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RSM Australia

4.1
  • #9 in Accounting & advisory
  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Briana Matthew

Hi, my name is Briana Matthew, and I am a Graduate in the Business Advisory team in Brisbane. After completing my Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) at the University of Queensland, I joined RSM in late January of 2020. One fun fact about me is that I love to sing and play the guitar.

6.00 AM

Wake up

It is Friday and I start my day by making myself breakfast. I do my usual routine which includes some variation of scrambled eggs on toast. I pack myself lunch which I put in my backpack along with the clothes I plan on wearing to work. I then dress in my biking gear and am ready for my commute.

7.00 AM

Arrive at work

I try to bike to work most days. My route involves biking across the Victoria bridge, past the gardens near QUT and along the Brisbane River. It’s a good way to get in some exercise before work and the view is beautiful so I begin the day in high spirits. I have a shower after I arrive at the office building. The end of trip facilities includes showers, lockers, towels and toiletries so I don’t need to carry too many things with me. Since I use City Cycle, the bike I used can be left at a station just outside the building. This is very convenient because I don’t have to worry about taking the bike home.  

8.00 AM

Starting my workday

Today I started work a little early because I knew we were having end of month drinks later. I start by checking emails. The emails I get usually include updates to taxation laws that I need to be aware of, invitations to meetings or trainings, communications from clients and conflict checks letting me know the company has engaged new clients. I then plan out my day, creating a list of things I want to accomplish.

8.15 AM

Preparation of financial statements

I have been working on preparing the financial statements for a small company. Yesterday I imported the previous year’s trial balance into an excel template provided by RSM. Today I continue going through the client’s information to ensure that the movements I make faithfully reflect the company’s transactions in the year I am preparing the statements. This information includes things like bank statements, receipts, and information from the ATO. After I am happy with the trial balance, I move this information to Xero (the accounting software we use) and generate the financial statements including the profit and loss and balance sheet for the company.

10.30 AM

Tax return preparation

After completing the company financial statements, I am ready to prepare tax returns for the group. The company I am working on is part of a group including the company and two individuals. I prepare returns for each entity individually in Xero Tax. I fill in as much of the return as I can, but there is some information missing. I add these to a running list of queries that I am making for the client. Once I have determined that I have done as much as I can with the current information, I send a list of these queries to my manager. Some of these she will be able to answer, others will be sent to the client.  

12.30 PM

Lunch

I eat lunch in the staff lunchroom and then decide to go for a walk. This week I heard there was an art installation at Eagle St Pier, so I decide to visit. The installation “Intrude”, features giant white rabbits and focuses on the environmental impacts that rabbits pose to our natural environment.   

1:30 PM

Compliance work

After lunch, I start compliance work on a different client group. I am doing similar work to what I had done in the morning, namely preparing the financial statements and tax returns, only the entities in this group are a little larger and more complicated than what I had previously done. I start by looking through the notes of a meeting I had with the manager earlier in the week to brief me on the client and then search our document management system for information on the client. There are still some things I am unsure about, so I ask my buddy who is a Senior Accountant for help. After I have a better idea of what I need to do, I start the excel work papers and import the trial balance and account transactions. I start to work through each of the accounts on the profit and loss and balance sheet to check whether these are tax-deductible and recorded correctly.

4.20 PM

Timesheet

I take a few moments to fill in my timesheets, ensuring that I allocate my time correctly between each of the tasks and clients.  

4.30 PM

End of the month of drinks!

Today it is Corporate Services’ turn to host the end of month drinks. We listen to members of the IT and People and Culture departments as they talk to us about what they do in their division. Afterwards, there is a chance to socialise over pizza and drinks.

5.30 PM

Home Time

I decide to catch the bus home. I make myself dinner, wind down by watching a couple of my favourite TV shows and make plans for the weekend.