Volunteering

An Important Step in Growing Your Career

by David Jensen, CPA

Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC

Volunteering your accounting skills is a great opportunity for young CPAs. As accounting and tax professionals, we have a unique set of skills to offer. Many new businesses and small not-for-profit organizations have limited resources and need help with tasks such as bookkeeping, internal controls, reporting and compliance. Often, these entities are being run by a limited staff with no formal accounting experience. By volunteering your time, you have an opportunity to support an organization you believe in while gaining experience and growing your professional network.

The relationship between you and the organization you help should be mutually beneficial. You offer valuable skills to an organization in need, while they offer you an opportunity to learn new skills and explore new areas of interest. There are thousands of not-for-profits that can provide learning opportunities to young CPAs. The field is broad and the issues can be complex. 

Alternatively, if you wish to gain experience in a for-profit industry, you could seek out start-ups. Many start-ups are run by people with little or no accounting experience. Limited cash flow often impedes owners from hiring qualified staff. Be patient when reaching out to organizations to ensure both parties can meet each other’s needs. When meeting with potential organizations, be sure your responsibilities are clearly defined. It is okay to take on a challenge, but if you are unable to fulfill your duties, you are doing yourself and the entity a disservice.

Volunteering provides an opportunity to grow your professional network. Developing a good reputation and being active in the community is important for a young professional. As someone providing a valuable service, other members of the business or organization will appreciate your help, and will remember your contribution. If you work in public accounting, this can be a valuable step towards building a client base. Leaders of the organization can also be valuable references when job hunting. 

In many ways, volunteering is like an internship. It is a way to get new experience and make connections. It isn’t a full-time commitment and the position won’t last forever. Eventually you will move on, taking your new skills with you. It is possible that a volunteer position could turn into a paid full-time position, but more likely it will be at another organization that needs your unique set of skills. In either case, take pride in the fact that you have put your abilities to good use and perhaps furthered a cause you support.

Five Quick Ways to Save Money

Are you trying to cut down on costs but still finding yourself short of funds some of the time? The Tennessee Society of CPAs offers these simple solutions to help you eliminate unnecessary spending and pump up your budget power.

Take a Gift Card to Lunch
Everyday indulgences, such as a morning latte or a takeout lunch, are a lot more expensive than bringing your own coffee or midday meal, but you may not have to give them up completely. Here’s one way to treat yourself without overspending: Decide how much you can afford to spend at your favorite coffee house or restaurant each month, then buy yourself a gift card for that amount from that establishment at the beginning of every month. Use it whenever you want something special, but don’t allow yourself any more splurges if the card runs out early. This way you’ll still be able to enjoy treats without busting your budget.

Drop Unused Channels 
Do you spend a lot of time watching TV or are you paying for premium channels that you never even use as part of your cable package? It may be smart to evaluate what you actually need when it comes to television service. The average household is expected to pay $200 per month for pay TV by 2020, according to the NPD Group. You could save yourself a nice amount each month by dropping any unused premium channels or other services you don’t actually need.

Reassess Your Ride 
When it comes to a car, is bigger always better? It cost $8,698 on average in 2015 to drive a typical sedan 15,000 miles in a year, according to the AAA, $9,372 for a minivan and $10,624 for an SUV with four-wheel-drive. Those numbers include average fuel, maintenance, tires, license and registration fees, taxes, depreciation and finance charges. If you’re wondering if that means that downsizing is best, check out an information resource like Edmunds.com’s True Cost to Own® site to help you determine what your likely annual costs will be for the makes and models that interest you.

Read more of this article and other Money Management columns on the TSCPA Website.

About Money Management
Money Management is a column on personal finance that is a joint effort of the AICPA and the Tennessee Society of CPAs, as part of the profession’s nationwide 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy program. Members of TSCPA are CPAs residing and practicing primarily in Tennessee in all areas of public accounting, education, government, business and industry. TSCPA offers a speakers bureau for many types of business and educational engagements. For details, visit www.tscpa.com. TSCPA is headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn.

Copyright 2016 The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

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