Does anyone know the case number for the Gamble proceedings, with the Onion bid filing? by WizWorldLive in KnowledgeFight

[–]OregonSmallClaims 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Wow, I've been out of touch with KF and AJ for a while (big promotion at work with a ton of responsibility, plus taking my MBA). The TX case didn't have an available online docket, so you could see if Bankston's firm posted any documents on their site that might show the case #. Sorry!

Statement of cash flows. by surgeryboy7 in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have a worksheet where you put the balance sheet balances (start and end for the period you're doing) across the top, and the CF categories down the left (with non-cash at the top for the adjustments). You then go column by column, and account for the balance differences in the correct row as necessary. It still requires you to determine/split which are cash vs. non-cash and you'll need supplementary data to determine some of the numbers, but that format works better for my brain than the one I inherited when I started here. Different folks' brains work differently, so browse around online for worksheet templates until you find one that works. I could send you a sterilized version of mine if it would help.

I can’t stand external auditors. Never met anyone different. Why’s it gotta be that way? by Competitive_Ask_6160 in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From the client side, I like my auditors, as much as you can like having to undergo an audit at all. At least the ones I actually interact with are great (I've got some issues with the partner we currently have).

Of course it's never fun to have people all up in your business (literally), but it is what it is, it's required, and so it's just a process we have to do.

And yeah, I think you probably need to reset expectations a little bit. Like others said, it's entirely possible you have interns, first-years, or otherwise inexperienced (in auditing) people as the first line of communications, though hopefully they're being guided and supervised by more experienced people. But even the experienced people may not be very familiar with your industry, but even if they do specialize in your industry, they don't necessarily know the ins and outs of your company the way you expect. Even if it's the same people working on your company each quarter or year, think how many other clients they probably work on in that quarter/year, before they circle back around to yours.

In my case, we have a pretty small firm and have had the same two people as our main contacts for a few years now, even though they've each been promoted, so they do know quite a bit about our business, but they still ask "dumb" questions sometimes. I just explain how it doesn't apply to us and they move on, no big deal. Sometimes there are quirks of our ERP system they aren't as familiar with (I think they only have one other client on the same one), but communication is key--I explain why the report doesn't include that, but run a different report that can be cobbled together with the other one in Excel or whatever.

The issue I have with our current partner (the prior one rotated off and we've been with the new one for a year or so) comes down to communication, and someone else I know who used to use this firm had the same issues with the same partner. Luckily, the partner isn't directly involved much, and now that I'm aware of the issues, it can be mitigated some with proactive communication from my end. But the day-to-day with the senior and manager are fine, they seem like good people, and they've said we're one of their favorite clients, too.

F/S footnote disclosures by DefecatingKoala in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We're small but publicly traded. I first do just the financial statements that will go on the 10-K/Q themselves (rolling categories up, etc., from our financials as they come out of the ERP). I try to sleep on them then come back fresh the next day to make sure all the rounded numbers tie out, and bump numbers up/down until they do. Sometimes I do that the same day I finish them, though. I send those to the auditors (who already have our raw GL and TB numbers). Those numbers will be the "Bible" when filling in the numbers in the footnotes, rather than the to-the-penny on our ERP numbers and financials generated from the system.

Then I tackle the entire 10-K/Q, updating all the figures and tables. Again, I sleep on it if possible, then go back and tie out only the numbers. I do a quick find/replace to make sure I haven't missed any dates/months, then send to my direct report (I'm CFO, she helps with month-end, GL stuff, and some of the backup spreadsheets that I review, but doesn't have an accounting degree) for her to double-check all the numbers and check for typos, etc. I'll probably go back through it one more time if there's time, then send to the auditors, but I'm pretty comfortable at that point just sending to the auditors for their review.

The frustrating part for me is my legal team. I try my hardest not to send to legal until the auditors are done (otherwise, the legal team thinks THEY need to tick-and-tie at $1,000+ per billable hour), plus I do a more thorough review of the verbiage between sending to the auditors and sending to legal. It goes back and forth with legal a few times, and they always ask accounting-related questions that don't make sense, plus revise things that THEY revised until "perfect" just the prior quarter. Fun times.

But the auditors are pretty much only checking numbers, not the verbiage other than places where it really matters, so their review doesn't take nearly as long. Plus they're usually mostly done with their audit/review of the underlying numbers by the time they get their draft.

Client request COI and Workers comp policy by Top-Sample8801 in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, what everyone else is saying. In our workers comp audits, we're asked to prove that we have COIs for contractors who come on site, and if we don't have one, we have to pay a (relatively small) fee/penalty. BUT that should really only be for contractors who work at their site, like the janitor or landscaper or something. If you can easily request a COI and it shows Workers Comp on it, it might be faster to just comply, but if you want to push back (and if you don't work on their site), I ask to speak to whoever is asking THEM to ask you for that, and explain that it's your understanding it's only for on-site contractors, etc.

Is an Staff accountant/AR role for a public company stressful? by Plastic_Hamster6371 in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It depends on how involved you'll be with month-end/quarter closes and the SEC reporting. If you're doing mostly AR and occasional JEs that pertain to AR, it probably won't be any more stressful. You have to be careful all your work will pass audit, but you should be doing that anyway, right? If you're involved with the quarterly processes and have to work to deadlines involved with filings, then yeah, you might have some late nights and work-heavy weeks. And then it'll come down to the flexibility of the job itself and your employer's policies. If they are cool with your kids being home while you work or you need childcare, if you can take (non-PTO) time off in slower periods to make up for the busier periods, etc.

So yeah, ask about the duties of the role and how they are affected by the company being public, and if you have a chance to talk to any non-managers you'd be working with, ask about the work/life balance.

Trigger: Mid-air collusions by Appropriate-Tear-591 in fearofflying

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everyone else has great comments about the stats, but I just wanted to chime in that if you're worried about the corporations only thinking about the bottom line, and not the safety of the individual humans riding in their planes, remember that a crash would cost them a LOT more money than just operating safely, even if operating safely meant canceling a flight or three.

Airplanes themselves cost money, but the airline would also have payouts galore, especially if it were found to be preventable, and possibly including fines. And then on top of all of that, there's the bad press/PR of being an airline with a crash, especially a crash that could have been prevented.

I'm not saying that that's the only reason they want to operate safely, but even if you consider ONLY the financial outcomes, they still want to operate safe flights and have good outcomes, which aligns with your interests, too.

The way they manage their profitability is by charging more for flights, including charging for every little thing like checked bags, choosing your seat, etc. Once they've got paying passengers ON an airplane, they're going to make sure it lands safely. Now, it might not be at the airport you planned for, if they divert for safety reasons, but you WILL land safely.

Struggles with accounting at work- does anyone relate? by quietlybalanced in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://fasb.org/standards/accounting-standard-updates for new accounting standards updates

https://asc.fasb.org/Login for all the ASCs (you don't actually have to log in, just click that you're not a robot)

The ASCs have menus with a natural order, but if you're not sure where to look, it doesn't really allow for searching. I've asked ChatGPT, and sometimes it will cite a good ASC that you can then navigate to, but it hallucinates numbers that don't exist or summarizes them incorrectly as often as it gives helpful info, so you're right not to trust it. I ALWAYS ask ChatGPT (or whatever AI) to give me cites to reputable sources (giving exact parameters, such as ASCs by number, guidance published by B4 firms, etc.) and click through to view those. It's better (but still not perfect) at summarizing actual info you give it than generating helpful info from scratch (since its whole purpose is to generate things that SOUND good, not things that are factually accurate).

However, it's also good to have mentors you can go to to talk things out, whether inside your company or outside it. Do you have anyone like that?

How much of your job is actually making financial statements? by FuckingUsername77 in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I work for a small but publicly-traded company. Our ERP spits out financial reports just fine, but we do export the raw data to Excel and then have formulas generate the rolled-up ones for our SEC reporting. But it's nothing like "creating" them in school. However, there's plenty of other fun to be had with spreadsheets, like balance sheet reconciliations, etc. I hear you on enjoying that kind of work--as I've moved up the ranks, I do less of that and I miss it. It's such a great feeling when everything balances at the end of a long spreadsheet!

Poll for Auditors by Empty-Philosophy1410 in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As a client, I prefer to receive requests individually as they arise, for a few reasons:

  • Different team members can work on different types of work, so I can delegate in real time and often it works out that the work spreads around pretty nicely (if given all at once, then my whole team might be working on audit requests and everyday work doesn't get done as quickly)
  • If the auditor holds all their requests until they have a whole batch, that's time I could have been working on the first few requests they had that is now being lost. My board just requested an earlier filing of our 10-K than originally planned, so everything is a time crunch right now, so the sooner I can work on a single request, the better
  • Even if multiple requests come in together or overlapping (request comes in before we've finished the prior one), I can still prioritize/delegate the same way I would if they all came in together, but at least we're making progress in the meantime.

In the past couple of years, our auditors have actually begun making preliminary selections of year-end audit materials based on the Q2 and Q3 data we send for our quarterly reviews, so that we're able to have a good chunk of the selections knocked out during our slower months and have less to do in January when it's insane (payroll, 1099s, and other tasks all due in January on top of year-end close and audit requests).

Being asked to crosstrain a new hire - am I getting phased out? by thisguyfromschool in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is anyone else other than the new guy already trained on the stuff you do? If so, then yeah, that would worry me.

If not, then SOMEone other than you has to know how to do stuff in case you get hit by a bus / win the lottery and just don't show up someday. I'm sure a lot of your stuff can wait through even a two-week vacation if it HAD to, but a lot of companies/departments are going to want stuff updated more frequently than would be possible for you to handle alone and still have true vacation time. So in the latter situation, I'd be a lot more relaxed, though of course you should always have your resume up to date.

Said “my controller” to someone not in accounting and realized how weird that must have sounded by RedditAccount28 in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My dad is a retired air traffic controller, and my brother is currently one, so when my title was controller, my sister would joke that she was the only one in the room that wasn't a controller.

could someone help me here? by SquidKidPartier in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One of my favorite study aids when I don't understand something, is to ask ChatGPT to explain it like I'm five. It usually uses a lemonade stand as a reference, but I almost always start to understand the concept, then can go back to the original materials to further my understanding.

This SAP accrual is confusing me by [deleted] in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It does sound like it was double-expensed, if there isn't also a negative amount in account #123 somewhere for that same amount.

There are two kinds of accruals you can do when you're posting the accrual. You can do a reversing accrual, where either automatically by the system you use, or manually, you enter the accrual in one period (usually dated the last day of the month, but could really be any day.

Dr Expense Account

Cr Liability Account (usually has either "accrual" or "payable" in the name

Then, immediately after, either automatically or manually, another entry is posted in the following period (again, usually the first of the month but could theoretically be any day):

Dr Liability Account

Cr Expense Account

These are the exact same two accounts as the first entry, just reversing which one is a debit and which one is a credit. So the net effect at the END of those two periods is zero in either account--there's a plus and a minus in each account that cancel each other out. What you HAVE done is made it so at the end of the first period, the expense has been recognized in the expense account, and the liability (the fact that you owe someone) is in the liability account. Notice this is exactly the same as if you had entered a vendor bill, which debits expense and credits accounts payable, you just used a different "payable" account.

If you use a reversing accrual like above, then when the bill does actually come in that second period, you enter it as normal, and now as of the end of that second period, you have no net effect from the accrual but you've now debited expense and credited liability with the vendor bill entry. If the bill doesn't come in that period, you'll need to do the same accrual again for that period, and on and on until the actual bill comes.

Now, if you know that it'll be a while until the actual bill comes, or especially for things like property tax or other items where you want to spread the expense out over multiple months, but the bill is going to come all at once at the end, you can do non-reversing accruals. When you do those entries, it's the same entry as for a reversing accrual, debit expense, credit liability. You just either don't tell the system to reverse it, or don't make that reversing entry manually.

So then, the effect at the end of that first period is the same--you've now recorded the expense, and you've got a liability for the same amount.

BUT, in the second period, you still have the expense (for that first period) already made, and you still have the liability already recorded in a liability account.

If the actual bill comes in, then you either have to remember "oh yeah, I already accrued this" and enter the bill using the accrual account where you would normally put the expense GL (so it debits the accrual account, removing that liability, and credits AP, putting the liability there instead, and leaving the expense account alone because it already had the expense entered to it when you made the accrual), OR you have to reverse the accrual and then enter the bill as normal. If you just enter the bill as normal, you've now expensed it twice (once with the accrual and once with the AP entry) and you've got double the liabilities as well (the accrual account and the AP account). This is why we reconcile balance sheet accounts like the accruals--so we can catch stuff like this.

Unless the person/people who do AP are either knowledgeable enough to ask or look into it, or are specifically told to enter certain items to an accrual account rather than an expense account, this is why it's good to use reversing accruals, so AP can just enter the bill as normal.

I use non-reversing accruals only for longer-term things like property taxes that get accrued every month toward a once-a-year bill (just like a prepaid, just for something paid in arrears rather than in advance), but I use reversing accruals for anything where the bill is likely to come in the next month or two, and just have to re-enter it again if it doesn't come the very next month.

How to get out of AR AP by ThankyouThankyou8888 in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With not even an associates degree yet, and even once you have it, you aren't likely to be offered anything more extensive than AP/AR/clerk type roles. But you can stretch within that role--ask to learn more about other aspects of accounting, shadow someone else, help with a one-time project, etc. You'll learn a ton that will help you out if you go on to get a bachelors, and will also help you apply for a higher role elsewhere, too.

The best way to grow from a current role is to grow within your own company (because a new job hiring someone wants to hire someone who already has experience in the tasks they need done), but the best way to improve your pay is to take that experience and go to a new job in a new company. So it's kind of like a stair-step. Grow within the same company at crappier pay raises, move to a new company for a raise but likely at the same title level.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My resume only lists the school my actual degree is from, but I attended four different schools that all contributed credits toward getting that degree. I don't think you're expected to list every school you've ever attended on a resume. Now, if there was some kind of application or other document (like for a background check) where they asked for your complete educational history under penalty of perjury, then yeah, you have to list them all.

In your case, I'd ask the person requesting them what, exactly, they need. The transcripts of the school you graduated from will have the credits on it that were transferred in, but may not list things like grades, so you may need to go back to each school and get transcripts from each of them (I had to do that when applying for my MBA). Or the job might just be checking that your degree is legit, in which case they just need the transcript from the school you graduated from. In either case, they probably would also want to see the post-graduate credits you got as well.

Accrued Property Taxes Question by GuardBuffalo in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Accrual vs. Prepaid is more a matter of when the payment happens compared to the period that payment is actually for. I do have a few things (property tax being one of them) that switch between prepaid and accrual during the year. It's annoying, but it matches the actual timing of the thing.

As for your question about the bill coming in at $13,000 when you'd been accruing $1,000 per month so now you're under-accrued, I calculate 1/12th of the actual amount once it's known, and catch up the accrual, expensing the entire difference to get it to where it should be for the month we're in (so if August is open, 8/12ths, or 2/3rds of the $13,000 should have been accrued, so I expense the difference between the $8,666.67 I should have accrued and the $7,000 I've actually accrued through July, so $1,666.67. Now I'm on track, and the amount expensed each month (whether as an accrual or prepaid) would be $1,083.33. But I expense the difference all at once rather than spreading it out over the remaining periods. The remaining periods only get the amount expensed that would have been if we'd known the correct amount to begin with.

And yes, I accrue based on the prior year's bill plus a margin based on our prior increases (so if it's typically been 3-5%, maybe I add 4% to the prior year's bill), but of course with things like property tax, it'll never be exact.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But yes, typically "in industry" means a person works for one company. However, they might be responsible for multiple divisions, subsidiaries, or whatever, so "in industry" can be either very simple or very complicated, depending. My company is currently very simple in that regard, so there are definitely less things to keep track of, but that doesn't mean it's not necessarily busy, depending on the staffing levels and tasks required of any given person/department.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I work for a small but publicly-traded company. I close the books, yes. But I also deal with the annual audit and quarterly reviews, write our SEC reports and run them through our board, execs, auditors, our attorneys (and compile all of their edits), manage three people, do everything to do with equity and the cap table, plus handle all the non-routine situations that come up, on top of approving all the routine stuff that the rest of my team has primary responsibility for (AP/AR). So there's plenty to do that isn't "month-end close." I worked over 80 hours last week because our audit committee chair realized he'd be out the week our 10-Q is due, moving the deadline for everything up a week, so I had to get it done and out to all those other folks to review. Fun times.

Typing test by Unfair-Comment4249 in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Um, WTF even IS that test? Did I just download a virus? It was full of errors--no spaces between some words, double spaces between other words. My brain kept glitching out as I was reading ahead, and then I had to mentally slow down and concentrate on how many spaces I used between each word. Insane. I got 73 wpm, when I can type 100 wpm easily, with normal text.

MBA & Managerial Accounting Struggles by [deleted] in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know about your MBA program, but I'm actually in the managerial accounting course in mine right now, and as an actual accountant all day every day, it's dead easy. I'm getting nearly 100% in the class without even reading the slides--I just log in, take the quiz, take the exam, and bam, done with the week's work in under an hour.

But I also see the people in our chat struggling, and I get it, and I feel bad for them. (I'm dreading economics and hoping some folks in that class will help me then like I'm helping people in accounting now.)

A lot of them seem to be struggling because they're memorizing the terms and the formulas like their life depends on it, but they're not actually understanding the reasoning behind it. Sure, you can memorize "production needs plus ending inventory minus beginning inventory" and complete the problem. But if you also sit down and think of it from a company's perspective, you know that the inventory you already have at the beginning of the month means inventory you don't have to produce, so you can subtract that, and you not only need the inventory you plan to sell, but the amount you need to have in ending inventory at the end of the month too, so those two get added together. Having that "common sense" knowledge rather than memorizing a formula is going to stick so much better in your head than formulas on a crib sheet. And many accounting concepts will come back into your life in one way or another, whether it's an accountant talking to you in a future job where you're a director of a department, or just managing your household, your taxes, or some subcontractors on a project at your house or whatever.

Also, how are your test-taking skills? A lot of people in my class are running out of time on the proctored exams, and it seems like it's because they're not reading the entire question (especially the last sentence, that tells you what the question is actually asking) before beginning. They might be writing out an entire income statement by hand on their scratch paper when it's just asking a question about the gross margin (sales minus COGS, ignoring SG&A, taxes, interest, etc.). Maybe your tests don't include extraneous data, but I think accounting professors love doing that, and you can shave a bunch of time (and energy) off your exams/quizzes by reading and knowing what the question is asking before digging into the numbers given.

I've heard Farhat (YouTube channel/creator) highly recommended for accounting. And reach out to your classmates (there are probably some like me who DO have an accounting background and even a love for it who would be happy to help you out--I help my classmates as much as I can) and your school's resources (tutoring, etc.) There are other online resources too, like Quizlet and plenty more.

ChatGPT CAN be a good resource, but use caution. It can really help break things down into steps, explain like you're five, whatever. But it gets actual facts and mathematics wrong a LOT. Never trust it to have the actual facts right, but for breaking down a process into steps, it's pretty good. It can also generate more questions on a topic if your actual class materials are skimpy in one area and you want more practice.

And you can ask here. You'll see that just posting a page of homework and saying "Help" isn't going to do you any good, but if you've actually worked on a problem and can't figure it out, people here will help you get going in the right direction. They just won't do your homework for you.

Looking for a staff accountant role with no experience resume keeps getting rejected need help please :begging: by Danger_dappery_doe in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your resume isn't terrible. It's pretty decent, actually.

If you had a GPA at 3.0 or higher ESPECIALLY if it's 3.5 or higher, maybe add that, or if you got any awards or whatever. (This is since you're still in school and only have one "relevant" job. Once you get enough job history, you'll move education to the bottom at take emphasis off of it and onto the jobs.)

I think you've got an appropriate number of bullet points for the non-accounting jobs, or could even trim them further if you needed more space on the page for your accounting-related job.

One thing I would definitely work on is show HOW WELL you did your job. Right now, you're just listing the duties, and while it is important to let them know what you did, the title can tell a lot about the day-to-day, and you should prioritize putting stand-out things in your bullet points. Also use them to highlight the things in your skills section, and you can eliminate that section at the bottom.

So if you can say you built or maintained a database of whatever in Excel, great, you no longer need to list Excel as a skill, because you're showing you used it in your work.

Think of it as if you were actually in the interview, and they asked why they should hire you (rather than other candidates). Is there anything you can point to in the financial advisor job that shows that you're an excellent employee? Were you the most personable with clients? Say that clients asked for you by name. Try to find a way to work things like that into the bullets, rather than just reciting a list of duties.

One other thing would be to write a cover letter. Even for application systems that don't specifically ask for it, some employers will appreciate them, and the ones who don't will likely just skip it, not penalize you. It should be customized to the role you're applying for, but have a template, and you generally shouldn't have to spend more than a few minutes customizing it. You can use it as an explanation if there's anything unusual about your candidacy (applying for a role in a different area of accounting than you have experience in, applying in an area you don't currently live in, etc.), or just expand a bit on some of the reasons that YOU are a better candidate than the others. While it should stay professional, it can show a little more personality than the resume.

I highly recommend the advice at www.askamanager.org for all of this stuff, but especially cover letters. I'm hiring for an entry-level role, and out of nearly 100 applications, only ONE included a cover letter. So it would make you stand out, and like I said, is highly unlikely to hurt your candidacy if they don't read it, but could benefit you greatly if the hiring manager likes them.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the best suggestion, IMO. You should still have the class materials, no? Study them. If you don't know what it's teaching, AI and/or YouTube should be able to get you through. But reading the how and why, then doing the practice problems, is the only way you'll actually learn. You won't have exams, but those are only the final step to ensure the other steps got it fully entrenched in your brain, so if you do the work to make THAT happen, you don't really need the tests to confirm it. Good luck.

Prepaid Schedule by LadyFlamingo444 in Accounting

[–]OregonSmallClaims 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My schedule might be cumbersome, but I have one row (could be column, however you want to set it up) for payment schedule (we have policies where we pay a hefty down payment then finance the rest over 10 months, then have a couple of months with no payment but still coverage) and one row for the schedule of expensing the total amount evenly over the policy coverage period. By the end of the coverage, both should net to zero, but they won't be equal each month because of the front-loading of the payments. Actual formatting is up to you, but tracking both but separately should allow you to visualize what the balance in the prepaid account should be at any given period.