-: So my name is Lisa Patterson and I am a CPA
and I am a managing partner of a local CPA firm,
Patterson Prince and Associates located in Florence Alabama.
Well I prepare individual income tax returns.
I prepare corporate and partnership tax returns.
I can perform audit work, compilation work,
that's kind of some accounting terminology there.
Our firm prepares payroll tax returns, sales tax returns,
and then we do business consulting.
Now I'm in public accounting, not the private sector,
so we are very deadline oriented,
very seasonal type business,
so the busy times of the year for us
is January to April the 15th and then we have the
corporate deadline week in September 15th
and then individuals in October.
So those people that didn't file tax returns
in April have to file them in October.
So my day consists of appointments during tax season
where I'm seeing somebody at eight and somebody at nine
and somebody at 10 and then somebody at 11,
all day long just bringing in the information.
Then I have to set aside days to review
the information after staff has prepared it.
A day right now where we're not bringing in tax returns
it's the phone calls coming from the clients that's
just questions about their day to day business.
So everyday is different,
that's what I love about public accounting.
So let's walk through the
client that sets up the appointment.
So they set up their appointment, they come into the office,
they go over all the information they got in the mail,
I'm sitting there with them, I'm reviewing that information
and I'm seeing things that might be missing
like, you brought me the mortgage on your first home
but you have a second home.
So I'm directing them as to what they didn't bring in.
So they have to have an opportunity
to go back and get that information.
So we're looking through all that and then they leave.
And then I pass that data on to a staff person,
somebody that's working toward a degree in accounting
or possibly already has a degree in accounting.
And it's going through the input
and it's going through the review
and then it comes back to me as the partner that's
assigned to that client, then it comes back to me,
and at that point I want the return to be 99% correct.
I'm gonna review it and then I'm gonna call the client
and discuss the return with them.
The good, the bad, the ugly, you know.
Hopefully it's the good return and not the bad return.
And I'm gonna discuss it with them then we might talk
about things they need to do different for the next year.
To help their situation.