Accounting Internship Reflection: Tax Prep & Small Business

Introduction to the Internship

As part of my accounting education, I undertook an internship at a local tax service from August to November 2010. The firm is a small business providing tax preparation services from two offices, one in Angleton and one in Houston. The business is small and handles mostly small commercial tax work, in addition to some personal tax work. I had very little idea ahead of time what I would actually be doing, but I was excited to gain some hands-on, real-world experience in accounting, as I expect to enter that field one day. Seeing what it is really like in practice was important to me.

My internship statement, formulated at the outset of the program, was intended to serve as a guide for the types of work I would be doing on the job. The statement was as follows:

"As an intern, my objectives are the following: reconciling accounts, preparing federal and state tax returns, audits, bookkeeping, payroll, and setting up corporations. I chose to intern at a sole practitioner's office because of the knowledge and experience gained from handling different tasks. This particular office deals with a high volume of clientele and handles a wide variety of services."

The choice to work in a small office was deliberate. I knew that in a small office I would be exposed to a greater variety of tasks. I thought this exposure was essential, as it would help me narrow down my area of specialization. There are many practical questions I expected to answer as a result of working in such an environment. The first and most obvious was whether working in a small office was something I would want for myself. The idea of working for myself is appealing, but it comes with additional challenges — doing marketing, for example. I wanted this internship to give me a better sense of what a sole practitioner's professional life is really like.

The other thing I wanted to learn was which areas of specialization I might prefer, if any. I thought that in a large firm I might only perform one type of task, whereas at a smaller firm I would get to do many different things. In doing so, perhaps I would find a preference for some tasks over others — or perhaps not. I felt that only by gaining real-world exposure would I know.

What I Did

My report on the internship is organized into two sections. The first outlines the work I did at the tax service, aided by a log I kept throughout. The second outlines my reflections on the internship, specifically what I learned over the course of the autumn while it took place.

The job started with a task that is typical of a tax office: dealing with a client who had not filed returns in several years. I received four banker's boxes full of expenditures, payroll stubs, and other tax documents. The customer had two businesses, and I needed to sort them out. The task took over a week just to organize the expenditures for one of the businesses for the 2008 tax year. This part of the job was not particularly interesting, but I learned a great deal about expenditures when my supervisor reviewed my work. After this point I was able to begin organizing the tax information for a restaurant client for 2008. I made some mistakes during this phase and had them corrected. There are many fine details that must be addressed in this kind of work.

By September 3rd I had finished the 2008 return and begun the 2009 return for the same client. The process was much the same, but having completed one year, the second moved much more quickly. The 2009 tax year was interesting because the company had closed during that year. I gained experience not only with the relevant tax forms for a closing business but also with how to handle the circumstances surrounding it. When that process was complete, I began work on the customer's other business. The process was the same: first I had to separate expenditures into categories for deductions, then have those categories reviewed by my boss. I examined bank statements to calculate income and cost of goods sold, and reviewed credit card statements as well. All of my work was reviewed by my supervisor.

By late October I had finished the tax statements and forms for the two different companies across two different years. Each took roughly two weeks, so the first two months of my internship were devoted to producing the statements and tax returns for this single customer. At that point, I was able to move on to other clients.

The first of these additional clients was a beauty salon set up as a sole proprietorship. The process was the same as for the corporations but moved much more quickly. The client had a fairly simple personal return, so the procedure took a little over a week to complete. I learned a great deal through this process about the differences between sole proprietorships and corporations, and about the differences among various types of clients.

I was then able to move on to other tasks, particularly bookkeeping. This involved a significant amount of data entry and account reconciliation. During this period I also completed an articles of incorporation and performed some payroll calculations. A variety of smaller tasks gave me exposure to new areas. I was subsequently charged with preparing statements and tax returns for an LLC. During this process I also gained some exposure to marketing, because the client expressed interest in purchasing accounting software to improve his bookkeeping processes. I needed to discuss the available software options with my boss and learn how to turn such a request into a business opportunity.

My last assignment involved another corporate client who wanted to prepare for the 2010 filing. This process also required reviewing 2009 information. I had to report sales tax to the state comptroller's office, which was a new procedure for me. Finally, I discussed with my supervisor what I had learned during the internship and had the opportunity to analyze my own performance and how it would influence my career choices.

Conclusion

I learned a lot in my three and a half months at the tax service. It reinforced my belief that private practice is what I want to pursue upon graduation, because I can see that being your own boss creates near-limitless opportunities. In terms of career direction, this experience was genuinely informative. The day-to-day tasks are not always exciting, but the overall idea of managing multi-week projects, helping people, and being your own boss holds tremendous appeal.