Why I love accounting

Displaced Bama Fan · Apr 21, 2016

Yep, this is for my corporate accounting compatriots. Here are some of the things I love about my job as the Controller:

1) Month-end closing
2) Payroll
3) Sales tax
4) Quarterly payroll tax/unemployment reporting
5) Sales tax reporting
6) Financial analysis/swings in revenue/expenses
7) Accruals
8) Commissions/bonuses
9) Year-end Audits - I actually like our auditor. We're his favorite client (so he says, but then again, I make his job easy)
10) Bank reconciliations
11) Account reconciliations
12) Depreciation/amortization
13) Property tax renditions
14) AR/AP Agings
15) Pivot tables - Yes, I really do love pivot tables.
16) New customer credit checks
17) Collections - ok, really, I hate collections, I'm just good at it.
18) Municipal business license filings
19) Foreign transactions & VAT
20) Expense report audits
21) Cash apps/Cash forecasting (forgot this one)

Feel free to add to the list folks.

crimsonaudio · Apr 21, 2016

You're insane, but I'm glad there are people like you that I can pay to handle my corporate books.

ValuJet · Apr 21, 2016

Pivot tables.

Bama Reb · Apr 21, 2016

Displaced Bama Fan said:
Yep, this for my corporate accounting compatriots. Here are some of the things I love about my job as the Controller:

1) Month-end closing
2) Payroll
3) Sales tax
4) Quarterly payroll tax/unemployment reporting
5) Sales tax reporting
6) Financial analysis/swings in revenue/expenses
7) Accruals
8) Commissions/bonuses
9) Year-end Audits - I actually like our auditor. We're his favorite client (so he says, but then again, I make his job easy)
10) Bank reconciliations
11) Account reconciliations
12) Depreciation/amortization
13) Property tax renditions
14) AR/AP Agings
15) Pivot tables - Yes, I really do love pivot tables.
16) New customer credit checks
17) Collections - ok, really, I hate collections, I'm just good at it.
18) Municipal business license filings
19) Foreign transactions & VAT
20) Expense report audits

Feel free to add to the list folks.

Thank you for reminding me of why I sold my company and retired.

KentuckianaBFan · Apr 21, 2016

ValuJet said:
Pivot tables.

is that where the pivot man sits?

Bama Reb · Apr 21, 2016

And looking at the list above, I can see how DBF sees it as one big circle. First one, then another, and on, and on...

Displaced Bama Fan · Apr 21, 2016

I report sales taxes in 30 states. I'm about to add 4 more to the list. The 18th or there about each month is a little chaotic for me. When the 18th happens to be a payroll Wednesday as well, I'm usually a complete a-hole. (Catfish/seebell - please, no comments necessary.

)

I never thought I would become an SME on sales tax...how little did I know. And if you ever have questions about municipal business licenses in Alabama, call me. UGH!

TIDE-HSV · Apr 21, 2016

It was the family business (two older brothers CPAs) and I started working in it at 15. My freshman year, I worked for the University Auditor. I quit and applied as a counterman at Northington Laundry. I deliberately didn't put UA down as a reference because I wanted away from accounting. (Did I mention this was punch card IBM check days and the first of each month, they'd bring in the checks for all 17 UA bank accounts and I'd spend the first two weeks of each month reconciling them? There were always 3 or 4 trays with a miswhack in them.)

Anyway, Mrs. Barrett, Col. Barrett was just a figurehead, she ran it, interviewed me at Northington. She said "Earle, countermen are a dime a dozen, but we need a trained accountant and I understand that's what you are." To this day, I don't know how she knew. So, I accepted. I actually worked downtown at Jamison, Money and filled in as an auditor for them. My last two years of law school, I worked as an income tax examiner for ADOR.

Still not wanting to be an accountant, I had gone to law school. Finishing up there, I realized my background would be useful in tax law, so I applied for and got accepted at NYU graduate law school. Thankfully, I got a scholarship for tuition, which would be $57K+ today. Needless to say, my accounting background has been invaluable in 50+ years in my field. I had one CPA comment to me "Earle, talking to you is just like talking to another accountant, not a lawyer." He meant it as a compliment and that's the way I took it...

Displaced Bama Fan · Apr 21, 2016

TIDE-HSV said:
It was the family business (two older brothers CPAs) and I started working in it at 15. My freshman year, I worked for the University Auditor. I quit and applied as a counterman at Northington Laundry. I deliberately didn't put UA down as a reference because I wanted away from accounting. (Did I mention this was punch card IBM check days and the first of each month, they'd bring in the checks for all 17 UA bank accounts and I'd spend the first two weeks of each month reconciling them? There were always 3 or 4 trays with a miswhack in them.)

Anyway, Mrs. Barrett, Col. Barrett was just a figurehead, she ran it, interviewed me at Northington. She said "Earle, countermen are a dime a dozen, but we need a trained accountant and I understand that's what you are." To this day, I don't know how she knew. So, I accepted. I actually worked downtown at Jamison, Money and filled in as an auditor for them. My last two years of law school, I worked as an income tax examiner for ADOR.

Still not wanting to be an accountant, I had gone to law school. Finishing up there, I realized my background would be useful in tax law, so I applied for and got accepted at NYU graduate law school. Thankfully, I got a scholarship for tuition, which would be $57K+ today. Needless to say, my accounting background has been invaluable in 50+ years in my field. I had one CPA comment to me "Earle, talking to you is just like talking to another accountant, not a lawyer." He meant it as a compliment and that's the way I took it...

I contemplated going to law school after I finished my MBA, but my oldest son was 9 months old and to be honest, I had all the school I could take at the time. I've thought about it once my youngest graduates in a few years just because. We have an office in B'ham so if I wouldn't mind doing a joint JD/MTA at the Capstone. I could probably swing it at U of H as well.

Bamabuzzard · Apr 21, 2016

Displaced Bama Fan said:
Yep, this is for my corporate accounting compatriots. Here are some of the things I love about my job as the Controller:

1) Month-end closing
2) Payroll
3) Sales tax
4) Quarterly payroll tax/unemployment reporting
5) Sales tax reporting
6) Financial analysis/swings in revenue/expenses
7) Accruals
8) Commissions/bonuses
9) Year-end Audits - I actually like our auditor. We're his favorite client (so he says, but then again, I make his job easy)
10) Bank reconciliations
11) Account reconciliations
12) Depreciation/amortization
13) Property tax renditions
14) AR/AP Agings
15) Pivot tables - Yes, I really do love pivot tables.
16) New customer credit checks
17) Collections - ok, really, I hate collections, I'm just good at it.
18) Municipal business license filings
19) Foreign transactions & VAT
20) Expense report audits
21) Cash apps/Cash forecasting (forgot this one)

Feel free to add to the list folks.

The story of my life right there. Been doing it for 18 years.

bama_wayne1 · Apr 21, 2016

I get that with the added joys of census reporting and the like. Thankfully I came out of the corporate environment and work for a small business handling all things accounting, payroll, and purchasing, except income tax filings. In my corporate life I was a cost accountant, which as you know is rather backwards. I guess that probably explains a lot.
I've been at it about 30 yrs.

Displaced Bama Fan · Apr 21, 2016

bama_wayne1 said:
I get that with the added joys of census reporting and the like. Thankfully I came out of the corporate environment and work for a small business handling all things accounting, payroll, and purchasing, except income tax filings. In my corporate life I was a cost accountant, which as you know is rather backwards. I guess that probably explains a lot.
I've been at it about 30 yrs.

Ditto. I started out with Shell, then went to two successively small companies. At Shell you get "siloed." In my current role, I get to do all things...including HR stuff. EEOC reporting since some of our customers are federal contractors. Fun stuff.

Catfish · Apr 21, 2016

Displaced Bama Fan said:
I report sales taxes in 30 states. I'm about to add 4 more to the list. The 18th or there about each month is a little chaotic for me. When the 18th happens to be a payroll Wednesday as well, I'm usually a complete a-hole. (Catfish/seebell - please, no comments necessary. )

:biggrin2:

mittman · Apr 21, 2016

Some people get into business so they can do their own accounting. Some people get into business to try do what they love for a living. If they love accounting it works, if they don't they had better learn to. It is one reason I now happily let my boss worry about that and go home.

G-VilleTider · Apr 21, 2016

I see the blue font doesn't work for thread titles.

MDBSnare · Apr 21, 2016

You, sir have reached complete geekdom! :biggrin:

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