Interview with CPA Jon Funk on Rewards and Misconceptions of an Accounting Career
This week we caught up with Jonathan Funk, a Tax Manager with the renown accounting firm, Ernst and Young. Jonathan shares valuable insights about the rewards and misconceptions of being a CPA and provides an insider’s look at a career in accounting. Read on!
Interview with a CPA
My Accounting Careers: Describe a typical day on the job.
Jonathan Funk: I typically have some sort of project going on such as completing tax returns or preparing memorandums/tax opinions outlining tax consequences to various business transactions.
I also have to manage the time of staff assigned to my various projects, make sure they understand what is required of them, and answer questions and resolve issues they may encounter. The issues and questions I work to resolve and answer are extremely varied which makes my job enjoyable–I never know what to expect.
MCA: What is the most rewarding part of being a CPA?
JF: The designation of being a CPA provides me respect among my accounting peers because of the work that goes into getting the designation. Also, CPAs are the link between the general public and business, so we go through a lot of ethics training and policing. A large majority of CPAs do their best to never tarnish the designation with ethics violations. As an accountant in general (without the CPA designation), I get the most rewards from providing free services to low-income taxpayers through an IRS program. Since most accountants services would be too expensive for the low-income taxpayers that I help to afford, they really appreciate what I do for them and look for me year after year to help them file their taxes. The experience I have gained at Ernst & Young has really helped me to provide great service to these low-income taxpayers.
MCA: What misconceptions do people have about being a CPA?
JF: I think the biggest misconception I come across is that we are “bean counters.” We do so much more than count. Really, I have to understand a lot of tax law to do my job correctly, so I spend a lot of time researching tax law (e.g., Congressional legislation, Department of Treasury regulations, IRS published guidance). Maybe this is a bad habit, but I always use a calculator to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, so people shouldn’t expect me to do it in my head.
If you are considering going back to college, research a career in accounting as a rewarding and reliable option. Stay tuned for more accounting insights from Jonathan Funk soon!
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Jon Funk is a tax manager in the Houston office of Ernst & Young Tax Services practice. Jon also worked in the Real Estate Group of Ernst & Young’s National Tax Department in Washington, DC for over 2 years. Jon received a Masters in Accounting with an emphasis in Taxation from Brigham Young University. He is a certified public accountant licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia. Jon is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In addition, Jon has co-authored multiple articles in Real Estate Taxation, a quarterly tax publication.
About Sarah Ward
Sarah is a social media manager and image consultant originally from Vancouver, Canada. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys practicing yoga, shopping on Etsy, and watching Grey's Anatomy.
This does not excite me but this is what the IRS has to say.
The tax statutes were re-codified by an Act of Congress on February 10, 1939 as the “Internal Revenue Code” (later known as the “Internal Revenue Code of 1939″). The 1939 Code was published as volume 53, Part I, of the United States Statutes at Large and as title 26 of the United States Code. Subsequent permanent tax laws enacted by the United States Congress updated and amended the 1939 Code.
ALL taxes are theft. The government will continue to take more money from the rich AND middle class as long as we are okay with the idea of services provided at the barrel of a gun. Propaganda is the only thing propping up the idea of government.
Is their any business that will not require us to pay taxes?
On every business that number one concern is taxes.
- Ron Daniels
At every business the number one concern is taxes. Is their any business that will not require us to pay taxes?
- Joanna McGuiness
Great…
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