I work for Dan Caputo Jr., CPA in Wilmington, Delaware. It is a small family owned accounting, auditing, and tax firm. Our primary focus is individual and corporate tax returns. This company started with only a few clients out of the home of Dan Caputo Sr., and eventually grew into an office building with several employees and hundreds of clients. There are many duties and responsibilities assigned to me; most of them are the same as before. The preparation and completion of individual tax returns, corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships are expected to be finished in a timely manner. These are the primary means of income for this company, but I also prepare estate and trust returns when needed. Other duties and responsibilities assigned to me include the preparation and reconciliation of financial statements. I am responsible for creating and generating the general ledger, balance sheet, profit and loss, and payroll for all companies I work on. All of these financial statements have to be completed correctly and on time. I’m also in charge of the office filing system and reports. During the duration of my internship I had several special projects assigned to me. Since it is now tax season there is a lot of work to be done, it is our busiest time of the year. Instead of completing corporate returns like I normally do, I worked mostly on individual returns. There are several hundred individual returns to be completed so most of my efforts were directed and focused toward this. I would meet with several clients a day to review their financial situations and complete their tax return. Some of them were extremely easy to complete and I wouldn’t have to exert much effort. There were a few clients where I needed assistance from my employer to complete their returns. Sometimes individual returns can become very complicated. I remember working on one client who had three dependant children in college, several home mortgages and rental properties, an extensive investment portfolio, retirement plans, charitable contributions, and has worked in several states outside of their resident state. This client also had a lot of additional information that I wasn’t used to working on. So I began to complete everything that I knew how to do. Once I didn’t know exactly what to do and how to do it correctly I asked for assistance. I wanted to get everything right the first time, never assume something is correct, always triple check everything to make sure it is done accurately. It is very important to have correct and accurate figures when preparing tax returns. I would complete dozens of returns a day, and then have my employer double check my work or accuracy. Nothing would ever be submitted to the IRS without my employers review. My personal experience with the company and my employer has been wonderful. I have known the owner of the firm for many years, and it has been a great opportunity to shadow him. He is my mentor and teaches me everything he knows; everyday there is something new to learn. Instead of assigning me things to do without explanation, he explains in depth why and how everything is done. This has been a great learning experience for me. I have continued to learn so much from this internship. I already have proficient knowledge when using all of the computer programs so this made tax season a lot easier. I learned a lot when preparing individual returns. At first I was only able to complete simple, basic tax returns. But after tax season and working with so many various clients and financial situations I am able to complete more complex returns without assistance. I am now completely familiar with the day-to-day operations and activities of this CPA firm. Over the past few months I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and grew professionally as a student and employee. My expectations versus the reality of the role were very similar. I knew it wasn’t going to be the most exciting job in the world, but I had an idea what it was going to be like. The thing that surprised me the most was how fast and quick I learned everything. In just a few short weeks I went from completing simple tax returns, to completing extremely complex individual returns with little assistance. This was a learning experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I would recommend other students to participate in an internship with this company if they had the opportunity. It was an all around excellent learning experience. The company is great to work for and very understanding of my school schedule. I am now a full-time employee at this company, and greatly appreciate the opportunity given to me from my employer and Goldey-Beacom College.