♪ ♪ >> Hi, I'm Bill Terrell, welcoming you to another session of the Job Man Caravan.

The Job Man Caravan is a television show designed to bring you job information, community information, and plenty of entertainment.

And today, on the Job Man Caravan, we'll take a look at accounting careers.

Entertainment wise on the Job Man Caravan This week we feature Prince.

And Mainland.

No matter where they are employed, accountants perform the same basic job duties.

They prepare and analyze financial reports and statements that provide up to date financial information.

>> The role of a Certified Public Accountant generally referred to as a CPA, is numerous.

First of all, the CPA has the role of an auditor.

The CPA has a role of a tax advisor.

He has a role of a tax return preparer.

In addition to that, he has the role of a Management Advisory Counselor.

And in addition to all of that, some CPAs perform other services, called bookkeeping services, normally referred to in the accounting profession as right up services.

And basically, the CPA is is used by his clients for a number of, of these various services.

For example, the CPA as an auditor.

The real function or purpose of an auditor is one of attesting to the fairness of presentation of the financial statements of, an entity.

And by a testing what we're saying is that, in our opinion, the information that has been prepared, the financial statements that have been prepared by management, present fairly the financial position or the financial condition of that particular enterprise.

The CPA, as a tax advisor, we in this firm, strongly believe in tax advisory services.

We work with a client continuously throughout the year from a tax planning point of view, because after December 31st, what we can do is, is somewhat limited.

You know, its history at that point in time.

So we suggest and recommend that our clients call us prior to, entering into any other ventures or making any additional purchases.

You know, etc.

to, really make a determination in advance of the, overall tax implications and impact.

For example, a client may call and ask us, is it more advantageous to him to purchase a piece of equipment versus, possibly renting or leasing that piece of equipment?

So we take all of the information that he has available, to him.

We analyze that information.

We advise him accordingly.

And as a result of that, he has, has made a, a, a good management, you know, decision an intelligent decision based upon the facts and circumstances surrounding it.

The CPA as, as you know, a management advisor really covers a gamut of, you know, aspects.

For example, the client may have an antique, system of accounting, for example, you know, a manual system that, might need to be, you know, that a process you might need to convert that rather, you know, in some type of, you know, data processing system.

And as a result, we go in and, and, evaluate his current system, make any modifications that, we deem necessary, to the best, you know, advantage of the client itself to produce hopefully, much better management information for him to make more intelligent day to day, you know, decisions.

And as far as the write up, services, bookkeeping services, some firms do that, other firms do not.

But basically that's a very basic service.

You know, preparing the books, you know, for the client.

And generally speaking, the client does not have the where with all or the staff to actually do that type of work themselves.

So some firms accommodate their clients, you know, in that respect.

So basically that or rather those are the the various roles that, you know, the CPA performs ♪ Terrell> You're on the Job Man Caravan.

And we're thankful for that.

This week we're taking a look at accounting careers.

And when we return to the Job Man Caravan, we'll be taking a look at public accountants right here on the Job Man Caravan.

But right now, here is Prince.

(Prince: "I Wanna Be Your Lover" ) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ The educational and training requirements are, you know, somewhat, you know, stringent, first of all, one has to have a B.S.

degree, you know, from, a college that is recognized by the South Carolina Board of Accountancy.

In addition to, getting the educational requirements out of the way, there's a very, very tight, stringent examination that one has to take.

It's a uniform exam that's administered throughout the country.

You know, at the same time.

Once the exam is, is, you know, totally completed, there is an additional requirement, one of which is that, requires the, the applicant to or rather, the candidate to have a minimum of two years experience, you know, in the area of public accounting now.

So you've got the B.S.

requirement, You've got the requirement of passing the Uniform Certified Public Accountants examination administered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

And you've got the two years experience requirement that one has to meet.

And, the feeling is that once you have gotten all of that out of the way, you are in a position to go out and practice public accounting.

Well, you know, salary is always a very, good question.

And it's a question that, people coming out of high school, is, is very much concerned about people coming out of college.

That's one of the first questions that they ask, you know, what kind of money we're going to be making?

I must say that in the area of public accounting that, you don't make the real big dollars until you have been with a firm for a while that you have gained, a sufficient amount of experience and moved up the ladder and really, becoming an asset to the company itself.

So it's really at that point that, you know, you, you really make your, your, your, your bucks, so to speak, but an entry level, you know, individual, with no experience and, you know, could generally expect a starting salary from, say, $13 to $15,000 a year.

And, you know, again, depending upon the individual, for example, if you got a master's degree, you know, with your 4.0 student, etc., you know, there's, you know, some margin for, you know, adjustment, but it averages between 13 and 15 on an annualized basis for, strictly entry level you know, individuals.

Public accounting is, is, a very difficult field.

Rather it's a very demanding field.

I would say to anyone that, feels that he or she wants to have a career in public accounting.

Don't come into it with the expectations that you were going to initially make, you know, a lot of money and that you are going to, not do a lot of work.

You know, there are times, like tax season that, you know, you've got the overtime factor.

Everything is a deadline.

And, the advice that that, that, that I would have is that if you're really seriously interested in making a career, in public accounting, that be willing and prepared to work extremely hard because, without the hard work, you are not going to make it.

You've also got to remember that this field is extremely competitive, and it's those individuals that put forth that extra effort.

And those persons that, that really work hard are going to be those persons that ultimately make it into the partnership of a firm.

And that's where you want to be, you know, if you're in public accounting, because that's where the dollars are.

So I would encourage everyone to to really get mentally prepared to work hard and put forth, a lot of effort to, get the job done.

♪ Terrell> Hear me now.

You're on the Job Man Caravan.

And this week we're taking a look at accounting careers for you right here.

And when we return on the Job Man Caravan, we'll be taking a look at government accountants.

The Job Man Caravan, of course, job wise is just to give you some idea about different jobs, the kinds of qualifications, what those jobs entail, and the kind of money that you could possibly make right here for you on the Job Man Caravan.

We invite you to join us each and every week on the Job Man Caravan and of course, in addition to the job information, we also have plenty of entertainment.

Incidentally, I'd like to make mention of the fact that Prince appears on the Job Man Caravan, courtesy of Warner Brothers Records.

He'll be returning with us on the Job Man Caravan, but we also have for you entertainment wise on the Caravan, Mainland for your entertainment this week on the Caravan.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Many persons with accounting backgrounds work for the federal government.

Government accountants, besides working in regular accounting positions, serve as internal revenue agents or auditors.

>> Basically.

an auditor is a fact finder.

You're engaged in gathering information from a particular taxpayer in order to determine the correct tax liability.

Basically, we deal with the individual tax returns of, individual wage earners, professional persons and, and, small businesses.

The educational requirements depend upon which level you choose to, enter the position.

You can start as a GS-5 which refers to the governmental pay scale.

GS-5 is an annual salary of $11,243.

To enter at that particular position, you need to have a, college degree, and you also need to take the PACE examination to enter GS-7 level, which is, annual salary of $13,925 in addition to the college degree.

And, satisfactory performance on the PACE.

You need to have, one or more of the additional requirements.

This would involve, a ranking in the top one third of your class, or maintaining a 2.9 average on a four point system.

One year of graduate study or, a degree in law would also qualify.

I think that by the very nature of, of the job, we're dependent upon voluntary, information supplied by the taxpayer.

So I think that, a very important asset is to be able to meet and deal with all kinds of people.

You do have to, deal with, people from every educational level and social and economic background.

Also, I think that you have to have a certain degree of assertiveness.

Your point is to make people feel comfortable when they come in.

I think there is a certain amount of, fear or intimidation that people experience when they're contacted by the IRS.

But you do need a certain amount of assertiveness because there is a point when, the facts simply have to be laid on the line.

>> The revenue agent is a professional accountant.

The revenue agent examines the returns of higher income individuals, corporations, partnerships, the more complex types of, of tax returns.

The revenue agent works generally independently.

He or she schedules the work schedules appointments to examine the returns.

The supervisor generally is not directly involved in that.

The audits are done at the place of business, so that most of the revenue agent's time is spent out of the office.

The educational requirements, are a bachelor's degree with 24 semester hours of accounting.

Internal Revenue Service has its own training program, which last six months.

It's a combination of classroom training as well as on the job experience with an experienced agent assigned as an on the job instructor.

Most revenue agents are hired at a grade 5, which is $11,200.

Others who have, been in the upper third of the class or had special academic achievement may start at a grade seven, which is about $13,900.

(Prince: "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad") ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Terrell> Government accountants who have the necessary education and experience in accounting will find that there are opportunities for advancement.

>> As a group manager, I am responsible for the total operation of the group in Conway.

The Conway group consists of five revenue agents and three tax auditors.

With the tax auditors, I'm responsible for scheduling their work.

With revenue agents, I assign the work and, keep watch to be sure that things are carried out as they should be.

A good group manager should be technically knowledgeable as well as be able to work with all types of people.

The meeting deal qualities are especially important because you have a responsibility to not only, other levels of management, but also to the employees in the group, as well as to the general public.

You're meeting with various types of people in a situation that's not always pleasant.

Usually we like to think that it is, but, it's a very sensitive area when you're talking about taxes and it takes a special type of person to be able to deal with what sometimes is a stressful situation.

My advice to young people who are interested in a career in accounting would be to take advantage of all of the accounting available to them in their respective schools.

In addition, as I mentioned earlier, with the meet and deal qualities, a lot of this has to do with being able to communicate.

So I would also advise them to become proficient in writing as well as oral expression.

Terrell> The employment of accountants is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through the 1980s.

This growth is due to the increasing pressure on businesses and government agencies to improve budgeting and accounting procedures.

There are some pamphlets that you may order if you would like more information on careers in accounting.

For a list of the pamphlets and information on how to order them, write Job Man Caravan, ETV, Drawer L, Columbia South Carolina 29250.

That's our show on accounting careers this week on the Job Man Caravan.

We remind you that the Job Man Caravan is seen each week right here on this station at the same time.

Now, in addition to that address being used for the pamphlets concerning careers in accounting, you can use that address to write us with questions or comments that you may have about our show.

Also, maybe suggestions about shows that you'd like to see.

As far as careers are concerned.

We're here on the Job Man Caravan to serve you.

We'd like to thank Mainland for appearing with us on the Job Man Caravan.

Also Prince, courtesy of Warner Brothers Records, right here on the Job Man Caravan.

But most of all, we'd like to thank you.

Until next week, I'm Bill Terrell.

We love you.

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