[Anonymous]

Just started my first accounting job ever in a tiny CPA firm (which is unused to new hires). I’ve never once done a tax return other than my own (which the firm clearly knew when they hired me). Problem is, the firm provides absolutely zero training for new hires on its tax software. I’ve had a few hours on my own to play around with the program, but on my second day they handed me a return packet and told me to get the stuff entered. I’m relatively comfortable with the tax issues but utterly unprepared to use this complicated software.

I’ve spoken to them about the gross inefficiency (and potential problems) of this approach, but they won’t let me work with any of the experienced staff for even half a day to get my feet wet. I’m a smart guy and a quick study, but this is ridiculous.

Have you been there with this? Did it eventually work out?

[foreseeableCPA]

Is there a prior year return that you can use as an example? At my first job, they threw me an audit to do which had tons of adjusting journal entries. I wanted to quit that day and even second guessed if accounting was for me. I know what you are feeling. Are the experienced staff willing to answer your questions? If not, that would be a huge issue for me and whether I would want to stay.

CPA - Class of 2013
CIA - Class of 2016

[foreseeableCPA]

Is there a prior year return that you can use as an example? At my first job, they threw me an audit to do which had tons of adjusting journal entries. I wanted to quit that day and even second guessed if accounting was for me. I know what you are feeling. Are the experienced staff willing to answer your questions? If not, that would be a huge issue for me and whether I would want to stay.

CPA - Class of 2013
CIA - Class of 2016

[Iron_Victory]

Suck it up my man. Truthfully small firms don't have the resources to train you due to lack of man power/hours/budget etc.

Use the prior year as baseline. Write down specific questions and get them answered when/how you can.

Do your own research and document your conclusions.Most software has a FAQ or a electronic manual that you can reference.

I got myself into a situation like this. My firm has 2 CPA's an EA and myself so the amount of time I get training on anything is very little.

As accountants I think we get extremely easily frustrated when we can't figure something out in like 2 seconds. We think we are smart people so if we can pass X test we can handle Y situation. It extends a little bit to US society as well. We are so used to having everything taken care of for us that we freak out when we have a little trouble getting the hang of it.

I know it is hard and it is definitely not what you expect, especially coming from corporate jobs. Do your best and keep communication open with your supervisors. Good luck.

AUD - (74),78
BEC - 85
FAR - 86
REG - 84

[Iron_Victory]

Suck it up my man. Truthfully small firms don't have the resources to train you due to lack of man power/hours/budget etc.

Use the prior year as baseline. Write down specific questions and get them answered when/how you can.

Do your own research and document your conclusions.Most software has a FAQ or a electronic manual that you can reference.

I got myself into a situation like this. My firm has 2 CPA's an EA and myself so the amount of time I get training on anything is very little.

As accountants I think we get extremely easily frustrated when we can't figure something out in like 2 seconds. We think we are smart people so if we can pass X test we can handle Y situation. It extends a little bit to US society as well. We are so used to having everything taken care of for us that we freak out when we have a little trouble getting the hang of it.

I know it is hard and it is definitely not what you expect, especially coming from corporate jobs. Do your best and keep communication open with your supervisors. Good luck.

AUD - (74),78
BEC - 85
FAR - 86
REG - 84

[Anonymous]

Hi OP,

been in this exact same situation. It really does suck. check out this link for more information on this sink or swim mentality of small firms.

My advice look hard for a new job if things dont work out in a month or 2. Listen to your gut.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP,

been in this exact same situation. It really does suck. check out this link for more information on this sink or swim mentality of small firms.

My advice look hard for a new job if things dont work out in a month or 2. Listen to your gut.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, guys. It's reassuring to know this isn't a unique problem. My staff colleagues all seem helpful, it's just difficult to pester them too much because they've got their own work to do. So I guess I grin and bear it (and get as much help on the sly as I can manage).

Personal frustration aside, this (apparently common) small-firm policy just seems so obviously short-sighted. Yes, they save money on training and keep their other employees on task, but they're guaranteeing that their new hires are grossly inefficient and ineffective for a long time. It also probably means that most of the staff *never* become as effective as they could be since everyone is perpetually in seat-of-the-pants mode. Just seems weird.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, guys. It's reassuring to know this isn't a unique problem. My staff colleagues all seem helpful, it's just difficult to pester them too much because they've got their own work to do. So I guess I grin and bear it (and get as much help on the sly as I can manage).

Personal frustration aside, this (apparently common) small-firm policy just seems so obviously short-sighted. Yes, they save money on training and keep their other employees on task, but they're guaranteeing that their new hires are grossly inefficient and ineffective for a long time. It also probably means that most of the staff *never* become as effective as they could be since everyone is perpetually in seat-of-the-pants mode. Just seems weird.

[Anonymous]

I agree, CheeseDog, that it's not a very good policy. It'd be better to hire the new guy a month before busy season starts (you know they were all sitting around twiddling their thumbs in December…) and waste a month's salary to actually train them. But since they haven't…

Like others have said, look around for a manual/FAQ. Google if you can't find one. Then for specific questions, try Google too. Do you mind telling us what software it is? Many softwares have support forums, too, where you could post questions and get feedback. Having someone sit down and work through a single return with you would be far more efficient, but since that's not an option, I would Google the heck out of it!

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I agree, CheeseDog, that it's not a very good policy. It'd be better to hire the new guy a month before busy season starts (you know they were all sitting around twiddling their thumbs in December…) and waste a month's salary to actually train them. But since they haven't…

Like others have said, look around for a manual/FAQ. Google if you can't find one. Then for specific questions, try Google too. Do you mind telling us what software it is? Many softwares have support forums, too, where you could post questions and get feedback. Having someone sit down and work through a single return with you would be far more efficient, but since that's not an option, I would Google the heck out of it!

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My first job out of college was with a small firm just before tax season started. They didn't have the time/resources to “officially” train me. Handing me tax returns to do WAS their way of training – and really the best way to learn. The tax software really isn't that complicated once you spend a couple of weeks doing returns. I kept tons of notes – anytime I learned how to do anything in the software I wrote it down in my tax notebook. I spent my entire first season asking a ton of questions – which was expected – and slowly got better. Season two was much easier than season one. You'll be fine. What you're going through is normal. I asked this same question before I started and the person said to me – I spent the first season pestering the #$!# out of the woman sitting next to me. Good luck! Tax is fun. 🙂

[Anonymous]

My first job out of college was with a small firm just before tax season started. They didn't have the time/resources to “officially” train me. Handing me tax returns to do WAS their way of training – and really the best way to learn. The tax software really isn't that complicated once you spend a couple of weeks doing returns. I kept tons of notes – anytime I learned how to do anything in the software I wrote it down in my tax notebook. I spent my entire first season asking a ton of questions – which was expected – and slowly got better. Season two was much easier than season one. You'll be fine. What you're going through is normal. I asked this same question before I started and the person said to me – I spent the first season pestering the #$!# out of the woman sitting next to me. Good luck! Tax is fun. 🙂

[Travis]

Ask lots of questions and take it one return at a time, it will get better. Self training shows some good leadership qualities so if it is a well led firm, they'll take notice of their rockstars.

[Travis]

Ask lots of questions and take it one return at a time, it will get better. Self training shows some good leadership qualities so if it is a well led firm, they'll take notice of their rockstars.

[impska]

If you really don't want to ask people specific questions on how to use the software, then you'll have to rely on the software's help resources.

Remember, you could have bought this software as a sole-proprietor, which means there are probably plenty of resources out there to teach you how to use it. Heck, they probably even have a phone number you can call and ask for help.

REG - 94
BEC - 92
FAR - 92
AUD - 99

[Author]

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