When starting a new job in any field, there is always an ever-present thought of the unknown. Transitioning from the classroom to real-world application of those lessons learned while in school creates expectations about how things operate in the industry you plan to enter at the start of your career. However, it is difficult to predict how those expectations will line up with reality. Speaking more specifically about the public accounting industry, one common expectation relates to the importance of meeting deadlines. I had the opportunity to start full-time with GYF at the beginning of August 2023, and recently finished working through my first two tax deadlines as a tax associate. I would like to share that experience in hopes of providing some insight into what to expect as a deadlines approach and some lessons that I learned.
Starting out, one of the first things that I learned was that there are a few dates that all tax professionals have circled on the calendar. These dates correspond with the deadlines for the various types of tax returns that must be filed by individuals and business alike. As these dates approached, my biggest concern was whether I would be able to handle the workload while still trying to develop an understanding of how to apply what I learned in the classroom to the real-world. My worries were quickly alleviated once I realized that each person who has started out in this industry has faced these same issues. Because of this universal understanding, GYF gave me a workload that was challenging enough to help promote growth and development of technical skills, but was not overwhelming. This balance allowed me to not only perform the work that was given in a timely manner, but also to develop an understanding of each step in the process. It is important to remember that each person in the firm, from a staff level colleague all the way through to top management, wants to see you succeed.
By managing expectations early on, a deadline that may seem overwhelming at first glance can be transformed into an opportunity to develop your technical knowledge as well as time management, communication and other valuable skills.
Another lesson that I learned is the importance of keeping open lines of communication between all parties involved on a particular engagement. Often, things do not necessarily go according to plan, whether it be because of delays in receiving the necessary documentation, unexpected events and challenges, or any other issue that may arise throughout the process of preparing and filing a tax return. By staying on top of tasks and communicating to the various members of the engagement team as these unexpected challenges occur, it is much easier to navigate and solve issues in a timely manner. Additionally, I learned that asking questions is not only tolerated, but encouraged. Drawing upon the knowledge of my co-workers helped me to understand why certain tasks were being performed or how to appropriately apply a concept. Simply by utilizing my ability to ask questions and learn from the answers, I was able to expand my knowledge base and apply what I had picked up from one engagement to the next.
A few other lessons that I would like to mention are the importance of keeping an updated schedule and quality notes. As a deadline approaches, the number of tasks that need to be performed will often increase. I found that it was easy to lose track of progress on each engagement that I was working on as more and more tasks began to come in. Keeping a personal schedule of what tasks I was responsible for and at what point I had stopped, made it much easier to pick back up on that project and complete it without having to go back through each step. Additionally, keeping personal notes on each engagement that I worked on helped me to remember tips that I had learned from that project and keep track of changes previously were made or may be required in the future. Additionally, comments and suggestions given from a reviewer regarding mistakes I made when preparing a return are also very important. By keeping track of those notes, it helped me to prevent making a similar mistake on other projects I was working on.
Overall, my first deadline experience was challenging, but very rewarding. I feel as though I was able to grow tremendously from the process and learn a lot of valuable lessons that I plan to carry with me throughout my career. The importance of relying on coworkers and working together as a team to complete each task cannot be understated. I am very fortunate to have some very knowledgeable and caring people to work with and who helped to make this transition into the workforce as seamless as possible. It can be very daunting to work up against a deadline in any profession, but taking the proper steps to stay on top of tasks and asking for help when needed, alleviates a ton of that pressure.
