Accounting Intern Paper

Company introduction KC ACCOUNTANCY CORP is a Southern California CPA firm, found in 2000. The company offers a full range of business and consumer CPA services including financial statements preparation, IRS. FTB. EDD representation, tax return preparation, office computerization, new business start-up, general bookkeeping and tax preparation & planning. Job description During the intern period, I did four main tasks as follow 1. Bookkeeping The company uses the accounting software called Write up and Quick Book to do the book keeping.In order to do the book keeping we need to create a ledger for all the financial accounts and use the check and invoice provided by the customer to record all payments made from these accounts. We should filled the all the column of cells, which include date, name of the payment, payee, category (for tax purposes), memorandum and a record of the check number or the invoice number. The reason for write the category is for tax purposes. After record the payment, we need to use the same software to record the cash inflow. We list all money (only revenue) received by the customer.As same as the cash outflow, we need to record the date, name of the income, payer-providers, category, memorandum and a record of the check number. If the company has the Loan or the investment, we should use the different ledgers to record it. Next step, we need to create accounts payable/accounts receivable. For the account payable we list utilities, rent, and other future payments. We list two date: one is the due day another one is the due day before penalty. For the account receivable, we list the income we will receive in the future.This ledger is most important, I need to aware that when the company actually receives the payment by the customers or the bounced check will happened. The final step is to reconcile the ledgers with the bank statements. The company will provide us their bank account records and allow us to check each payment. This is typi cally done on a quarterly schedule 2. Prepared, examined, and analyzed accounting records, financial statements, and other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.Financial statements include income statement, statement of retained earnings, balance sheet and cash flow statement. From the supervisor’s experience, I learned that there is specific logical order for preparation due to some financial statements use numbers from the other statements The order is following: * Income statement * Statement of retained earnings * Balance sheet * Cash flow statement Before financial statements are prepared, we need to adjust entries based on revenue recognition and the matching principles. Each transaction may affect one income statement accounts and one balance sheet account.Adjustments fall into one of five categories: accrued revenues, accrued expenses, unearned revenues, prepaid expenses, and depreciation. Income Sta tement The income statement reports revenues, expenses, and the resulting net income. It transfers from revenue, expenses and capital gains or losses ledger account balances into the income statement. Statement of Retained Earnings The Statement of Retained Earnings is prepared after the income statement because we use the net profit or loss account balance from income statement.The retained earnings statement shows the retained earnings at the beginning and end of the accounting period. It is prepared using the following information: * Beginning retained earnings from previous statement of retained earnings. * Net income, obtained from the income statement Balance Sheet The balance sheet reports the assets, liabilities, and shareholder equity of the company. It is constructed using the following information: * Balances of all asset accounts * Balances of all liability accounts * owner's equity Cash Flow StatementTo do this cash-basis report, we subtract cash disbursements from cash receipts directly. It also takes information from all three previous financial statements. Two time periods of comparative balance sheets are examined in order to prepare a statement of cash flows. 3. Maintained Quarterly payroll records. At first I am very curious why the company would like to outsource the payroll process . The manager tell me small business owner usually spend around eight hours per month doing payroll because laws and the IRS have let the payroll function become a time consuming task.Outsourcing the payroll can let the company focus more on running company also avoid the risks of calculating mistake . Most important, federal, state and local payroll tax laws are frequently changing and becoming more complex The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the commissioner of Internal Revenue. The IRS is responsible for collecting taxes and the interpretation and enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code.I need to call each company on the list to make sure how much salary they pay for each employee. Company may pay their employee quarterly, monthly or hourly. Most of our customer is Chinese/Taiwanese owned company. I can use Chinese to call them . I need to clarify how many employees in their company and how much salary they need to pay. By using 1099-etc, we just need to type in the data in the system. The software will automatically calculate federal, state and local payroll taxes. The software supports Federal payroll forms such as the 941, 940, 943, 944 and 1040 SchH. Form 941 Form 941 is Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return. Federal law requires employers to withhold taxes from employees' paychecks. Each time wages are paid, employers must withhold — or take out of employees' paychecks — certain amounts for federal income tax, social security tax, and Medicare tax. U nder the withholding system, taxes withheld from employees are credited to employees in payment of their tax liabilities. Federal law also requires employers to pay any liability for the employer's portion of social security and Medicare taxes.This portion of social security and Medicare taxes is not withheld from employees. Employers who withhold income taxes from wages or who must pay social security or Medicare tax, use Form 941 to report those taxes. The deadline for 941form is the last day for month that follows the end of the quarter. * Quarter One (January, February, March): due on April 30. * Quarter Two (April, May, June): due on July 31. * Quarter Three (July, August, and September): due October 31. * Quarter Four (October, November, December) : due on January 31 of the following year.Every time, I update the information on the system, I need to print out two copy. One is for our company, the other one is for our customer . 4. Miscellaneous As a intern, I also spend some t ime to doing miscellaneous thing such as put files in order alphabetically, print out the package label and paste on the envelope , double check the document and send to the customer. Analysis of the company The company starts the business from 2000, the boss try hard to build a very good relationship with the customers.They are successfully to build the relationaship because the employer in the company always put them self in the customer’s shoes, the existing customer will bring the new customer. So the company does not need to post the advertisement online or ask other to design a fancy website to attract new customer. Thus they can provide perfect and complete service with reasonable price. Due to the good relationship with customer, the accounting office is also become an information exchange place. We can always see the customer to ask the boss to refer a dental, a lawyer and the business to others.It is how a good networking start. However, during the intern period, I find there are things the company could do better. First, the boss plays an extremely important role in the company. She needs to check every document before mail to the customer or mail to the government institute and she assigns new task for everyone every morning. The company would be in a mass when the boss is not in the office. I still can remember, one time the boss has emergency and she cannot come to the office for two days.All document put on her table like a small mountain, and others has nothing to do. Second, a lot of things without a logical order, there is a simple example. When I start with filing away the documents, I cannot find some individual’s name within the file. After I check with the boss, the boss tells me, someone they will put all family numbers’ file together instead individual file. The problem is that only the boss knows who the family numbers are. It is hard for the account specialist to file the document; however the boss is too busy to do this kind of things.Third, the company still use some out of date process. Every quarter, the customer needs to turn in their check record and the invoice physically to the accounting office. Most of the records are hand write. In fact I think the accounting office can ask electric version from the customer, then it can complete the process more efficiently, because sometime I see accounting assistant struggle with the numbers or the word on the check or the invoice and with electric version, it can be send to accounting firm in time.I think the company know better what their business is, so it is not a big deal for them to change the physically version to electric version. Also I know most software will automatically download the bank records and allow the account assistant to quickly mark which payments and deposits are already recorded in the ledger, and which must be separately accounted. This is typically done on a monthly schedule, but with software and online banking, it i s can be finish on a weekly or even daily schedule. What I learn during this internshipI am a student who still thinking about my future career. This is a good opportunity for me to know accounting person and know more about how the accounting firm work. I learn some information from my coworker and the supervisor. 1. Future is Bright The future of accounting is bright according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics which projects a 16% increase in job openings by the year 2016. Much of this reflects the increasing complexity of corporate transactions, the introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley requirements after the Enron scandal and growth in government.Demand is especially high in the tax and health care areas. My supervisor share her own experience with me, Emily, who is a 27 year old woman, who finish her MBA in California state – Los Angeles, she tells me all the international student stay here after graduate are doing accounting related job. It seems it is the only way internation al student can survive in U. S if they study in business field. 2. Managerial Accounting Ideas is popular Many firms are focusing on activity-based management, process-view analysis, constraint checking and business process analysis as well.The world of management accounting is evolving rapidly and there is high demand for accountants who are knowledgeable about these trends 3. High degree necessary We can find the requirement for most accountant and auditor positions are at least a bachelor degree in accounting or a related field. As an MBA student especially a master degree in accounting, or with a master degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting. We have advantage to apply accounting-related job. 4. Skill Requirements Becoming BroaderThere is high demand for individuals who have technical skills and good communication skill, and foreign language skills. Accountants are broadening as business globalizes. 5. CPA has highly valued A recent survey shows tha t over half of corporations which hire accountants feel that the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) important, however, in some case we can enter an accounting firm without completely the CPA. It means we still have chance and time to prepare for the test, never too late to prepare . My supervisor is a good example, she started to prepare her CPA after she start work in the KC Company. 6. High salaryThe median expected salary for a typical  Accountant I  in the  United States  is  $44,652; for a typical Accountant II is $53,588; for a typical Cost Accountant I is $46,874;for a typical Cost Accountant II is $58,020. ; for a typical Cost Accountant III is $70,574; for a typical Cost Accounting Supervisor is $65,861; for a typical Cost Accounting Supervisor II is $75,452. ; for a typical Accounting Manager is $84,437;for a typical Accounting Director is $127,660. 7. Start from a intern The supervisor suggests me start to apply the position in the company I want to begin my car eer and ask the intern position before I graduate.Thus, I will get more hired opportunity as a full time employee. Do be hesitant, start to apply! Conclusion My Internship is one of the most beneficial things I do during my MBA. I really enjoy the time in K. C. Company. During this internship I learned a lot about the profession and about how much hard work and dedication it takes to be a accountant. I know I am a person who sensitive with numbers but not detail-oriented. In order to become a successful accountant, I need to change the way I doing things. To be a more competitive person, I need to review all the account material I have learn during those year.Even though some people say it is not a good way to learn from the textbook, however I believe reading the textbook is the best way to review all the important concept in the limited time. The lecture and the text book can provide us solid background knowledge. I will try to apply the accountant position now, after I understand the future of accounting-related job and the personality to be a good accounting worker. I will start my career in accounting files after I graduate. Reference IRS website : http://www. irs. gov/uac 941 form http://www. irs. gov/pub/irs-pdf/i941. pdf