I didn't really know what to call this one. As some of you may have been able to deduce, its been a few weeks since I've written, and much has transpired since we last spoke (/typed/whatever this is called). Federal returns have been filed, a major new audit project has come about, prep has been done for a major seminar I have to go to, my house mates and I got a dog, I learned state returns in a very trial by fire fashion (yet still think I came through it pretty well) and filed those, became treasurer for a start up church project, started getting ready for a trip to Jamaica with the girlfriend...
Oh yes, and I took the last section of that little exam thing we're all so interested in.
Let's start with the other stuff that seems to have encompassed every waking second since I've taken reg, then we'll get to the good stuff. First off (and I'm sure I've alluded to this once or twice in the blog before), busy season was (go figure) busy. The September 15th (Federal) and October 15th (most States) have now come and gone, and overall I think my team did a great job. Still, my not posting for two weeks was indicative of exactly how much time we had to put in to push out a good product. We got a lot of new information late, found out we were taking on more returns than we had originally planned for, etc, etc. Still, I suppose none of us get into this profession thinking it will be a cake walk, and I definitely learned a lot about a vast array of topics. I certainly walked away a better accountant for it, and possibly built a little character in the process. I'm sure girlfriend would disagree, hah - she hasn't seen much of me either.
She'll get her time though; we leave on Saturday for a sun soaked week in the tropics. I can't wait - this will be my first real vacation all year, and after a summer of work and studying the thought of having absolutely nothing to do for a week is almost too good to be true. And, if nobody has told you - the living this profession provides you does allow for you to visit some very nice places. I'll give a review when I get back.
After national seminar, that is. A week with 500 of my closest Deloitte Tax buddies in Nashville, Tennessee, learning about everything from "Advanced Treatment of Corporate Property Distributions" to "1040 Methodology." I suppose they want to encompass the whole individual through corporate spectrum. Still, I'll see friends there from offices as far as Honolulu (I'm going to put in for a transfer eventually) and London. FYI - the London guys are at a US National training because they do US returns for US citizens that are abroad. I needed to ask somebody that the first time I met them, felt it'd be good to pass it along.
The puppy is a beagle. Its probably the most adorable thing I've ever seen. I know that I work far too much to care for it myself, but with my two house mates I think we'll manage. Whenever we all separate I've said I'll take the TV, one of them can have the dog.
And so we finally arrive at the Regulation section of the CPA Exam. I had put it off for an extra month, and although I don't know exactly how much difference that extra month made, I walked into the exam feeling like I had done as much as I could to prepare. Oh - side note - I had to reschedule the exam again. My usual testing center in Lawrenceville apparently had a fire the weekend before I was supposed to sit and I had to move testing centers a day before I was supposed to sit. I swear, stuff like this only happens to me (and I suppose anyone else scheduled to test in Lawrenceville - I joke only because I'm pretty sure no one was hurt).
The exam itself ended up feeling a lot like BEC (although tougher) - slightly different than what I had hit hardest in my studies, but with a good amount of material that could be sorted through with logic and rationale. It was not an easy exam though, and if I could give a singular piece of advice I'd say don't sell the law section short, there's a good bit of it and they dig in pretty deep. If I could give two pieces of advice, I'd say study hard. But you've heard that before.
The simulations weren't a cinch (or is it sinch? - guess we'll see what spellcheck (note - its the first one - with the c) says, but I'm going to leave both there just the same), but for me they were at least material I was familiar with. One dealt with M-1's, which are the major differences between book income and tax income. The other...well, I don't completely remember - its been two weeks and many hours in the cube since I took the exam. Not horrible though.
So that pretty much brings you up to speed with me. Long post, I know, but its been far too long. On the church treasurer thing - I wanted to try my hand at bookkeeping - possibly overextending myself but feeling like it'd be a good thing for me to do. Suppose we'll see how that turns out. If you've made it this far in the post, thanks a ton and good luck on your next section of the exam/your studies in general. I'll most likely be making one more wrap up post after my travels and then leave you to be.
Speaking of which - I think the society is looking to keep this whole blog thing going. I've had fun writing it (provides a nice outlet when you're studying), but its looking like it might almost be time for somebody to take the reigns from me. Anybody out there interested? You can either comment and I'll try to touch base with you, or just email the society. Again, hope all's well with you. Talk to you again in a bit.
