[Elaine]

Hope you guys are having a good week! I am finishing my accounting certificate in summer and started a corporate accounting internship yesterday. So I’m in that phase where I will start to make a transition into real world accounting, after merely studying it in class or at home. And here’s a question I thought of after reviewing my day during a steamy shower just now… How do in-class and real-world accounting compare? Anyone want to share your story of the first months at your first internship or job? Private or public, your position held, coworkers, boss, drama, etc. I am just two days into my internship so I know I have much to learn, but I was just wondering. Oh, and any advice would be great, too! Thank you! =)

[Anonymous]

Congratulations and good luck! I remember my first accounting position, I was auditing financial statements and did not like it at all. It's still funny for me working in an office/traveling to client sites because my previous jobs were more face to face interaction with clients and a complete different atmosphere than performing audits. So it took me a while to adjust, but even though I hated it then, I almost want to say I LOVE it now. As far as public accounting, you are working in teams with a group of very smart people who are goal-oriented and professional (hopefully). I know the experience I've obtained from my previous public accounting job is irreplacable. I did not like going into work everyday, but you definitely get out what you put into it. So if you go into work being miserable and negative, you're not going to be happy. But if you go into work positive, ready to learn, ask lots of questions and use your resources, you are going to look back on the days you ever questioned yourself in accounting and be very proud you are part of a profession with virtually unlimited opportunities.

As far as auditing, the only useful things from school is understanding things conceptually and of course understanding GAAP will be helpful. The only journal entries you might make are adjusting entries for depreciation or possibly other minor adjustments to the client's financial figures. Auditing you pretty much should be familiar with the assertions, but otherwise everything else will be learned on field pretty much.

Have any questions just ask!

[Anonymous]

by the way, I just recently graduated in 2010. i was always unsure if public accounting was for me, but like i said you either have to get into a good firm, like the people you are working with, or at least be independent and have a thirst for knowledge. as of now, i absolutely could not see myself doing anything else….not because auditing is so glamorous, but mostly because the soft skills you obtain from associating in teams with partners, senior managers, managers etc as well as with the clients.

[Mayo]

What I learned in my auditing internships:

-Journal entries can be a lot bigger than our class ones. Some transactions involved over 40 accounts for one journal entry

-Our classes taught us assuming a mostly manufacturing or service oriented viewpoint. However, there is so much other industry specific accounting issues out there that will need to be learned.

-In our classes, we touched on how a GL and General Journal work etc., but it was suprising to me how important being it is to be familiar with the software. Knowing the software means you can find certain journal entries, filter out search results, print out reports, etc.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Elaine]

Thank you for your replies!

@dumguycpa, auditing is what I want to do too! This company owns restaurants, hotels and nightlife venues in different cities, and this is a private internship position. I just learned how to do bank reconciliations today — I don't know if I will be able to do any auditing stuff but I feel like I am getting a good idea of corporate environment and professional relationships, from what I have seen for three days. It's an eye-opener that helps me evaluate my relationships with others and how I should behave, and as you mentioned, I'd love to develop those soft skills interacting with different-level personnel and really grow into a hard-working professional.

I recently graduated in 2011 too and have been taking accounting classes in a certificate program, at the same time searching for ways to get experience. I do want to go into Big 4 and I knew I needed an internship, so I started this one and plan to go through recruiting in fall. I love that you LOVE what you do, it's an inspiration! Can you explain more about the positions you held before your current one please? Thank you 🙂

[jelly]

Like you've noticed, a lot of operations, decisions and other financial behavior is driven by industry-specific federal or state taxes, deductions, compliance and regulations. I've heard someone describe auditing as bookkeeping backwards, so consider that what you're doing is learning how the financial reporting and internal control system works, and how one can disrupt, corrupt, and basically break it. You'll be trying to do just that as an external auditor in public accounting.

Couldn't pass again!

[Elaine]

Thank you jelly!

Do you think this private accounting internship will help me as much as a public one?

[jelly]

Yep. You'll be exposed to a lot of industry-specific jargon, trade practices, and business methods. This is super-handy if you decide to jump into public accounting later, and there are firms that audit this particular industry.

Couldn't pass again!

[makinthemagic]

text book accounting = everything is given except what you are solving for, numbers tend to be round, information is timely and reliable. Problems can be solved one at a time, at a place and time of your choosing.

real world accounting = multiple variables are unavailable or indefinite, no round numbers, information is late and unreliable. In the real world you must multi task to solve multiple problems simultaneously while being yelled at by bosses, customers and/or vendors, often at 8am when you don't want to be awake.

Bec 4/11/11 91
Aud 7/11/11 75
Reg 8/31/11 80
Far 5/24/11 86
Ethics - 98
California Licensed CPA
Illinois Registered CPA

[Elaine]

Thank you makinthemagic. I've interned for mere 3 days so far so I have long way to go to grasp the real world!

[See Pee A]

I interned and currently work in Big 4 audit now. Real-world accounting is so much different than school, but the real thing you learn in school needs to be the basics. Understand how accounts function, debits and credits, how the financial statements interrelate, etc. Anything you can do above that is the icing on your cake. In our profession, we try to train staff from the very beginning according to our own methods, because we need to be sure everyone has the same foundation.

Any and all experience is helpful, whether or not it is even related to accounting. A fair number of the people I work with did not have any prior accounting experience before their internships/full time jobs, so it's not necessary. Any experience is strong, as long as you do everything you can to learn as much as possible. So much of what we look for is soft skills, because those are more difficult to teach whereas technical skills almost anyone can learn if they are intelligent.

Now, focus on learning everything you can, technically related but more importantly in terms of working with people. I think it was Roosevelt who said “The single most important ingredient in the formula for success is knowing how to get alone with people”. More true than you probably realize now. You will work with many people. In general, you should probably like a lot of them, but there are going to be a fair number that will be different than what you are accustomed to, whether they are a bit assertive, passive, sarcastic, and any other characteristic you can insert. Learn to get along and connect with others, and the rest should follow.

Good luck!

BEC 86 (08/30/11)
FAR 84 (10/13/11)
REG 88 (11/08/11)
AUD 86 (11/29/11)

Exam prep - Becker self-study

[Elaine]

Thank you so much, See Pee A! You are where I want to be next year. I really appreciated your advice and will definitely work on improving my soft skills. 🙂

[Anonymous]

“Now, focus on learning everything you can, technically related but more importantly in terms of working with people. I think it was Roosevelt who said “The single most important ingredient in the formula for success is knowing how to get alone with people”. More true than you probably realize now. You will work with many people. In general, you should probably like a lot of them, but there are going to be a fair number that will be different than what you are accustomed to, whether they are a bit assertive, passive, sarcastic, and any other characteristic you can insert. Learn to get along and connect with others, and the rest should follow.”

this is very true. even if the person makes you cringe on the inside.

[Anonymous]

I recently began a new role in private industry (consulting — financial process redevelopment). I've noticed only one big difference between accounting in the ‘academic bubble' and accounting in ‘real life.' In undergrad level accounting courses, the parameters and assumptions for a given problem are provided. For example: “Your company just purchased a new piece of production equipment and intends to depreciate it over the course of 10 years. What is the depreciation expense in year two under the SYD and DDB?” Or, “Using the percentage of completion method, how much revenue should your company recognize on the sale of highly customized software in year two, assuming the following costs and percentages of progress?”

In real life, NONE of the parameters are provided. In the first example you'll be asked to develop the depreciation schedule and justify the assumptions YOU used in creating the calculation (ie, why did you choose to use double-declining over straight line or SYD, and why did you select 10 years?). In the second example you'll have to provide a citation of ASC 985, justifying the use of the percentage of completion method, and then calculate an accurate method for determining progress.

In reality, accounting calculations are really pretty easy. Anyone with 30 minutes and access to Google can probably find the necessary equation for a given accounting principle. However, knowing when to apply which principle, and how to determine the correct inputs can be remarkably difficult.

[Elaine]

Thank you for your replies, and sorry I haven't had a chance to reply! So far after a month and a half of internship, I have learned that I have a looot to learn, there really are no given “parameters”, it's tedious and crucial, and things I do are all followed up and affect the company. And that it is not a rocket-science task but does require good judgment. Also it's interesting to see what the company's money is spent for. Again, thank you for your inputs! 🙂

[Author]

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