margolin, winer & evans llp · 2010. 10. 6. · 6 margolin, winer & evans llp margolin,...

Margolin, Winer & Evans LLP www.mwellp.com

Margolin, Winer & Evans LLP www.mwellp.com

Table of ContentsLetter from the Editor5

Word Search

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Preparing for the CPA Exam

First Impressions @ MWE

From MySpace to MyCubicle

The Advantages of Working at a Mid-Sized Firm

What I thought of My First Tax Season

How to Deal with Drinking & Dating in the Work Place

Alternatives to On-CampusRecruiting

Can Extra-Curricular ActivitiesHelp my Career?

Benefits at MWE

Dress for Success

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Dear Students,

Welcome to our 1st edition of “Year One.” I hope you enjoy learning about MWE and at the same time are learning all you need to know for your first year in the “real world.” This publication is designed to help you with the transition from college to your first experience in the accounting field.

Our new staff who started working in November 2006 and November 2007 are the writers behind the following articles. Not too long ago these same people were in your shoes and therefore, have shared some of the same experiences and have faced some of the same challenges that you will encounter in the near future.

Feel free to share “Year One” with your friends – they don’t have to be an accounting major to reap the benefits of all the important information we have included.

Visit: www.mwellp.com for more information on what our firm has to offer you. Please feel free to call or email me if you would like more information on MWE or if you have any questions.

Good Luck!Kimberly [email protected]

*I would like to thank the following people for their help in making this publication possible: Luis Portiansky, Rosa Vargas, Lakeisha Thomas, Chripa John, Matt Rosenblatt, Ben Varghese, Brad Weintraub, Ketan Patel, Harold Jean-Louis, Chris Lelo, Andrea Benincasa, Michael Chu, Dianne Panganiban, Eli Zahab, Alex Calzareth, Debbie Sakkatos, Robert Micera and Deb Davis.

Margolin, Winer & Evans LLPwww.mwellp.com

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When I arrived at 400 Garden City Plaza at 8:15 AM for my first day of work, I took the elevator to the fifth floor. Although I had seen the building before on a guided tour, I was still un-

sure of what to expect. When I got out of the elevator, I was told to go into the training room, where I saw a group of other new employees. Then, I saw Ron Evenson from AHI, who was going to be giving us staff training for the next three days. We were told that Orientation would begin on Thursday. Why, I wondered. Shouldn’t orientation be on the first day? Oh well!

On we went to staff training, which resembled a refresher course. Three tiresome days later, we were introduced to our new office and, in certain cases, our buddies as well. After the training, we began an Excel class offsite. Over those two days, we became familiar with Microsoft Excel 2007. This would be an important tool, as Excel is used frequent-ly in accounting. A few weeks later, after more training, we were given our rotation schedule and introduced to the departmental managers. That’s what is great about MWE: We get to work in different industries, and get some tax work in as well.

Ray Chang! My first manager. I knew who he was because he had headed the MWE Best Practices training session. I soon found that Ray is easy to get along with, and has invaluable knowledge that he is happy to share. Right away, I was given my first client, for whom I would be traveling into the city. Oh boy! I was in the city for about nine days over the next three weeks. There, I was given basic tasks to do—which are expected, as I was new in the field. However, the experienced seniors I was working with made the work a breeze. I was learning at a fast pace with hands-on training.

My previous job called for me to sit at my desk and reference a lot of the time, so traveling to a client gave me more responsibility, which I was willing and ready to take on. Ever since my training ended and I was given my first client, there has hardly been a day where I have had unassigned time. My manager promised to provide me with work, and he stuck to his word.

I am looking forward to continuing my career at MWE. Not only have these first two months been an eye opener, but they have also influenced my decisions for the future. Now I know public accounting is for me!

First Impressions

@ MWEBy Ketan Patel

www.mwellp.comMargolin, Winer & Evans LLP 5

’re different.

C e r t i f i e d P u b l i c A c c o u n t a n t s a n d B u s i n e s s A d v i s o r s

Margolin, Winer & Evens supplies the tools – you supply the drive. While you’re building a successfulaccounting career, you’ll also have a life. That’s why we emphasize a comfortable work/life balance.We’re mid-sized and merit-based, so you’ll be recognized and rewarded for what you accomplish.And, our competitive compensation package includes tuition reimbursements for advanced graduate courses, a bonus for passing the CPA exam and merit-based awards.

Most importantly, at MWE you’ll be expanding your accounting, tax and business skills in multipleindustry and service groups under the guidance of some of the best mentors in the business.

Your first step is an important one. Let MWE make a difference in your career and your life. Find out more at www.mwellp.com, and call Human Resources at 516-240-4487.

Your career starts here.

Certified Public Accountants and Business Advisors

Turning Vision into Value

LONG ISLAND: 400 Garden City Plaza, Garden City • 516 747-2000NEW YORK CITY: 330 Madison Avenue • 212 973-1000

www.mwe l l p . c om

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’re different.












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School to WorkIf your college experience is anything like mine, it may go a little some-

thing like this: you wake up around mid-afternoon for breakfast, which consists of pizza and a super sized cup of coffee. You’re eating breakfast at

2 pm because you were up all night writing that 10 page paper, which was due at 8 am, which you only started at 9 pm because you were spending the rest of that day studying for a 10 chapter test that was at 5 pm of THAT day, which you would’ve done that weekend if it weren’t for the fact that your favorite band was playing a concert at your school and it was also the weekend of the biggest party. Ok, maybe it’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the bottom line still stands: college manages to bring out the slacker within. And after spending four years in a bubble where anything pretty much goes, how are you supposed to transition yourself into the “real world” of a 9-5?

The key is to remember that once you have that degree in your hand and sign with that firm, you are in a one person business of marketing yourself. That means that you need to conduct yourself in a profes-sional manner, which for us slackers out there, requires us to have some structure in our lives. You have to be aware of keeping the professional attitude physically, socially, and mentally in the work place. The name of the game is balance in all of these aspects.

Appearances are everything. If that sounds a bit extreme and fickle to some of you, think about it this way: your attire speaks for you way before you get a chance to open your mouth.

So ditch the hoodies and sweats from college or if you are on the other end of the spectrum, ease up on the excessive grooming and tight clothes. The look you should attain should be a balance

of looking neat and polished.

Your clothes should not speak louder than you do. The same goes for grooming; the idea is to look natural and well put together. Ladies, try not to paint on a mask every morning. Guys, shaving regularly and neat haircuts are a MUST. If people see a put together person, they are more apt to trust you with more responsibilities. Remember, as a recent col-lege grad, you don’t have much experience to fall back on, so while you don’t have all the tools to play the part of a professional the very least you can do is look the part. That’s not to say that you must lose all your personality in your clothing, just do so in moderation.

Keeping a professional attitude socially can be very tricky. You don’t want to come off as a hermit, yet you don’t want to be the Paris Hilton

It’s a terrible look for your professional career to have scandalous pic-tures of yourself out there. Celebrities aren’t the only ones who are af-fected by negative press. If it’s out there, people will find it and it will damage your credibility.

Preparing yourself mentally for the workplace doesn’t have to wait until you graduate college. Take advantage of internships, co-ops, or any other program you can find that can acquaint you

with the daily grind of a nine to five.

Usually the career development centers can aid you in finding these opportunities. It will help you get a real feel of what office life is like, and will give you an idea of office etiquette before you are really out there. Plus, employers will be more apt to hire you after seeing you have that experience already. Another important matter to consider is to realize that there is a difference between college and work, mainly that going to bed at 3 AM and waking up at noon might be alright in

college, but at work it’s really not a good idea-unless you happen to be some sort of robot that can work on 3 hours of sleep. The point here is that discipline is very important. If you are hanging out on a weeknight, you need to be aware that you have to wake up early in the morning for work. Not to sound like a parent, but it is very important that you show up to work on time, bright eyed and ready to work. Remember, in your first year of working, you need to soak up as much information as possible and everyone knows it’s much easier to learn when you are well-rested and prepared.

Everyone’s first job will be a different experience, but follow-ing these guidelines will help ease the transition. It is a learning experience that takes time, but in no time, you will be building your career.

of the office either. People want to work with people who are easy to work with and dependable. The main idea here is to be considerate of people’s time and feelings. Another thing to remember is that anyone you meet is a potential key into a new network where you can further your business connections. So be courteous, be dependable and famil-iarize yourself with general conversation topics so you can have a good starting point to build these sorts of relationships.

Lastly, be aware of the information about yourself on the Inter-net. It’s been all over the news: employers are looking at your

social network profiles. Facebook, MySpace, whatever it is, needs to be censored.

The transition from From MySpace to MyCubicle:

By Chripa John

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Thomas Henry Huxley once said “if a little knowledge is danger-ous, where is a man who has so much as to be out of danger.” In other words, knowledge or lack thereof can either create or

prevent opportunities. In my opinion, one’s success is dependent on the knowledge one obtains throughout one’s lifetime. Others may feel success is based on how much money they make, or based on the merit they receive in a lifetime. I believe there is a misconception in the account-ing field that everyone is meant to believe that the only way you are truly a success is to acquire/obtain a job with a “Big Four” accounting firm. The following statement may come across as being arrogant; however, based on my experience working within a small firm and speaking with people that have worked at larger firms, I would put the knowledge I have obtained against the knowledge of any “Big Four” employee at the same level. This leads me into the reason for this article: Why working at a small firm is advantageous over working at a larger firm.

ExPERIEnCESmall Firm Opinion

At a small firm, there is greater opportunity to work on multiple balance sheet and income statement accounts due to the fact that there are limited staffing resources. This will enable a person to see various transactions which make up the accounting cycle and therefore increase exposure to different accounting issues. However, as small firms are normally specialized in certain industries, the experience and knowl-edge you obtain/acquire can be limited to a specific industry. Generally working at a small company, you only obtain experience in one side of accounting: either audit or tax, rarely both.

Large Firm OpinionDon’t get me wrong, working at a “Big Four” looks great on your

resume; however, your resume can only take you so far. The experience I received during my stay at a “Big Four” was limited to specific clients, as you must spend prolonged periods of time with one client. Addition-ally, my experience was also limited to specific balance sheet accounts. Although a larger company can offer you an array of varying industries to work in, which a small company cannot, there is less opportunity to work on multiple industries due to the prolonged period of time spent on each client. Lastly, working at a large firm you are not able to work across the lines of accounting, which is similar to a small firm: either audit or tax, never both.

MID-SIzED FIRMThE advanTagES oF WorKIng aT a

By Matt rosenblatt, Ben varghese and Brad Weintraub

Mid-Size OpinionWe feel that a mid-size firm offers an employee the best of

both worlds. Some people may place importance on building re-lationships with coworkers, as it could definitely help the day go by a little faster. Furthermore, there is opportunity to build strong business relationships with partners and managers that you would not normally have at a larger firm. This is very advan-tageous because the main goal of working should be to advance your career. The opportunity to work directly with managers and partners provides you with the ability to learn from people that have already experienced the business. Lastly, just as in a large firm, there are formal departments that you can bring any con-cerns to. This would prove meaningful should any work-related problems arise.

WORk/LIFE BALAnCESmall/Large Firm Opinion

At a small firm there are limited staffing resources, therefore, ev-eryone contributes that much more in order to see jobs to comple-

tion. On the other hand, at a large company, the clients are that much larger; consequently the time necessary to complete jobs is extended. This demanding workload limits employees’ time outside of the workplace.

Mid-Size Firm OpinionA mid-size firm provides you with an opportunity that a large or

small firm cannot. At a mid-size firm, there are more than enough resources to meet staffing requirements. The timing of the audit is generally not as extensive as within a large company. At the end of the day, people work to both make money and, to become successful through advancement of their career. What is the point of making money if you do not have the time to enjoy it?

I leave you with one last thought: At the end of the day, the de-cision is yours and yours alone. Evaluate your options and make a thoughtful decision.

Mid-Size OpinionAt a mid-size firm you have the best of both worlds. There is great

opportunity to gain experience by working on several different balance sheets and income statements/accounts, while still gaining exposure to multiple industries. Additionally, there are opportunities to work on both the audit side of accounting and the tax side of accounting, which is required to obtain your CPA license.

FIRM STRuCTuRE/EnvIROnMEnTSmall Firm Opinion

There is limited and sometimes no structure found at a smaller firm. However, there are benefits to a small firm environment. For example, you will have the opportunity to work directly with the people that run the day-to-day operations, such as managers and partners. Additionally, you are able to foster friendships, which make work seem less like work. The shortcomings of this set-up are not having formal policies in place and spontaneous decisions. Often, there is no formal human resource department to address any concerns or work-related issues.

Large Firm OpinionAt a large firm, there is formal structure; however, due to the size it may

feel overwhelming at times. Due to the structure, it is less personal, and you may struggle to build close relationships with your coworkers, or with part-ners and managers. Many times, you may feel like just another number.

margolin, winer & evans llp · 2010. 10. 6. · 6 margolin, winer & evans llp margolin,...

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