Tate & Tryon Careers in Public Accounting – An Intern’s Perspective

Internship At Tate & Tryon: Getting Started

       After going on an internship hunt for a moderate sized firm I found out about Tate and Tryon through a neighbor. After hearing about T and T, I looked at their website and saw their allocation of resources was to mostly nonprofit organizations. Looking to start out my first experiences in the actual accounting and audit world, it seemed like Tate and Tryon would be a great place from me. I sent in my resume and was lucky enough to get an interview and land the job. Before the job even began, Kate, the HR director, invited me to a Nationals game with some of the staff of the firm. It was a great way to meet the staff and become familiar with who I was working with. I live close to D.C. and unfortunately root for the Nationals, so going into the game I knew a win was highly unlikely.

       The first day I was more excited than nervous as T and T seems to have a very friendly atmosphere. All the interns met up to do our initial paper work with Kate, and after that we immediately started some real work training. Stephanie was the first staff member to give us training with audit planning. I was surprised that she got us right into training, especially since I have friends that are working for bigger firms and heard that they have a week of background and orientation before they start and training or do any hand on work. Stephanie assigned us all real clients to do audit planning for before the field team got into the audit. I was a little worried because this would actually be used in the audit of the company, but I was also very glad because this seems to be some of the best real experience I could get. After we dove into the audit side, we next looked at the tax side with Leslie. She showed us that before you ,fill out the 990 forms (which is the primary return for non profits) you want to group the accounts so that the tax software will fill out parts of the form automatically. Grouping the taxes at first seemed daunting, but once I figured out what I was doing I was very efficient at it, and was learning about the tax world at the same time. The next day we had an example shown to us on how to fill out the actual return. The IRS decided to change around a lot of the 990, so showing us an example was more plausible. The tax part was pretty straight forward and, as some of the staff put it, it was just like figuring out a big puzzle.

       To summarize my thoughts of the first week, I think it’s a big advantage to be coming in with only three other interns as opposed to 70. I got to meet everyone in the audit department including Charlie Tate and Mike Tryon. Everyone knows you are one of the new interns and takes time to learn your name. The training is more personal and you get to ask direct questions of staff members. Also, you become familiar with all the interns, so in case you miss something they can quickly fill you in. This created a great experience for my first week and hopefully it will continue.

-Tim Tishman

Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University

The life of a Tate & Tryon intern: Week one

Greetings from the bullpen.  And no, I am not writing this in an area where relief pitchers warm up before being called to the mound.  The audit bullpen is where I and the other interns sit.  We are just finishing up our first week at Tate & Tryon.  I will start with a little background of myself.  I will be a senior in the fall at Virginia Tech.  I'm originally from a tiny town in southwest Virginia called Gate City.  However I currently reside in Kingsport, Tennessee when I'm not in Blacksburg.  I have never lived in a big city before so I'm pretty stoked about this summer.  I plan on going to tons of Nationals games this summer.  Now back to my life as an intern. 

 

When I arrived at the office on Monday, I honestly didn't know what to expect.  I was happy to see Kate Skidmore help me get acclimated to Tate & Tryon.  I met the other three interns and Kate told us a bit about the firm.  After Kate told us about the environment and history of T & T we met most of the audit staff, all of whom were very welcoming.  Erin and Kate tooks all of the interns out to lunch which was a very pleasant dining experience.

To my surprise we started doing actual audit work on the first day.  I honestly thought the most work I would be doing the first week on the job would involve a copy or a coffee machine.  We were introduced to my new best friend ProSystem Engagement which is affectionately referred to as E-Pace by the T & T audit staff.  I still haven’t figured out how ProSystem Engagement is abbreviated as E-Pace, but maybe we won’t learn that until next week.  Stephanie did a very good job of training us on the software and all of the interns did all of the preliminary work for an actual audit!  Most of my friends would not be excited about the idea of planning an audit, however I found it quite interesting.  We didn’t finish the audit planning therefore we continued to work on it throughout the week.

We started our tax training on Wednesday with Leslie.  She did a really great job of teaching us about the 990 forms.  She also taught us how to make subgroups for accounts that don’t fit anywhere else on a tax return.  If that doesn’t get you excited about Tate & Tryon then I don’t know what will.  We continued to learn about preparing tax returns for Wednesday and most of Thursday. 

As you can tell, my first week at T & T was a bit overwhelming.  I never imagined that I would be performing audit work that other staff members will use to complete an actual audit on my first day of work.  I am very excited about the rest of my summer in D.C. at Tate & Tryon.  Everyone I have met has been incredibly nice and welcoming.  Even though the employees are professionals, they still know how to have fun.  They have truly broken the stereotype for me that all accountants are nerds.  I could not be happier to be gaining practical and challenging work experience this summer while being in D.C.  I’m sure the rest of the summer will prove challenging and rewarding at the same time.  I am also extremely excited about the prospects of watching the Red Sox play against the Nationals in a few weeks with a bunch of other T & T employees.   That’s all for now.

Cheers,

Andrew Miller

Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University

 

Cherrie's First Intern Blog of the Summer

I guess I could start with a little tidbit about myself: I am from Chesapeake, VA born and raised.  I'll be going into my senior year at the College of William and Mary, majoring in Accounting with a concentration in Process, Management, and Consulting in addition to a minor in Sociology.  I like to balance out my school life with a bunch of extra-curriculars too.  While I’m missing impromptu drives to the beach at home, I am sooo excited to be spending the summer in the city.  But enough about me, and on to the internship…

 

The first week of our summer internship at Tate & Tryon is coming to close, and I’m happy to say that it’s been a good one.  Honestly, I had no idea coming in what to expect.  Despite hours of classroom time and late night study sessions, nothing can quite prepare you for the actual day-to-day application of your chosen education path. 

 

The morning of our first day was filled with a whirlwind of introductions (fyi – names are not my forte), orientation discussions, and confused missteps in the office labyrinth (fyi- I have a pretty bad sense of direction as well).  Following an awesome lunch out at the charming Old Ebbitt Grill, we delved right into familiarizing ourselves with the type of work we’ll be doing this summer.  So far - much of our time has been occupied with training exercises on the oh-so-simple (I kid) ProSystems program.  Under the instruction of our patient instructors Stephanie and Leslie, as well as other helpful members of the staff, we’ve been learning how to navigate, alter, and create the audit and tax binders.  Although we’ve been assured that the program just takes some time to get used to, I’m pretty sure I’ll never quite understand what I’m doing with that program.  If asked, I probably couldn’t quite explain what exactly we’re doing, but I feel I’m getting a lot from the learning process nevertheless.

 

Despite all my misgivings about whether I’m doing the right thing at any given moment, I’ve really been liking my time here so far.  I consider myself pretty lucky to have given this opportunity and I plan to make the best of it.  The people here have been extraordinarily welcoming, outgoing, and willing to help.  This summer, I look forward to working and learning more while enjoying my short stay in D.C.

 

- Cherrie

Intern Blog - First Entry

My first week with Tate & Tryon has gone very smoothly.  All the employees that I have met have been very welcoming and kind - there are many of them, and it has been quite a struggle learning their names.  One of my favorite aspects of the internship program is that almost immediately we began learning practical skills.  Our first few days were filled with a crash course of the "epace" program which is used during the audit and tax process.  It was a lot of information to absorb in a short period of time, but as we progressed things became clearer.  We were assigned a client and were told to perform the job of planning for the upcoming audit, also that what we were doing was going to be used by the auditors in the field.  To say the least I was terrified that my lack of understanding might cause more problems, and take time away from others, rather than ease the process.  This feeling was shared by my fellow interns.  We joked that we would probably all be fired when they saw our work.  But as we spent more time with the program and the documents within, we all became more comfortable and confident that we were moving in the right direction. 

The next couple days were spent on the tax side of things.  We learned the dynamic between the audit and tax department, and that the tax people use the audited financial statements and compiled documents to prepare the tax returns for clients.  Because the tax form 990 has recently changed, and many staff members are still becoming acquainted with the details of the forms, we are not going to be compiling them ourselves.  Apparently this is something for which to be grateful.  Instead, we learned how to group accounts, a process which makes compiling the tax return much easier.  Although I could see this process being somewhat tedious when there are thousands of accounts, for our practice we had a mere 200 accounts to handle, which was just enough to learn.  I found grouping to be somewhat satisfying.  I'm told my attitude may change when I'm faced with a more daunting client's file.  When I saw how easy it is to compile a tax return once the accounts are grouped, it gave me a greater respect for the process.

Last night the firm sponsored a Happy Hour at Gordon Biersch.  Unfortunately I still have 5 months or so before I'm 21, so the experience was bitter sweet.  Even though I didn't partake in the "main course," it did give me a chance to see first hand that Tate & Tryon values its employees, treats them well, and encourages them to become friends.  It is clear that that the staff enjoy each other's company, and that there is a very healthy dynamic between professionalism/productivity and friendship/camaraderie. I am greatly looking forward to the upcoming weeks when I'll be working in the field and seeing my training in context.

Seth Pates

William and Mary 2010

Zeinab's Audit Internship at T&T

I began my internship a few months ago in January 2009. Its been a great experience so far. At T&T I have had the opportunity to work with people of all different levels, from staff to partners. Everyone has been very welcoming and friendly. They are really a great group of people. I constantly ask the others how they like working at T&T, how it compares to other companies they have been at, if they have taken the CPA exam yet, and any advice they have for me. I always get honest and genuine answers and feedback.

During my internship I feel I have had a great balance between working in the office and working in the field with clients. I didn't expect to go on so many audits during the course of the internship but the managers always kept me in mind when they were planning an audit which was great. What ever my career plans turn out to be in the future I am glad that I was able to spend a few months at this company, learning about auditing and getting to know others in the field. I truly appreciate the opportunity I was given.

Final Blog this Summer - Christine Connell

Today is August 15^th, the last day of my internship.  Working at Tate & Tryon has been a great experience and I have gotten to meet many people at the firm.  I enjoyed working with the other interns.  My mentors, Leslie and Lauren, were also very nice and willing to help me.  My experience this summer has convinced me to come back next year.

Christine Connell

Penn State

Final Blog as an Intern - Archana Banskota

I had a great experience this summer overall, and at the end I got offered a full time position which I gladly accepted. I am looking forward to being a part of T&T staff once I am done school and working with the staff here!

Archana Banskota

William and Mary

My Final Thoughts - Ross Fielding

Overall, my experience as an intern has been remarkable. During my last two weeks I was offered a full-time job upon graduation. I gladly accepted the offer and will begin working in August of 2009. During my first year I will be attending night classes to acquire my 150 hours to be eligible to take the CPA exam. I have made many friends at the firm and learned so much from everyone. I am looking forward to working as an auditor with Tate & Tryon.

Ross Fielding

Appalachian

State

University

Final Blog as an Intern - Danielle Foster

I can't believe that I began working at Tate & Tryon just two and half months ago. In that relatively short time period, I learned a lot about auditing, the working world and how I fit in it. This internship exceeded my expectations and when I was offered a position I happily accepted. Now I just have to get through my senior year!

Danielle Foster

University

of

Maryland

,

College Park

Looking Back

When I began my internship at Tate and Tryon, I felt pretty under qualified for the job. The only audit experience I had was from one course in the Spring that didn’t leave me feeling very confident. Now that we are close to the end of the internship, however, I know I have learned a lot and look forward to coming back next year.

The three days of staff training were really helpful in making me more comfortable with audit tasks. The days were a little long sometimes but still enjoyable. Dr. Hughes, an accounting professor, kept the training lively and involving each day. Subject matter included how to write a memo, the main goals of an auditor and how to conduct oneself while on an audit.

Going on an audit after training was another great learning experience. A lot of the concepts that were confusing during my auditing class became more clear as I helped audit fixed assets, cash and investments. I also saw how walkthroughs and fraud inquiries were conducted. Stephanie Phung, Vince Horneff and Jessalyn Ronan patiently answered my questions and helped make going on the audit and enjoyable experience. It was after going to this client that I realized that working as an auditor could be a definite possibility for me.

Working at Tate & Tryon has been good for several reasons. Due to the firm's smaller size, I am able to interact with everyone in the audit department. I am not too intimidated to ask people questions when I need to. Having mentors, however, is a great help. They are the ones you can always go to with any questions or concerns. I really appreciated having mentors when I worked on 990 tax returns and was getting used to the audit software. Both were entirely foreign to me on my first day here and there were some things I just could not figure out on my own. I could ask either of my mentors and get the help I needed. Lastly, my internship has not been monotonous in any way. My other projects and tasks while working at Tate & Tryon included shadowing partners, helping in the planning stages of an audit, updating databases, footing financial statements, data entry and scanning. This wide range of tasks and people to help me with them when necessary made my internship really rewarding.

Danielle Foster
University of Maryland, College Park