Accounting for Students

Okay, I know it's tax season and I shouldn't have the time to write a post, but you know, I like blogspot's new themes and I do feel like writing a post right now. Anyway, it's 3am and we're still at the office doing our heroic jobs. Some of my co-workers are footing and cross-referencing, some are finalizing their audit working papers or AWP, while I update my FS for release (YAAAAAAAAAAY). So, going back to the question, why do we have to stay up all night. You know by the time office hours starts again the following morning, the clients are going to ask for updates about something they gave the previous day. Now, if we do sleep like our clients do during the night, then we won't be able to meet our deadlines, and so, we're dead. Lol! So while they sleep, we work so that we can give what they ask the following day. This is kind of unfair actually, when we ask for audit requirements, they're going to provide it at about 5pm when office hours a...

I'm on my second season of audit already and it feels like I've been working for five years. Maybe it's because I only had two month of slacking in which I manage to take an out of country vacation for my birthday and an impromptu travel to the north and experience "surf break" at Elyu (La Union). You can check my travel blog, Travelling for Less, if you're interested to know about my travel adventures.   Actually, I have come to a realization that audit is not that bad. It's not great either, but it's not bad. My pay is "okay" which is one of the reasons I can't say this is a great job. However, I can actually plot my vacations and manage my time in order to provide the necessary output to gain my bosses' "vacation approval". I guess, unlike other low ranking auditors, I consider myself one of the lucky ones who managed to get hired by an awesome audit group.  I like my group, NHC group, under Miss NHC. You'll h...

Time flies so fast that I haven't even noticed how much I've grown in audit - experience-wise not physically, though yes, I too have fattened up myself in the span of 9 months that I have been working. Let me tell you what has happened in the last 9 months. At first, I was just a "footer and cross-referencer" of the face of financial statements and the notes to FS. Then I was assigned to worked on a couple of companies under one group, under the printing industry. I had to do a lot of things which I am not well acquainted with. I felt so lazy and uninspired to do my work. However, I was under the care of a very kind and helpful senior that my conscience started bugging and forced my lazy ass to work everyday. I was struggling during the first few months with my first real audit clients, putting emphasis on the "Planning Stage". I did not know what  kind of procedures to do and I am not really the type of person to keep on bugging my seniors on issues I...

I wasn't excited to go to work that Monday. I was there 30 minutes earlier than the time I was suppose to report. When I arrived the HR wasn't there yet. There was suppose to be someone who will start with me that day but he arrived late. His name is Kevin. The HR gave me an orientation about the company and all and Kevin arrived after the orientation. The HR was suppose to give a tour of the office but I said that I'll just wait for Kevin's orientation to finish and he can give as both a tour of the office, and so that's what happened. After that, we were left at the juniors' area where auditors face their laptops and I had no idea what they're doing. So we introduced ourselves and Sir Derek talked to us. There was also another new hire who started coming to office a week before us, her name is Ram for Ramona. Haha! Sorry Ram. Anyway, Ram was holding the very thick auditing manual and I wondered if she was reading it. I have always thought that I should ...

I'm writing this post now because I can't sleep and I'll start working tomorrow for BDO Alba Romeo and Co.. I have never thought of working for BDO. I haven't even heard of it till I passed the CPA exam. I have always wanted to work for Deloitte and Deloitte only. But it seems that I wasn't cut for their criteria because I was never the normal kind of Accountancy student anyway. All that I have posted here before were academic related. But since my last blog post, I'll start posting on how it really is when you become a CPA. I have always thought that life will just fall into places once I pass the board exam. My friends thought so too. Luckily for them they got accepted at the Big 4. I did apply for 6 big firms in the country. All invited me for an exam and interview except for SGV. I never wanted to work for SGV anyway because everybody wants it and I want to want a different thing. Yes, I experienced walking under the heat of the sun and the cold showers of ...

I wasn't able to make any entries here due to busy schedules and I have been doing other stuff that I enjoy more. But at the end of the day, I still have to go back to what's important and that is getting my Philippine Certified Public Accountant license. The sad thing about this is that, I might have worked hard for this but this is still not enough to practice abroad and earn higher salary. Here in the Philippines, the Board of Accountancy gives 7 exams for two weekends, for four days. That is 2 subjects a day. During our undergrad years, we have a lot of subjects to pass, an average of 24 units per semester, we only have two months of OJT and if we're lucky we'll be assigned at an accounting firm. As for my case, I was blessed to have an Uncle who owns one, thus I had write  a letter to my school to request my friend and I. Actually, it was us who need the experience but the school will not write the letter of request, and I had a lot of convincing to do so that my ...

Professional Fees Professional fees should be a fair reflection of the value of the professional services performed for the client, taking into account: The skill and knowledge required for the type of professional services involved. The level of training and experience of the persons necessarily engaged in performing the professional services. The time necessarily occupied by each person engaged in performing the professional services. The degree of responsibility that performing those services entails. The fact that one professional accountant in public practice may quote a fee lower that another is not in itself unethical. Nevertheless, there may be a self-interest threat to professional competence and due care created if the fee quoted is so low that it may be difficult to perform the engagement in accordance with applicable technical and professional standards for the price. Appropriate safeguards which may be adopted include: Making the client aware of the terms of ...