Introduction:
From January 10 until April 17, 2012, I interned at Jacksons Shornton: CPAs & Consultants. Thankfully, they did not treat me like a typical intern. I was never asked to get anyone coffee or run meaningless errands. Jacksons Shornton treated me as if I were a full-time employee. The knowledge and experience I gained from interning is tremendous and has helped me prepare for my future as a public accountant. Interning was very hard work, but I knew if I kept striving to do my best, my hard work would pay off. Despite a few obstacles, my internship proved to be very rewarding. While interning, I was able to observe how an accounting firm works, compare my knowledge from classes to my work, and gain valuable experience as a staff accountant.
Critical Thoughts:
From my observations, I think the work flow was very efficient. It allowed the staff accountants to do the detail work while managers and principals focused on big issues with client returns. Many classes from the general business core requirements helped me constantly evaluate the firm in terms of efficiency. While evaluating the firm, I would “flashback” to information I learned in my management classes as well as other courses.
One thing I thought could be done differently in order to improve overall efficiency is the way managers review tax returns. The managers were responsible for reviewing tax returns and making sure errors were corrected. When the managers found an error, they were supposed to return it to the preparer (staff accountant) for correction. Occasionally, a manager would review a return, find errors and correct the errors themselves instead of taking the time to list the errors and asking the preparer to correct them. While this did save time and improved efficiency in the short run, I think it would have been more beneficial in the long run for managers to at least notify the