Chris’ Blog – My first week at MATCH Accounting
Chris Motherwell, our new account manager, reveals how he feels his first week working with us went…
Day 1
My first day at MATCH started with a very warm welcome!
I was given my very own mug and a large box of chocolates, not to mention a brand-new laptop for me to work on. I definitely felt welcomed and immediately appreciated.
Before I started the job, the owners, Chris and Aimee, allowed me to choose working hours that suited me, which is a very helpful and welcome perk. The positives haven’t just stopped there at friendly welcomes & flexibility; I’ve never worked in a practice before and on day 1, I was presented with a very thorough plan in relation to my progression. This plan has tasks and goals all categorised within the different areas of learning that I will be undertaking. This organised approach has confirmed to me that choosing MATCH Accounting was the correct choice for my career development. I’m thankful for the faith that Chris and Aimee have in me.
Day 2
My second day at MATCH Accounting involved commencing the first step in of the process of producing accounts. This was an analytical task and I reviewed electronic receipts to ensure that the software had initially picked up the data correctly and then that the correct tax and nominal codes were applied to the transaction. This software feeds directly into Xero, which creates bills and receipts in Xero to potentially match against transactions from the bank statement.
The highlight of my second day was being taken out for a team lunch! Chris, Gemma and I met Aimee at Café Rouge, and everyone made me feel very welcome and I felt fully integrated into the team. It was lovely to meet newborn baby Emily, too!
Day 3
Wednesday was spent mostly getting to grips with Xero, the firm’s main accounting software. Within the programme is a certified training course, which I started to tackle to gain a base understanding of format and functions. I got to apply some of this newfound knowledge when I was reconciling bank postings against the transactions I had uploaded the previous day, from Taxcalc. It was interesting to follow on the process to the next stage, from confirming the receipts to matching them against real transactions recorded in the bank and seeing the importance of the accuracy of the first step. I also finished collating information for a VAT return for one of our clients and was happy to be finally applying some learning from my AAT studies.
Day 4
I started day four with more Xero courses. Working through these, I’m gaining a deeper understanding of Xero and finding the information helpful. Again, I did some work in an area that was brand new to me; I was asked to set up a spreadsheet for a company’s CIS figures. I look forward to delving deeper into that area in the future. My favourite task of the week started on day four when I was asked to go through a cashbook and check some invoices/receipts and proportion the expenditure into the relevant categories, whilst also recording sales and other income.
Day 5
My fifth day included more Xero training and finishing my cashbook analysis. In addition to the cashbook, I was asked to go through the mileage book to check and record the figures. Once all data was entered, I was shown how to start calculating what the company could claim back, in terms of mileage and working at home etc. Again, this task was great as it was applying more knowledge from my AAT. Seeing this task through to the end, I prepared a financial statement within Taxcalc for the client to show their entire income and expenses.
Chris and Gemma were very supportive throughout my first week, as and when I needed help or had a technical question, and I can see early on that I am going to learn a lot here and receive the help I need.