Busy Season is Back

This is officially my first year of enjoying life no longer in the big 4 environment, and I must say that it feels pretty good not to dread my January.  Although my gf is still well into the Big 4 progression ladder, so I will have lots of stories.  I ventured off into my post Big 4 life in April, and here are the things that I feel I miss/ don't miss about the Big 4 corporate life.

What I miss: 

1) Some of the cool people at Big 4.  I never really fit the "corporate culture" reflecting back and never really fit in.  I always dressed like shit compared to the $300-$500 outfits I always see around.  There were a couple of cool people that I miss at the Big 4, not enough for me to ever go back, but they were cool and it was fun complaining about the bs environment.  I usually hated everyone, but there were a couple of cool managers that I still keep in touch with.  Most of my intermediates and juniors were cool as well, maybe it was because I was like the chillest senior. 

2) The occasional socials that I would go to, to have some alcohol and meet some work people.  But really, I don't feel like I fit in, ever to the accounting world, so this is very very minor.   

3)  The occasional travel opportunities and free hotels/rooms sponsored by the firm. 

4) The nice constant paycheck.  

I think that is about it, you think you would miss more about the Big 4, but after leaving big 4, I don't think I had a single regret about leaving like career progression and what not. 

 What I don't miss   

1) The 10+ year managers and partners who are assholes.  I know they have a job to do too, I'm just glad I'm not the one doing it anymore. =) After leaving Big 4, my health has skyrockted.  It took like 2-3 months of big 4 for post traumatic stress recovery, but I'm fit again, and my happiness has steadily improved.

2) staring at the computer screen for 10+ hours a day.  I already have bad eyes and working for Big 4 for the past 4 years made my glasses degree almost double. 

3) Busy season.  Man it feels good to be on the other side, and not have to take shit from clients.  To be fare, I had some really nice clients.  My last busy season, my partner stressed the controller so much, she constantly had to work on the weekends.  My controller had to bring her kids with her to the office.  I felt so bad. She was constantly stressed, and I wish I could tell her to take it easy, but I couldn't.  I really hope she left that job or got promoted since. 

4) Sitting in the audit room "pretending" to do work around 7-11 p.m., just to show face to the manager.  I think the biggest problem in Big 4 was and still is, people who don't need to be there still have to be there to look good to the manager/partner. 

5) I remember being so stressed out about deadlines and stuff, and looking back none of that was ever really that important.  It was also terrible to have to eat take out every day during busy season.  Looking back, I don't know why half the stuff we had to do, we had to do. 

Overall, I must conclude that I'm glad I left while i did.  While I would be a manager this year, I think I would have been a terrible one.
  
The Accountant

Top 10 Issues Accountants Face This Busy Season

Two weeks to go and what the hell?! I’m writing a blog post instead of working on my clients’ financial statements. But I needed a break so here I am writing.

While I was searching online, I came across this issue from CPATrendlines. It’s about the Accountant’s Top 10 Issues for Tax Season. I know the article deals mostly with U. S. Accountants but when you look at the list, they’re also applicable to auditors and in other countries around the world. Here are 7 of those 10 issues (and some of my thoughts about them):

General Economic Situation. I’ve been reading about economists and experts saying that the economy (global or otherwise) has hit rock bottom and there’s no other way to go but up but for this year, I don’t think the outlook is positive. This issue will definitely still be around during the next year’s busy season. This year? Well expect some clients to still ask for cuts in their fees or to still delay paying their fees. I know I am (expecting this).

Setting Aside Enough Time to Plan. When was this ever a non-issue? Ever since I started auditing, the planning season just never seem to be an effective one, mainly due to lack of time (due to special and other jobs) or lack of resources (human or otherwise). So yes, this is really an issue.

Staffing Issues. Too many staff? Too many lay-offs due to the recession? Or having difficulty finding the right staff who will fit in the job or the firm?

Tax Code Changes. Okay, I know, this is more of a problem for Accountants and for the auditing firm’s tax people but who’s to say we, auditors, are immune to these changes or that we shouldn’t know about them? Especially if your client suddenly runs to you and asks for your advice about the tax changes and how these affect them.

New Accounting and Auditing Issues. Very true especially with the adoption of the IFRS, the codification of the accounting standards and the revisions of the auditing standards. Well, this busy season is almost over but for the next? Better brace ourselves for these changes and issues.

Partner or Office Issues. Another issue that is the same year in and year out (unless you resign from the Firm). Even if you get to transfer to another team or partner just to avoid the partner that you so dislike, what’s the guarantee that you are really ‘safe’ from this issue?

Personal or Family Issues. I always thought that family issues should not be brought to the office while office problems should not be brought home. But then again, this is easier said than done. And with the kind of hours we keep, especially during the busy season, be prepared for all sorts of issues (personal or otherwise) to crop up during this busy season and the next year’s season, and the next, and the next…

So those are the seven issues. The last 3 are – Competition from Others, Technology / Software Problems and New Office, Technology or Software Processes.

What Are Your Plans Post – Busy Season?

First of all, I’d like to apologize (especially to the owner of this blog) for not being able to post anything for almost a month. I’ve been busy preparing the financial statements, doing some audit work and checking on my people’s work that I simply could not squeeze in the time to blog.

That said, I’m really looking forward to the ‘official’ end of the busy season (which will be in two weeks’ time) and I can’t help but feel excited. This feeling is the same whether you’re in a Big 4 auditing firm, a smaller firm or your own.

So what about the plans? Right now, my mind is just churning with a lot of them. They’re, well, like New Year’s Resolutions except these ones are for after the tax deadline. Here are some of those plans that I have (and mind you, I can honestly say I’m not the only one who has them):

Lose weight. What is it about the busy season that almost all of us gain some weight during these months? If you haven’t gained any, I envy you!

Lose the papers. Other than the weight, what usually accumulates during this season is the pile of excess papers that one has. From discarded notes, to schedules that were revised, to draft financials, to excess copies, I usually have a mountain of papers that I need to dispose of after the tax deadline. Some are retained for future use, others are filed accordingly and still others go to the trash bin labeled ‘for shredding’.

Take a day off. When I was still in the big auditing firm, the day after the tax deadline, the office looked like a ghost town. Either we were late, took a half – day leave or just took the whole day off. This year, well, we’ll just wait and see.

Go out with your friends, special someone, or families. Let’s face it. During the busy season, your social life sometimes gets to the point of being non – existent (I say sometimes because this is not applicable to every auditor or accountant during every busy season). The days after the busy season you will find time to plan and to go out with people who are special to you, people whom you haven’t seen for the past four months, in short, people who may have felt neglected while you work 16 hours every day, 7 days a week just to meet the tax deadline.

Catch up in my reading. I love to read but during the busy season, all I’m reading are working papers and financial statements! So after the deadline, I’d definitely make it a point to read something at my leisure.

Arrange the working papers, sign off and store them. Oh well, I didn’t say those plans have more to do with leisure and less with work. It’s back to reality for this one. Ideally, these should have been done even before the busy season ends but let’s face it, they’re easier said than done when you’re jumping from one client to another and trying to do a lot of things at once.

Evaluate and plan. Again, more work. Post – busy season is the time when we evaluate what happened during the busy season and start planning for next year. Ugh! Sorry this can’t be avoided. And the earlier they’re done, the better while everything is still fresh in your mind.

So, those are my plans post – busy season. What about you, what are your plans after this busy season?

End of the Busy Season? Not Really.

Less than six weeks from now, we’ll be officially ending our busy season. So we’re sort of feeling the urgency now (which is why I was not able to post anything for the past three weeks). Expect the long hours, less sleep – hours, more week-end work, tempers rising and the general chaos of trying to finish everything on time. Because, whether we like it or not, on April 15 (for those with December 31 year – end), its pass your papers (or in this case, audited financial statements) time.

So why the title then? I mean, if the busy season will end six weeks from now, why is the title a question rather than a fact?

Because, in my 8 years in a big auditing firm, I haven’t really experienced a honest-to-goodness April – 15 – end – of – busy – season kind of thing.

Not trying to frighten you or disillusion you (that is, assuming you are already looking forward to the end of the busy season) but that’s just how it is.

For one, we still have what we call ‘tentative’ accounts, or financial statements that could not be finalized on time for the April 15 deadline. There are really various reasons why this happens. One, of course, is because the client (it’s always the client, by the way) did not submit what we need to finish the financial statements on time. Another is because there are certain issues that we cannot agree with the client and we need more time to thresh everything out. Still another is because the client’s accounts and balances are so much in disarray that we need more time to analyze everything out before we can sign off on the financial statements.

Two, we still need to clean up our working papers, sign off on them and ‘archive’ them (or store them properly) for proper documentation and for the next year’s audit. And if you think this will not take any work, well, this is not always the case. You will need to really spend time cleaning up those working papers, especially if you were in such a hurry during the busy season that your working papers are not in good order (and I’m saying this in a kind manner by the way).

Three, you have a client or clients with a year ending other than December 31, then your busy season will definitely move towards the date of the actual deadline of this client or these clients. Lucky you if this is the only client you will deal with during that time. But what if you have a client with a March 31 year-end with a deadline in the middle of the year when you are already into the planning season for the next year?! Goodbye to your ‘slack’ season.

Four, you have a special job. This happened to me during my last year with the auditing firm. Instead of finishing everything by end of April, we still have to extend the busy season to June of that year because we were preparing for the IPO of one of our clients! I didn’t do any overnights during that busy season but in June, I certainly did them!

And those are just some of the reasons why your busy season can get extended after the April 15 deadline. I’m sorry if I rained on your parade but heck, that’s the reality for some of us. I don’t want to say for all either so if you don’t fall into this ‘some’ category, then you’re lucky. But if you’re one of those unlucky ones, better take a deep breath, gear up and prepare for a longer busy season. 

Some Things I Don’t Want to Hear During the Busy Season

Okay, let me get this straight. There are really a lot of things I like about the busy season (I must be a martyr or something). In fact, in general, I can honestly say I’m a person who can tolerate a lot of things. But then again, there are a lot of things I don’t like about the busy season and there are really some things that I don’t want to hear and to tolerate, especially during the busy season. Let me just tell you what are these things are:

From the client: “We’re moving the Board of Director’s meeting to an earlier date.” Meaning? They’re also moving the deadline for the audited financial statements. Subsequently, all your well-made plans and schedules get shot down and you have to scramble to re-schedule everything just to meet the new deadline. Thinking of protesting? Save your breath. The adage “customer is always right” works in the auditing firms as well, especially when it comes to deadlines.

From the client: “I haven’t finished the schedules that you asked. I’ll give them to you next week.” Meaning? It’s already the end of March and you need to submit everything to your manager and partner for review, otherwise, your head will roll (figuratively, of course). But here’s your client telling you that you still have to wait for another week for the much-needed schedules. What do you do? Call your manager or partner and tell them the FS will not be released on time and you will have to go on ‘tentative’ mode? Good luck, especially if your client is expecting you to still finish on time despite the fact that they’re the ones who are causing the delay.

From the client: “I’m right, you’re wrong.” You’re having the mother of all arguments with the client and to just get what they want, they’ll end the argument with this sentence???? Does this make sense? Or is the client starting to sound like a spoiled brat?

From the client: “You’re here again! Is it the time of the year already?” Uh, yes and yes. Why is it that some clients could not get into their thick heads that they need to be audited every year? It’s like we’re a bug or something that comes out from January to April of every year. Or we’re just somebody who they have to tolerate because we’re the ‘necessary evil’ for them.

From the client: “I don’t like your junior, send another one.” This I heard when I was already a manager. As if all the tight deadlines, overtime and overnights are not enough, I had to contend with the fact that my client did not like my new junior! Since it was already the busy season, replacing her was near to impossible, so I had to tell my senior not to let the junior get near that particular client. If I didn’t have a senior – I’m dead.

From the previous manager: “You need to help me out in finishing this job.” You’ve already done your schedule with this manager. You’ve submitted all your work and cleared all his notes. But then again, your ex-manager suddenly approaches you and told you that he needs your help to finish the job. And you’re already in the middle of auditing your next client! What to do? What to do? This happened to me once, and I knew I couldn’t say no. Good thing my new manager said yes. Don’t know what would have happened to me if she said no.

From the partner / manager: “I need this ASAP!” Right. As if all the rest of what you are doing are not urgent as well.

And lastly, “you cannot charge 100% of your overtime hours!” You work your butt off all those late nights (and week-ends, too!) just to be told that you can’t charge all of your overtime hours because the job is in danger of exceeding the budgeted hours. Need I say more?

How to Survive the Busy Season…

Alive and (mostly) unscathed.

Okay, I was just kidding about the line above. As I said in another post, nobody really dies from the busy season. But I noticed that, even though I was writing a lot of stuff during the past few months, I’ve never really written about how to survive the busy season during and after you went through one.

Just a note – I’m not an expert in this subject – but then again, having gone through 10 busy seasons (8 in audit and 2 in accounting), I think I can say I’m a veteran in getting out of busy seasons “alive and unscathed”. Not to mention that I’ve seen a lot of people who have busy seasons for 20 or more years (and they’re still alive, not to mention, have lots of money)!

So, how do we really survive the busy season?

First stop, you have to pace yourself. If you have a client with an early deadline, work your butt off when you need to. But don’t overdo it. Take some rest; too, otherwise, you’ll just burn yourself out.

If you have a client that has a not-so-early deadline (lucky you!), start it easy then gradually increase your overtime hours and week-end work. Go with a pace you’re comfortable with but always keep in mind the deadline date.

Second, always make room for adjustments. When I was working for the big auditing firm, we always give allowances for any adjustments. If the deadline is March 31, we plan to end everything and issue the financial statements a week before March 31. This way, our minds are set on March 24 plus we work the hours required to finish everything on March 24. If there are problems encountered along the way, we can always fall back on the extra week. Better to do this than to peg the March 31 date then find out that we’ll have to extend until April 7!

Third, lay off planning and/or preparing for personal major events. Sorry, have to say this. When you’re in the thick of things during the busy season, try (really hard!) not to do or plan for anything major in terms of your personal or social life. Just a few things that can be categorized as major (and I know I will get into trouble for saying this) – buying or building a new home; planning and preparing for your own wedding (plus having your own wedding during the busy season); and planning and preparing for a family or school reunion. Heck, I’ve seen some female auditors even schedule their pregnancies (and dates of giving birth) away from the busy season! Yes, I know that your personal or social lives should not take a backseat over your own career, but let me just say that from the start, you’ve been warned that there’s a busy season. So if you want to save yourself the trouble and the headache of juggling a lot of things all at once, please apply this tip.

Fourth, plan for some ‘me’ time. The third tip does not mean you’ll spend your busy season living in your office and having no personal / social life. Believe me - you’re entitled to some ‘me’ time. So go out and have dinner with your friends or loved ones. Have coffee breaks. Watch a movie (or movies). Take a break when you’re in - between clients after a deadline. Go home early on a Friday. Go to a spa and have a massage. Sleep longer during week-ends. Take a day off after the April 15 deadline (which is what we usually do, so after this date, the office is usually quiet because a lot of the auditors take the day off or come in late). Little things I know, but they all add up to relieve your stress and to relax you just a little bit during this pressure - packed times.

Fifth, keep your cool (and your sense of humor). During one particular busy season, one client commented that even if we were already busy, I still have a smile on my face. Don’t take everything seriously during the busy season. If your client has been pressuring you to finish everything, don’t lose your cool and erupt like a volcano (you’ll get nowhere plus you’ll just make everybody feel bad). If your boss or manager bullies you to do a lot of things, don’t take it personally, they have a lot in their minds, too (and they are as pressured as you are or even more so). Lighten up. Download a funny YouTube video and laugh while watching it. You may look like a fool (just in case you’re hiding while watching the video) but believe me, it gets loads off your chest.

Lastly, don’t bite more than you can chew. They don’t call it an ‘audit team’ or simply ‘team’, for nothing. Don’t take on everything and don’t say ‘yes’ to everything. You know your limits, when you’re reaching it, pass on some of the load to your peers or ask your senior or manager to assign it to somebody else. They may or may not like your request but at least you know that you can manage with what you’ve got and will not disappoint them later on. Plus, if they still insist you take on the assignment, you’ll have the luxury of telling them later on that ‘you told them so’.

And those are my tips on how to survive your busy season. What do you think?