. You hate to eat it bite by bite like everyone else. That's how work will be. One bite at a time.

[Kru]

This is the point where you come to realize that most of the stuff you learned in college is a waste except for some accounting terminology. Congratulations on becoming a real-life freshman and good luck all the way!

AUD - 82p
FAR - 69, 72, 75p
BEC - 09/2012
REG - 10 or 11/2012

Using CPAExcel, Gleim for SIMs, and Red Bull

[LSNYC]

Good luck! You'll be fine, I promise! I was in your boat a few years ago, almost exactly, mid-sized firm in NYC, commute from Long Island (that didn't last long, I ended up moving to the city). Not everyone you start with but most of them will be in similar situations with the amount of experience they have. When I started we had 7 days of HR training and training on the programs we wold be using. I started with 15 people and most people had no experience or an internship or two, a few had more, but they were treated no different.

Everyone I worked with when I started was extremely helpful and willing to teach the new staff. Something that really helped me was as soon as I got assigned to a job, I reviewed the prior year work, and when they gave me work I asked questions, lots of them! People want you to succeed it benefits them too if you excel. My first year I helped with confirmations, bank reconciliations, testing controls, some tax work and some administrative work (scanning, copying ect.) But honestly I started with other people who had totally different work, it will all depend on the jobs you get assigned too. I found two seniors and a manager that I was really comfortable with and they gave me lots of guidance, that helped me a lot.

I will admit it was culture shock at first but I made 2 of my best friends at that job, and got some of the best experience I could have asked for. Plus the paycheck was nice 😉 I did a lot of real estate work during my 6 tax seasons at that job, and now work for a real estate company in the city.

Good luck again!

A - 61, 91!!
B - 78!
F - 76!!!
R - 71, 73, 74, 69, 77!!!!

Finally done!

This is my 2nd attempt at the exam, I had two parts passed (failed many) and I stupidly quit, big mistake. Now I'm back and with a vengeance!

[Anonymous]

How is the interview for that first job? The company knowns you have no accounting experience, do they ask accounting questions or is it just the normal interview questions?

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much guys, that was some really great information and advice. I guess I will just have to take it one day at a time.

Is there anything specific I can learn on Excel to help me out now before I start? I can watch some youtube clips or whatever.

None of my classes were very heavy on Excel (only one Excel course on Management Information Systems, but we all know how that goes, as soon as the class ends and you get the grade, everything is blank again), so while I have the usual basic knowledge (sum, etc) what can I learn on excel that will be most helpful?

[OTW2CPA]

Vlookup and pivot tables would be a great starting point in Excel.

Good luck David!

FAR: 8/11 - 80
BEC: 2/12 - 74, 5/12 - 80
AUD: 8/12 - 79
REG: 12/12 - 80

**used Kaplan primarily
*used Wiley study guide as supplement for BEC
*used Ninja notes AUD and REG

[WantToBeDone]

I think that everything you see on the header in Excel is commonly used in large data spreadsheets (which you'll use in audit). Filters, sorting, basic formulas, vlookups, grouping/ungrouping, text to columns, adding comment boxes, and pivot tables have all been very useful to me while working.

Goodluck with the new job!

BEC - 80
AUD - 85
FAR - 76
REG - 75

[MeaDebitum]

“I have already cried a few times because I am so depressed about having to be somewhere 8 hours a day five days a week (and more during busy season).”

What?

[Whatdidyou]

^lol, I saw that too. Hopefully every college student has had at least a couple jobs in their lifetimes where they worked much more than that.

REG - Passed!!
BEC - Passed
FAR - Passed
AUD - Passed

Study Materials: Becker basic course

[Mayo]

Lol, busy season will be eye opening.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[jenuno01]

“I have already cried a few times because I am so depressed about having to be somewhere 8 hours a day five days a week (and more during busy season).”

LOL!

@David, just keep in mind you were hired for a reason. They saw potential in you. Show that potential. Be patient, you won't be an expert right away.

Class of 2012

[Keely]

Sorry, folks. Guess I was just lucky not to have to work 40 hours a week while going to school. It's a culture shock and everyone goes through it at some point. I just went through it later than most. The OP specifically referenced no longer having the freedom of long Christmas vacations, summer break, etc. I really don't know what all the fuss is about over my comment.

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[Author]

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