The following is an inquiry by a graduating college senior seeking an entry-level position at a CPA firm. The staff person answering the questions has just completed their first year at Berenson LLP.

Q - Why did you choose to work at Berenson?

A - I wanted a medium sized firm - large enough to offer me opportunity but small enough so that people would know who I was and recognize my work. I also wanted to do both audit and tax work and work on clients in different industries. A lot of larger firms make you specialize when you start. After interviewing at some other firms that met these criteria, I made my final decision on the people. I felt most comfortable with the people I met at Berenson. The atmosphere was extremely professional but very friendly. Everyone is on a first name basis - even partners. The staff really seemed to like one another. They did things together after work as well.

Q - What type of training did you get when you first started?

A - All new hires attend an orientation program given by the firm's managers in charge of training and quality review. We received an introduction to the firm's standards. They have a quality control document that everybody must adhere to. We learned about audit planning and procedures, work paper techniques and even the different types of tax returns that the firm does. We also learned about the firm's computer network and some of the software programs used. Having the latest technology seems to be a priority at Berenson.

Q - In general, what was your first year at the firm like.

A - First of all, I assisted on at least fifteen different clients in the field. Some of them, I worked at two or three times during the year, to observe a physical inventory, to do year-end audit or interim review work. The firm also does pension work on some of my clients, so I was assigned to that work as well. I also did the tax returns for my clients - when they weren't too complicated.

Q - What level of work did you do?

A - It varied from the beginning to the end of the year, and also depended on the size of the client. Towards the end of the year I was given many different areas of an audit to work on. I always felt that I would be given as much responsibility as I proved I could deal with. The level of assignments seems to be based upon ability for everyone in the firm. People here seem to advance quickly if they are good. There are a lot of supervisors and managers who are very young and have only been with the firm for 5 or 6 years.

Q - What kind of supervision did you receive?

A - Of course, at first everything was explained in detail and the seniors that I worked with were always close by to answer my questions. As the year progressed and I was doing certain things for the second or third time, I was expected to carry over the things I learned on one job to the next situation. The firm gives you the opportunity to try things on your own and you always feel free to ask as many questions as you need to.

Q - Did you get to deal directly with client personnel in the field?

A - Yes. My supervisors always encouraged me to get information from clients myself in the field. When I started doing tax returns I often had to call the clients for information. If a client was uncooperative, a senior or supervisor was always there to back me up. One of the reasons I wanted to go into public accounting was so I could work directly with clients in different situations and business' and Berenson definitely is giving me that opportunity.

Q - The firm says that they have a very diversified client base. Were your clients all different?

A - My schedule was probably typical of most people in the firm. I worked on companies in printing, manufacturing, importing, a law firm, an investment firm, a distributor of building supplies and a public company involved in communications. There is some out of town work, but not too much. I worked on a large insurance company in Dallas for a week.

Q - What was your review like at the end of the year?

A - I received may written evaluations on my work. My seniors who wrote them sat down with me to go over the results. I had a counseling session to put together an overview of the work I had done throughout the year and I had the opportunity to talk about any of my concerns as well as my goals for the next year.

Q - Were you happy with your raise?

A - I thought my raise was very fair given that I had only been with the firm for ten months and was still a junior accountant. I do know that some seniors and supervisors got raises of more than twenty percent, which is something that I can look forward to as I move up and contribute more to the firm. Berenson really seems to want to keep people so they treat you well.

Q - What do you think the firm looks for when hiring entry level people?

A - They are selective because everyone is really important and has so much client contract. I do not think they require a specific grade point average, but, they care if you are a hard worker. If you do well and are also involved in extra curricular activities they like that. I had some work experience in accounting and bookkeeping during summers. I know that that helped me get the job.

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