As my final week draws to a close, I am wrapping up my research with one final post to summarize what I have learned.
I came in thinking that there was a quantifiable percentage of time dedicated to both serving the government and serving the client. I thought that around 75% of the time would go to filing government forms and making sure plans are in compliance, and the other time would be spent talking to clients and administrating each plan.
However, my research has showed me that there actually is not a quantifiable amount of time being spent on each thing; in fact, much of the government-related and the client-related work overlaps. Filling out Account Reconcile and Balance and Income sheets helps the client know what is going on in their plan and the financial state of their plan as a whole, but it is also important to helping us with compliance testing for the government.
Also, not everybody does the same thing; some don't ever talk to clients, and some don't fill out Account Reconcile and Balance and Income sheets. As a result, you can't quantify allocation of time, because everybody's allocation is different.
I really enjoyed my time as an intern for MGKS. All of my co-workers were very nice, and I got a lot of experience in the workplace. I am happy that I enjoy accounting, and am very excited to study it in college. I hope you liked reading my blog, and I hope you learned a lot too!
-Alexandra Cvancara
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Efficiency In The Workplace
Included in the survey were also questions regarding what helps you work, such as listening to music and snacking.
Most of my coworkers seem to enjoy a tasty snack while they work (same goes for me). They also all said that snacking helps keep them focused on work.
Also, most listen to music. The music they listen to varies widely- from Disney music to country to classical to rap, and more. They said that listening to music helps filter out the outside noise, so they can focus on the work that they are doing.
Most of my coworkers seem to enjoy a tasty snack while they work (same goes for me). They also all said that snacking helps keep them focused on work.
Also, most listen to music. The music they listen to varies widely- from Disney music to country to classical to rap, and more. They said that listening to music helps filter out the outside noise, so they can focus on the work that they are doing.
Time Spent On Government Comlpience
This survey also included questions about how much time they spent filling out government forms, like the 5500 and the 5330.
Like the previous graphs, the answers here were also very spread out. This is because there are many different forms, and everyone fulls out different amounts of these forms.
In general, the 5500 Short Form takes about 10-20 minutes to complete, while the long 5500 form can take anywhere from an hour to an entire day, depending on the plan.
The 8955 is one of the shortest, taking around 10 minutes to complete, sometimes less. The same goes for the 1099 R forms.
In general, the 5500 Short Form takes about 10-20 minutes to complete, while the long 5500 form can take anywhere from an hour to an entire day, depending on the plan.
The 8955 is one of the shortest, taking around 10 minutes to complete, sometimes less. The same goes for the 1099 R forms.
Time Spent Serving The Client
I handed out a survey to my co-workers that asked them to detail how much time they spent answering emails, talking on the phone and filling out Accounts Reconcile and Balance and Income statements. Here are the results:
As you can see, there are many different answers for each of these questions. This is because everybody's job is different; some people administrate many small plans, while others administrate a few very large plans, and in between.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Filing a Tax Return
While my work doesn't deal with filing tax returns, I have learned what not to do with taxes from the people around me (many of them are CPAs).
You see people all over the internet that received their tax refund, and go buy a video game console or a tiger or something, and you think, I want that! Well, here's why you don't:
That money is not free money that the government is giving you out of the goodness of their heart; it's YOUR money that YOU overpaid. No big deal though, they're giving it back to me, right? Wrong. It's always better to owe money, because someone could easily steal your identity and file a tax return in your name
(this has happened to my parents both the last 2 years). If you are getting a refund and someone files a tax return in your name, they now have your money, and you're fresh out of luck. But if you owe money, then the identity thief doesn't get anything (what're they gonna do, pay your taxes for you?). The money you would have gotten back as a refund, you already have, and you just owe some money to the government.
This is the one time I would say that owing money is a good thing. Your money is safe from identity thieves who file a tax return in your name.
You see people all over the internet that received their tax refund, and go buy a video game console or a tiger or something, and you think, I want that! Well, here's why you don't:
That money is not free money that the government is giving you out of the goodness of their heart; it's YOUR money that YOU overpaid. No big deal though, they're giving it back to me, right? Wrong. It's always better to owe money, because someone could easily steal your identity and file a tax return in your name
(this has happened to my parents both the last 2 years). If you are getting a refund and someone files a tax return in your name, they now have your money, and you're fresh out of luck. But if you owe money, then the identity thief doesn't get anything (what're they gonna do, pay your taxes for you?). The money you would have gotten back as a refund, you already have, and you just owe some money to the government.
This is the one time I would say that owing money is a good thing. Your money is safe from identity thieves who file a tax return in your name.
Type Of Investments
There are 3 typed of investments: Safe, medium, and aggressive.
Safe investments will get you small, steady growth in your retirement account. An example of this would be government bonds and money market funds.
Medium investments can increase or decrease, but the fluctuations are not by a huge amount. An example of this would be buying a stock in google or apple, companies that may fluctuate, but in general are stable and aren't a risk of going out of business. When invested smartly, these investments will get you more back than a safe investment, but there is always a risk that you will lose money.
Aggressive investments are high risk, high return investments. These can fluctuate a lot, and you can either lose a lot or gain a lot. I've seen a plan with risky investments that started off with around $500k in the plan, and by the end of the year had $1.5 million. To put that in perspective, your money is said to double every 7 years, and his tripled in just 1. However, I've also seen plans with risky investments that lost $100k in a year. If you're someone that really likes to take risks and is willing to spend a long time researching the best risky investments, by all means invest here, but if you're just a regular person, stay away from these.
Safe investments will get you small, steady growth in your retirement account. An example of this would be government bonds and money market funds.
Medium investments can increase or decrease, but the fluctuations are not by a huge amount. An example of this would be buying a stock in google or apple, companies that may fluctuate, but in general are stable and aren't a risk of going out of business. When invested smartly, these investments will get you more back than a safe investment, but there is always a risk that you will lose money.
Aggressive investments are high risk, high return investments. These can fluctuate a lot, and you can either lose a lot or gain a lot. I've seen a plan with risky investments that started off with around $500k in the plan, and by the end of the year had $1.5 million. To put that in perspective, your money is said to double every 7 years, and his tripled in just 1. However, I've also seen plans with risky investments that lost $100k in a year. If you're someone that really likes to take risks and is willing to spend a long time researching the best risky investments, by all means invest here, but if you're just a regular person, stay away from these.
How Should I Save My Money?
Remember, all the money you save won't be all you have. You'll receive interest payments on the money you deposit. Also, your employer will deposit some money to your account, depending on the kind of plan you have with them (as discussed in previous posts). But the real bucks comes in when you start to invest.
Investment dividends can get you a couple hundred bucks a month for your retirement. Also, the stocks you hold in your account can change value, which adds value to your retirement account (and if they go down, it can subtract value). So while you could have $300k in your account, only a couple thousand of that would be cash, and the rest would be the value of stocks that you buy. Depending on the economy, you can gain or lose, so you should always talk to your financial adviser about what type of investments you can make (more on investments in the next post).
But you should be smart with your investments; I've seen plans with steady growth, and I've seen plans with massive increases and decreases per month. I've seen doctors that throw money into their account like it's going out of style, just to lose $60k in one month due to over-investment. Be smart, this is your hard earned money, and if it looks like the economy is going downhill, invest in something safe.
Investment dividends can get you a couple hundred bucks a month for your retirement. Also, the stocks you hold in your account can change value, which adds value to your retirement account (and if they go down, it can subtract value). So while you could have $300k in your account, only a couple thousand of that would be cash, and the rest would be the value of stocks that you buy. Depending on the economy, you can gain or lose, so you should always talk to your financial adviser about what type of investments you can make (more on investments in the next post).
But you should be smart with your investments; I've seen plans with steady growth, and I've seen plans with massive increases and decreases per month. I've seen doctors that throw money into their account like it's going out of style, just to lose $60k in one month due to over-investment. Be smart, this is your hard earned money, and if it looks like the economy is going downhill, invest in something safe.
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