Category Archives: Career

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Academics, Career, Paul

Summer Review I

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We all know that championships are won during the off-season. It is this additional preparation that gives contenders an advantage months down the road. Thus, this column will conclude with an accounting concept every week for the next several installments or so. Whether you are just entering the program, a fourth-year student about to take on Intermediate Accounting, or about to finish up, the concepts to be presented should help enforce (or even set) the foundation for what you will see in the next couple of months.

As usual, though, I will begin with some interesting news bits from this past week.

The Sixth Sense?

Researchers from the UMass Medical School say they may have detected a gene that allows people to detect magnetic fields via the retina. Although research is early, they say that this extra sense would be mostly involved in sensing spatial orientation. Read more from the New York Times.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, et al (2011)

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that a case brought before them could not be tried as a class action lawsuit. A woman accusing Wal-Mart of sexual discrimination tried to file a class action lawsuit with about 1.5 million other women. The Court, however, threw the case out because of a lack of commonality. Justice Scalia, who delivered the opinion of the court, wrote “A regional pay disparity, for example, may be attributable to only a small set of Wal-Mart stores, and cannot by itself establish the uniform, store-by-store disparity upon which the plaintiffs’ theory of commonality depends…[R]espondents have identified no ‘specific employment practice’—much less one that ties all 1.5 million claims together.”

Commonality is “the rule requiring a plaintiff to show that ‘there are questions of law or fact common to the class’” and requires the plaintiff to “demonstrate that the class members ‘have suffered the same injury.’” The Supreme Court did not actually rule on the Title VII violation accusation (which actually caused some dissent amongst the justices because of the timing of the dismissal along which this decision sets a precedent), but, rather, it may have established what is necessary in order to file a class action lawsuit in the first place. The New York Times article may be found here.

 

Summer Review: SFAS No. 5

It is my intention to go over what I would consider the Ten Essential FASes this summer. SFAS No. 5 is a classic.  This statement is known for its ambiguity because it is so overarching; however, it is because it covers so much—especially in principle—that makes it essential for understanding the nature of accounting. Continue reading Summer Review I →

Academics, Career, Karen

Ten-Weeks of the Life of a Tax Accountant

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After 10 weeks of waking up at 5:30 a.m., driving for an hour in rush-hour traffic, and staring at spreadsheets in a conference room with no windows for eight hours or more everyday, my internship has come to a close. And I would have to say that I will miss it!

The internship definitely gave me a good overview of what tax accountants do on a daily basis. Surely, most days were repetitive, some were a bit dry, but there was always a new tax law to analyze or a new type of expense to capitalize. My biggest takeaways from this experience were:

1) There was always something to learn.

Having had no prior knowledge in international tax made my tasks a little challenging. There were several things that I was trying to grasp all at once: teaching myself international tax accounting, understanding how prior years’ transactions affect this year’s tax liability, and navigating the tax accounting software. Passing my accounting classes was no guarantee that I was fully prepared for work. Getting my feet wet in the real world was like going to pre-school for the first time. Be ready to learn, and by that I meant be very ready to learn – A LOT!

2) Technology could be disappointing sometimes.

I had three different laptops issued to me during the internship. The first two did not cooperate long enough with me. I realized that having the e-mail application, instant messaging software, and seven workbooks open at the same time would take a toll on one’s computer. I had to drive back and forth from the client site to the office to resolve my technology issues. Although I like visiting the office from time to time, having technology problems close to your deadline and not being able to accomplish anything could be a little frustrating.

3) There was always something to work on or help with.

My team engagement seniors from India mostly reviewed the returns I prepared. Due to time differences, I did not receive reviews from them until the next day. Instead of sitting in the room, doing nothing after finishing my assigned entities, I would constantly ask my team members if they have anything I can help them with. Also, after my managers have reviewed the workbooks and returns my seniors and I have prepared, instead of waiting for my seniors to tell me what to do, I took the initiative to clear the review comments my managers had.

In case you are not familiar with how the review process works in public accounting, the staff prepares the workbooks and the returns, which will then be reviewed by the senior. Continue reading Ten-Weeks of the Life of a Tax Accountant →

Academics, Career, Paul, Student Life

Internship Series: IV. The Decision

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—and no, I’m not taking my talents to South Beach. Most people that know me know that I pursue my goals with a very fiery passion, so I think it came to a lot of folks’ surprise that, after I had received a full-time employment offer, I deliberated for a couple of weeks before making up my mind instead of just diving head-first into the deep end of the pool. This final installment of my Internship Series is placed here to calm present MPAs, future MPAs, and really anyone who is confronted with the decision of having to pick one opportunity after another. It is not uncommon or unusual to lay all your options on the table before making a decision, even if it is one you were somewhat sure you were going to make anyway.

As my usual tradition, I’m going to start with some tidbits:

Kemba & Charl

It seems like eons since the last installment of this series. Since I’ve been gone, Kemba Walker & Co. took UConn to its third National Championship over Butler. (It broke my heart to see Butler go down in a nasty shooting performance like that, but if you examine the record—as in my last blog—you’ll see that my money would have been on UConn anyways.) Days later, Charl Schwartzel won the Masters after Pandemonium reigned the last day, seeing a free-for-all on the Leaderboard. Congratulations to Connecticut and Mr. Schwartzel.

Tweet This!

In an article in Fortune Magazine, it seems that Google, Facebook, and Microsoft had offered to buy Twitter last fall. Microsoft changed its mind, Facebook offered $2B, and Google offered $10B. It is interesting to consider the implications of this now from a business perspective, as the article reports stalled growth in the company—which is probably due to the decline in members who are actually active. With a leveling off and no more buyout offers on the table, it will be interesting to see what the social media behemoth’s next move will be.

Keeping it short today, here were my feelings before accepting a full-time offer:

The Decision

My policy on my blog has always been to be as candid as I could when it came to my opinions on issues, so here it goes. The reality is that I am still only a 22-year-old guy; I run with a lot of raw emotion and see everything in a very novel light. When I received my offer, I was emotionally ecstatic; I am sure my smile revealed my coffee-stained teeth from a mile away. I had just received a full-time offer from a major world player in the public accounting industry, so this was very much a dream come true.

Cognitive Dissonance

A couple days later, I began to think that maybe this was not the best option for me. Why? I mean this was the dream job, right? Suddenly, I started seeing my career in the Advisory or Consulting side of things. Then I saw Paul, the beastly investment banker. And then I saw Paul, private equity extraordinaire. I saw Paul—ahem, Senator Nabhan. I saw Paul, Oscar winner for best musical score. I could go on and on. What my best move, now, seemed very uncertain. Would accepting a role as an auditor actually limit my potential? Oh my… Continue reading Internship Series: IV. The Decision →

Austin, Career, Paul, Student Life

Internship Series: III. Location, Location, Location

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This may or may not be a factor for everyone. There is not an abundance of job opportunities in El Paso though, so location is a blank slate for me. The first time I was faced with the issue of location was about five years ago when deciding where to attain my degree. There are hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States, and it would not be accurate if I told you that the city of Austin was not a factor in my decision to attend the University of Texas. (I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I was homesick for Austin.) Being adults now and having the freedom of choosing the first place we want to be after graduation, this issue seems to be relevant all over again.

As my usual tradition though, here are the tidbits for the week: Continue reading Internship Series: III. Location, Location, Location →

Career, Paul

Internship Series: II. Ambiance of the Audit Room…in Movies…

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This blog was intended to have been written last week. The Longhorns’ loss to Arizona completely crushed my spirits, however, leaving all motivation I had in disarray for the week. The Dance goes on though, and with it comes the next installment of my take on my internship.

A lot of questions I think a lot of people ask and a lot of recruiters receive is, “What is an average day like as an auditor?” Most people will kind of give you the same answer, but in an attempt to situationally convey my perception while portraying emotion, I will answer the question by comparing with film characters.

Unconventional? Yeah. But it’s my blog, and I can do that.

Before that though, here’s what’s up since the last installment…

The Big Dance Update

Well, it didn’t take me long to come back to this topic, but being the most wonderful time of the year, I have to bring it up. Even though the Longhorns’ season ended last week, I do want to extend a congratulations on what was still a spectacular season! We won 27 games, and if Thompson and Hamilton return like they say they will, the Longhorns will not only bring talent but a load of experience to the court next season!

Congratulations to Coach Krzyzewski on winning his 900th game! Coach K has won four national championships and a gold medal in his career at Duke, and will almost certainly overtake his former coach, Bob Knight, as the winningest coach in men’s D-1 next year. This is an amazing accomplishment, and I look forward to seeing what the Blue Devils will bring to the table next year also.

This is a shout-out to Butler and VCU, the two “mid-major” schools to reach the Final Four as 8 and 11 seeds respectively. Although I had doubts about Butler heading into this tournament, they have certainly proved me wrong again. (Yeah, that’s right—I picked ODU over them this year and UTEP over them last year.) And why did I pick ODU over Butler? Because over my internship, I caught the championship game of the Colonial League and saw Old Dominion survive VCU. Thus, VCU made an impression on me, but ODU made an even bigger one. What an achievement for both of these programs to prove the analysts to be mad…of course, that’s why they call it March Madness!

Geraldine Ferraro Passes Away

For those who are unfamiliar with Geraldine Ferraro, she was the first woman to be on a major party’s presidential candidate ticket, running as Walter Mondale’s running mate in 1984. While a representative in Congress, she cosponsored the Economic Equity Act (1981). Mondale said the following about his former running mate: “She was a pioneer in our country for justice for women and a more open society. She broke a lot of molds and it’s a better country for what she did.”

And now into the Audit Room:

Auditing…in Movies…

So auditing was complex in the fact that UT cannot train us to audit a specific methodology because, as one employee told me, every firm kind of audits its own way. While we enter the internship with a sense of how an audit is executed from studying GAAS and GAAP, the nitty-gritty mechanics are at the discretion of the respective firms. It is almost similar to being a musician: every ensemble may receive the same printed sheet music, but each will have its own similar but unique method of interpreting a piece. Thus, in terms of how I felt and what my perception was like, here you go!

Jefferson Smith from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

In this film, Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) is appointed to fill the senate seat of a recently deceased senator until the next election. The governor, just trying to fill in the spot with a good name, appoints a popular boy scout-type figure to take the seat. Smith is relatively naïve going to Congress and is actually misquoted and mocked by the media. Jefferson Smith, who went into Washington full of stories of the principles established by the Founding Fathers, starts his political career without bridging the gap between those principles and real world politics.

Likewise, I feel I went into my internship trying to “light it up” without considering the nuances that fill the gap between what it actually takes to achieve the noble concept of auditing financial statements. Am I saying I was naïve? Kind of, but mostly due to putting unnecessary pressure on myself to do well; likewise, Smith tries to push a bill for a boys’ camp without considering the political ambush that he would face as a result.

Happy Gilmore from Happy Gilmore (1996)

This may well be due to my short temper, but honestly, come on! A computer put these numbers together….Why wouldn’t EVERY ONE OF THESE NUMBERS tie?! Essentially, being inexperienced, I was kind of surprised when I saw how often figures weren’t perfect. Continue reading Internship Series: II. Ambiance of the Audit Room…in Movies… →