My first day at work I was introduced to everyone in the office...the Invercargill office is one of the smaller branches of BDO located in New Zealand and has 20 (now 21) members and 4 partners. However BDO is the fifth largest accounting firm in the world with over 40000 staff in 110 countries. Luckily, I won't have to get to know that many people, I just have to remember 24 names. Because the firm down in Invercargill is small, getting to know people in the office is relatively easy.
After settling into my desk I was given the always exciting task of acquainting myself with New Zealand GST and GST laws. I was passed a handbook and given until lunch to read it through. I have to say I am proud of myself for not falling asleep (as are a few of my coworkers). Finally in the afternoon one of the certified accountants was given the task of training me and I was assigned several client folders to work on. She patiently explained how to code up the cashbook, reverse last years journals and use the office software, MYOB. I'm not sure saying "I took it in a stride" would not be the right phrase but I did try to learn as quickly as possible so that I wouldn't have to rely on help for my six weeks of interning.
One thing I love about the small office environment is that I can see a client's report all the way through from start to finish. I began by coding up the cashbook and reversing all of last years journals. From there I was able to move on to drafting up the workpapers which allowed me to then complete the draft tax return. After filling out several checklists I handed the drafted reports into one of the partners for review and then returned to begin the next annual report. Several days later I received the client file back and completed the tax credits and final drafts of the client accounts. In just 3 days I had completed an entire client file and New Zealand tax return!
Two of the biggest differences I noticed between here and the U.S are with tax returns and GST. Here no one seems to run when you mention the word tax return. The returns are about 6 pages long and usually take less than 10 minutes to complete. There are no complex calculations (for the most part) and because there are not multiple governments (i.e state and federal) only one tax return needs to be filed. The second difference I noticed is that nearly every accountant grimaces when you mention GST. The Goods and Services Tax seems to pose a lot of problems when preparing financial reports and tax returns, especially this year as the GST rate was changed halfway through the tax year. I have only worked with GST for several days so I haven't developed the hatred for it many of my coworkers have. However, once I understand what all the fuss is about I will be sure to let you share my pain.
In the meantime the files keep stacking up so I'll return to my desk and get through the next set of reports.
Until next time,
Rebekah