[Whatdidyou]

For those of you who have worked in public accounting [Audit] (or have knowledge/thoughts on the matter), please look back to when you were an incoming associate & pass on advice that you wish you would have had.

I’ll be coming in after completing my Master’s – I did not do an internship at this firm nor any other public accounting firm. So don’t know exactly what to expect and am feeling uncertain because although I’ve met several people during my interview process, that was very brief and I do not have any established relationships going in. Also: My audit class was not technical at all so hopefully I don’t suck at auditing lol.

I’ll start out with a bunch of training which will hopefully prepare me for anything I need to know job-wise.

But is there anything else I should expect/prepare for? Any tips on making a good impression? Anything they don’t tell you during training that I should know or ask about? Anything I can do during the summer before my start date to get a leg up? I suppose I am most worried about making a good impression because I know that is something I often fail at but am curious about anything else you have thougts/advice on.

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

Study Materials: Becker basic course

[Anonymous]

Be polite

Ask questions when you feel you're getting stuck – make an honest attempt then ask. Some manager may answer a problem in 10 minutes that you might spin wheels on for hours. This kills a budget.

If its a small firm that deals with small clients be prepared to see books that make no sense and may never make sense.

[HFinn]

-If possible try to make a list of questions before asking them. Asking a question every five minutes is the fastest way to get on your senior's nerves and wastes time.

-If you can't make a list like I mentioned above, then use the “10 minute rule”. If you can't find the answer in around 10 minutes and you're completely stuck, ask the question.

-Stay positive

-Remember, as a first year staff you're there to do all the legwork on the mindless/mindnumbing jobs. While you will learn lots, realize that your biggest contribution is to be accurate, neat, and timely in your work.

Speaking of timeliness, try to strike a balance between fast and accurate. You don't want to be too slow, but also keep in mind messy work is sometimes a product of rushing through the work and not double checking what you're doing.

-Getting comments on your work does not mean you're not doing well. In any job you'll have to learn the ropes, and as a rule you will make plenty of dumb mistakes. Don't beat yourself up about it, and try to learn from what you did wrong.

-Always, always have something to write on and write with when asking questions or talking to client contacts. I made that mistake quite a few times before I learned my lesson.

It always sucks when you spend 30 minutes with a client contact going through a certain process or schedule only to have to turn around and ask an obvious question because you didn't write down what they were saying.

-Pass the freaking CPA exam ASAP!

[Anonymous]

Id agree with HFinn 100%… You will make mistakes, you will ask questions, you will feel defeated. Don't be scared, just work hard. The 10 min rule is perfect. It takes time to know your clients and their business. If your on alot of different clients that operate in different industries then things will be new all the time. The best advice I can give you is to try and be confident when talking to clients and try to make a little small talk so you can build relations with them outside of just work. Also over document on your work papers. If its not needed it can be deleted, but it will especially come in handy when it gets reviewed by a manager or partner and they start asking questions and your like WTF?? that was days/weeks ago, and you could be working on a diff job by then. Going back and reviewing your work is also MONEYY! You will catch small mistakes that you didn't the first time through.

[kgirl]

Make a list of questions as they arise; keep an open mind about learning; there'll be dumb mistakes but this is normal. Be open to feedback from managers and partners. If you don't understand the manager's instructions, don't be afraid to ask for further clarification.

Good luck and hope it all goes well for you.

[Anonymous]

The be polite is a big one, not just with fellow auditors, but clients as well. As a client I have had a lot of courteous auditors, and a lot of complete jerks. Tend to go out of the way for the ones that are nice to me.

Also, pay attention to the client. Nothing more frustrating than explaining the same thing multiple times.

[jelly]

On the client side:

1) Many clients consider the F/S audit an annual administrative function that costs lots of worktime and money, which are extremely limited resources for most. The client's job is not to teach you accounting, but to explain certain transactions and provide documentation. Hence, that is why you go to school, have other firm staff/your senior/manager to ask, or if all else fails, google.

Yes, the work is in feast/famine waves, but pretend to look or be busy during the field visit. Try to get all of your questions out of the way, b/c a conversation and demo in person can take 30 seconds or stretch out for several days over email with replies, context misunderstandings, and scanned attachments.

This is rare, but remember that clients have no problem asking that certain audit staff be removed from the audit, are happy to withhold up payment for an audit, or seek another firm altogether.

2) Poor grammar and spelling errors in emails and workpapers are not impressive. Ask for a review of your written communications if you are unsure.

3) Watch out for rollforward dates on request lists and 3rd party templates. It's understandable that request lists are re-used, but a date from last year is just sloppy. 3rd party templates dated more than 5 years old screams an extremely poor internal firm review process.

Couldn't pass again!

[Author]

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