The Intern Adventure 15: 13th Week

I worked for 6 days this week and almost ten hours each day because we were so busy at the office. I worked at the reception area for the most of the week so I was able to talk to a lot of our clients and I really had so much fun! It always makes me feel good when I know that I was able to help someone by answering their questions about their accounting and tax problems. I really have the most supportive and encouraging colleagues at work and they are all helping me to excel in my job.

On my last journal, I mentioned that I don't think I will be given the chance to do tax returns. I was wrong - I actually learned it and was able to make ten tax returns this week. I can't just do it for the most part of the week because lots of people were coming in to have their tax returns done we do not have a full time receptionist so I have to help the reception area. Working at the reception area was so fun especially when the clients were so happy that they will be getting some money back from the government and their reactions were funny. There were also some times when some clients were not really pleased when they would know that they owe money instead of having a tax refund. Being a receptionist also taught me a lot of things and it made me feel more comfortable facing and talking to clients. Even interviewing them - which was something that I really didn't want to do before - is now one of my most favourite part of my job.

One thing that I am just nervous about is the upcoming deadline to file for individual income tax returns. There were still a lot of tax returns that are not done yet and they supposed to be done already. Due to the lack of employees that are really knowledgeable about taxes, we always receive complaints from clients for not having their tax returns done on time. As students, we can only do limited things and we weren't really able to get enough training for doing tax returns, but we are doing our best. Working with Brendan, Adam and Serena made things easier for me, for all of us in the office. When I talked to Loretta this week, she told me that when she first heard that there would be four coop student who would work in the firm, she did not really like it. But now that we became really close with each other, she now does not want us to leave in August. I am really glad that I am working in a firm that values its employees. We might be experiencing stress with our jobs, but knowing that we are all working together to reach the common goal of getting everything done by the tax deadline makes things a lot easier.

The Intern Adventure 14: 12th Week

I have learned a lot of new things for this week. I was able to work at the reception area which was for me was the scariest place in the office before. I call it as "scariest" because that is the place where I will have to talk to a lot of people and answer a lot of questions. But I never thought that I would enjoy it so much! I guess I have been doing a lot of "behind-the-scenes" tasks and being in the reception area was a new experience for me.

As we are getting closer to the deadline for filing personal tax returns, I am actually starting to get worried that we might not be able to finish all of our personal clients' tax returns on time. Last year, there were more than five persons in the office who were doing tax returns but this year, there are only three. I am doing my best to finish the bookkeeping jobs on my desk. Because it was so busy, no one in the office really has the time to train us in doing income tax returns. I don't think Brendan, Serena, and I will have the chance to do tax returns for this tax season but we are all hoping that we can learn after the tax season is over. For now, we are all busy helping each other out to get all the bookkeeping jobs done and hoping that we will be done before the tax deadline.

Going back to being at the reception area, I also had some problems. There were a lot of times when I really don't know the answer to some of our clients' questions. I had the same problem when answering phone calls. I found it really disappointing for myself, but I learned to deal with it eventually with the help of my supportive colleagues. At first, I was always thinking the negative side of it, which was always feeling stupid everytime I don't know the answer to a client's question, but now, I view it as a learning opportunity.

One of my objectives was to know the Canadian income tax return more closely. Working at the reception area made me realize that I was still not really that familiar with many things about the income tax act because I was always doing the bookkeeping part, which was all accounting-related. I am pretty sure that we will be receiving a lot of questions from customers as we hit the tax deadline and I am really positive that I will learn a lot from them.

The Intern Adventure 13: 11th Week

It was kind of a "social week" at the office this week. First, it was our boss's birthday and we had a little lunch party, and second, we went to a St. Patrick's party last night. We have been crazily busy at the office this week and having those little get-together to have fun were really awesome. I even heard Loretta saying, "We should change the stereotype that accountants are boring" before we went to the party last night. It was really fun!

On the other side, since it's the busy time of the year in the office, we are receiving a lot of phone calls than usual. I am the only one in the office who has not been trained yet at the reception area, but I am trying my best to help them by answering phone calls. I was really hesitant with answering phones before if that was not for me, but with this busy season, I feel like I am training myself. There was one lady who called to ask if wigs are a deductible medical expense and since I completely don't know the answer, I have to tell her that I will phone her back. What really surprised me was that no one in the office knows the answer and Ted, one of the firm's partners, had to search for it. I phoned the client back and told her that wigs are deductible medical expenses and she was really glad to know it. She was actually not the only one who was quite happy about it, but everyone in the office since that was kind of a new knowledge on that day. This experience made me realize that clients also bring new knowledge to the people in the office. I was always scared to answer phone calls because I am scared of not knowing the answers to every client's inquiry and will eventually hurt the firm's image. Because of that little experience, I became more confident in answering phone calls without having the fear of not being able to help them.

Another story of my week was when I filed the GST return of one of my clients and phoned her to tell her how much she owe for GST. She did not know that the GST for most of her expenses can be deducted from the total GST that she collected so she was expecting to pay more than the actual amount that she has to. I told her how I calculated her GST and she was really glad to know about it because her business was a newly GST-registered one. It made me feel good because I know that the client was really happy with my service and it made me realize how important my job was.

Because of my work, I realize that small accounting firms like A1 Accounting are really important especially to the people who do not really know much about tax and accounting. I am always thinking that helping people is really a satisfying job. Working with this small firm gave me the chance to help those people with their taxes and accounting and it was always nice to see them being able to understand the things that I explain to them. It was really fulfilling and it makes me love being an accountant even more - no matter how stressful it might be.

The Intern Adventure 12: 9th Week

They said that a Canadian tax season for Canadian accounting and tax professionals is a really stressful time of the year. Everyone wanted to have their taxes done few days after they dropped their tax slips and receipts off in the office. I witnessed it and I appreciate more the job of an accountant - I appreciate my future self more. But this tax season for me is more of a learning opportunity, some of the skills that I hoped to develop are really coming to life now.

Just for this week, I dealt with four clients and I cannot believe that I was able to finish the bookkeeping and GST filing jobs for them. If I was the same person before, I do not think that I could do that because my multitasking skills were not really good. I can now say that my multitasking skills are improving (Objective A, second bullet). I am really happy that another week has ended and I know that I accomplished something good not only for the company, but for myself as well.

Since I have been talking to four clients, it is not surprising how I become more confident in talking to them. Talking to the phone was something that I really do not want to do before because it is so uncomfortable for me. I love how I can just easily pick up the phone when someone's calling me without feeling nervous or uneasy. I love how I can just easily dial people's numbers when I have to call them without shaking my hands. I would say my interpersonal skills are improving as well and I can now interact with people more comfortably (Objective A, second bullet).

What I love the most about A1 Accounting is the freedom that they give to us to learn things on our own while giving us full support whenever we need them. They never pressure us to get things done but the trust that they give to us that we can do the tasks assigned to us is something that inspires us to do well.

The Intern Adventure 11: 8th Week

Now that I am now down on my second month at work, I would like to reflect on how things are going, how I improved and the things that I learned so far.

It's getting busier at work because tax season has almost started and we are already receiving high volumes of jobs at the office. I am finally done with the other two bookkeeping jobs that I have been working on since in the past few weeks. My experience with those two bookkeeping jobs helped me improve my communication skills because I have to contact my clients for some information that I need from them. Meeting clients in person was one of my concern before, and now that I met three clients this week, I would say that I am getting more comfortable at it. Since I have worked with the books of these two companies for the few weeks, I was feeling a high sense of responsibility towards them. I know that I should, but this feeling inspired me to do my job well and to serve the clients to the best way that I can.

There are also many things that I can already do alone comfortably. I can compute and file GST returns now and I can now fix errors in the QuickBooks software easily which I find complicated before. I am also getting more familiar with Canadian Income Tax (which is one of my objectives) because I learned a lot from our office's different types of clients.

As I always say, I am really happy at A1 Accounting. I love how my bosses are so supportive, encouraging, and fun to work with and I love how they treat us, coop students, as part of their family. With this kind of people around me, I learned that the best way to get your people to do their best at work is to not let them feel that they have to. You just have to be supportive of them and recognize them for their achievements, no matter how small they are. I know that it might not apply to every organization but it helps that I have an idea on how to manage people in the future.

The Intern Adventure 10: 7th Week

This week is not my favourite week. I have not accomplished my goal which was to finish the bookkeeping for two companies that I was working on since last week. As a result, I am stocked with those same jobs and I can't move forward to other jobs. I was feeling guilty because I feel like I can't help them with the other jobs that need to be done.

But to tell you frankly, I have learned a lot from this whole experience. I thought that I was already finished with those two jobs and when I showed it to my supervisor, there were still a lot of things that need to be corrected. While being busy trying to finish my work, I was also busy thinking what would people around me would think about me if I am being too slow with what I was doing. I guess that was the part where everything went wrong. I was creating a problem in my mind that would never exist - which was something that I usually do. I should have focused on trying to make things right rather than trying to make people believe that I am really good. I am embarrassed to admit that I was a bit proud of myself. There were times when I don't want to seek for any help because I believe that I can do everything by myself. I thought I have overcome that already but seemed like it can't be easily changed. I guess I have to put that as one of my personal objectives that I really hope I can develop.

I also learned a lot from my senior colleagues. It was always nice to work in the little office full of warm people. When I feel like it's getting stressful at work, I will look around me and no one seems to have a bad day. I have never seen my colleagues being in a bad mood. What I admire the most in the office right now is our supervisor, Loretta. She might not realize it but I am learning a lot from her when it comes to organizational management which I could all apply in the future. She is a kind of boss who will always have time for you no matter how busy she is and would always encourage you to do better. She will always make you feel that your mistakes do not define who you are, but will encourage you to learn from them. I would like to be her in the future.

The Intern Adventure 9: Valentine's at Work (6th Week)

There was a saying, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." That saying has been on my mind this week. Lots of good things happen in the office this week, and I can say that I am happy. For so many reasons, I am just happy!

I remember the night before our work started, I remember how I was feeling scared to start. I even remember how many times I stopped walking when I was heading to the office just to think how should I present myself to the people there, and how scared I was to fail. But now, every morning, I can't wait to get to the office to start working and to meet my colleagues. Then when I get home at around 5:00 pm, my sisters would tell me that I don't look tired at all and I seem to be happy. And then I realize this one thing - it is not the job itself that will make you happy in the workplace, it is actually the people you. I am always inspired to go to work when I remember how warm my colleagues are, and how they treat us, co-op students, as a part of their family. I laugh with them, I tell stories with them, I eat lunch with them (Brendan treated us a super delicious lunch earlier and it's my turn next Friday), and I learn with them. My objective, being more open to people, is becoming successful now and I can't wait to get that off of my objectives list. :)

It is getting busier now at work and I am starting to feel the pressure now, but I see it as a positive thing for me. I have three client books that I am currently working on and they are all needing to their employees' T4s by next week so I have to hurry. I am really thankful that I got in to this co-op program because I realize that I really like to be an accountant. I wasn't sure about this before, and I was worried that I won't like it once I started working after I get my university degree. This internship experience makes me feel excited about my future professional career and it inspires me to study hard when I go back to university this fall. At my work now, almost everyday is a surprise for myself - I learn many new things about myself everyday. My primary concern was my self-confidence but I can say now that I am improving, I am learning to trust myself more. 

Also, today is Valentine's Day. I made some giveaways for clients and we wore red in the office. Today was really fun. I had a good time with my colleagues and I am excited to go work on Monday. Yes, that's a holiday but I am coming to work because I just want to (and I also need to finish some bookkeeping!!). :)