[memmy29]

I passed all parts about a year and a half ago and landed a job in Internal Audit. I mostly deal with operational audits in higher education and love it. My issue is this: whenever accounting issues come up, I feel totally clueless.

Example: a client is having issues with their Quickbooks accounts and all these negative balances carrying forward over years. They need to make adjustments and want advice on how to proceed. I had to bring it to my boss in order to find out how to help them.

I never really gained experience as an accountant and I am ashamed to say that I feel clueless about accounting issues…even after a Masters in Accounting and a CPA license! It’s causing me a lot of stress and I’m becoming very self conscious about it.

Anyone feel this way? How do I gain more day-to-day knowledge of accounting issues without ever having been an accountant?

AUD-84, REG-75, BEC-84, FAR-77

Licensed CPA

CIA Exam
Part 1 - Passed
Part 2 - Passed
Part 3 - Passed

[Anonymous]

A college degree, CPA, etc. is all and only about teaching theories – actually getting your hands dirty and doing the work is always going to be different. It's no different from any other skill, like cooking – if you read 100 books but never step foot in the kitchen, you'll have a lot of theory, but I almost guarantee your first gourmet attempt would be a bit disappointing.

However, it does give you a lot of framework to use to investigate, research, and learn. Google can be a great friend, being willing to apply research and common sense is a necessary ally. I'll tell you a secret: your boss/partner/other leader doesn't know everything, either. They know some things, and who knows – they might've known the answer to this outright. But there's things that people ask them that they don't know, and what they have that you don't is the skills and confidence to research it and provide a solution.

I think the most important skill that can't be learned in a classroom is the problem solving ability to find a solution. Textbooks give you problems, but the answers are always in the pages prior to the problem. Real life gives you problems, and it's up to you to figure out where to find answers. Sometimes answers don't exist (for example, you're trying to figure out why someone has been using a certain constant in determining figures for their statement – can't find anything anywhere – eventually have to conclude there is no reason), sometimes they're buried…but the skill of finding answers is something that can't be taught in school but is invaluable.

P. S. As others have said, QB is one specific software; don't feel bad. I have worked in 3 different jobs and haven't used QB yet, so it's not a necessity for life. However, being able to learn any accounting software quickly *is* a valuable skill. Also, I think a first year in any job involves a lot of learning, and that learning a lot in public accounting doesn't make public accounting necessary. I worked a year in public (tax) accounting then a year in private (A/R) accounting, and in both jobs, I learned an enormous amount….my year in private taught me things that my year in public didn't and vice-versa. However, I could've learned everything I needed for my career staying in one or the other; I don't believe that public is a necessity.

[Author]

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