Executive Summary
This report is on an interview I did with the Personal Property Auditor of the City of Francisco. We had a discussion on his professional and personal life and what motivates him. This interview describes the auditor’s personality and background. It was done on October 10, 2012, at his office in San Francisco.
The people who work with him describe him as exuberant and intelligent. His zeal and commitment to work has made it possible for the city to collect its highest tax revenues in a decade. He reveals more about his career in this candid interview.
Introduction
He starts by informing me what made him opt for accounting as his career. He reveals that he has always been interested in financial reports. He argues that these reports make it possible for the management of a firm to plan for the future and monitor performance. He says a career in accounting offers lucrative growth opportunities even in times of recessions.
Main Body
He reveals that, after attaining a bachelor’s degree in accounting, he worked for Wells Fargo in its foreign exchange department. He later became an AR Coordinator at Moscone Center before he left and later became a public accountant. He has worked in various industries in the country as an auditor before getting employed by the City of San Francisco. He has served both private and public clients in different industries.
He cites the independence with which he is able to perform his duties as one thing he likes most about his job. He seems to like the freedom that comes with his current position because he is able to set his own work schedules. He says that he likes working at his own pace because this helps him manage his workload better.
He says meeting rude taxpayers who come to his office once in a while is the least favorite aspect of his job. He finds fault with them because they do not respect their civic duty to pay taxes. He says this has been a blessing in disguise to him because he has learnt better ways of solving problems. He insists that his employer has the required legal authority to collect taxes from taxpayers. The auditor reveals that most taxpayers who visit his office are polite and understanding.
He reveals that, while studying to become an accountant, he did not expect that he would be writing a lot of reports in his career. He has had to deal with it because he submits weekly audit reports as well as work progress reports to the management from time to time.
He says his typical day starts at 6.45 am when he wakes up and arrives at work by 8.00 am. His principal discusses with him work related issues that happened the previous week. The rest of the day is spent serving taxpayers or compiling audit reports in his office. Sometimes, he goes out to inspect business firms and audits their financial records. He also goes to the board on specific days whenever taxpayers lodge appeals to brief the board of his findings.
He says that if he had known how his career would be like many years ago, he would still choose to be an accountant.
His advice to anyone that wants to join this field is, “take up relevant volunteer work in accounting field prior to graduation to help fill out your resume.” He insists that this is the best way to get real life work experience.