Notes

1.
In my current role at ECS, I've felt content. I enjoy my role in terms of the sales tax workload I take on. I like the nature of sales tax oriented projects and working through challenges with clients. The work can sometimes be tiring, but I enjoy it nonetheless. In terms of other assigned work, I like income tax return preparation, I enjoy bookeekping, I enjoy payroll processing and engagement-related work. My struggle is having a consistent amount of workflow to anticipate from month to month when I am looking to work to create room for growth and establish continuous improvement in my skills on these tasks. Although every year I feel as if I've become a more knowledgeable accountant, having tasks that are consistent similarly to sales tax will help me marginally increase my skills in the areas where ECS has its business.

2.
Since my last review, I've been able to work through several goals (some goals that are new, and some old), while my CLFP and CPA goals have remained in mind for the future. As discussed, to continue "leveling up" in professional accreditation, I've earned certifications in several areas of QuickBoooks including ProAdvisor status "Level 2", "Payroll", "Desktop", "Desktop Enterprise", and "Trained Bookkeeper". I've contributed to thew growth of ECS by exceeding my goal of bringing in not one, but two new clients to our firm. Even though only one client followed through to continue business with us to complete their income tax return, I still brought in two clients. Hopefully I can continue to bring in more new business over time. I've further developed mentally by heeding focus to the goal of "taking constructive criticism less personally" in a variety of ways. I've even remained a visible resource for our newer employees, as my knowledge has expanded as an accountant over the last year. I feel proud of what I've accomplished over the last year. Even though it's not the CPA or CLFP, it's something that I wanted to attain in my career and now I can say I'm certified in nearly every areas of QuickBooks, a prevalent accounting software many of our clients & employees utilize! The knowledge that came with QuickBooks has made me a more well-rounded accountant and reinforced key accounting concepts. The next phase is to test for my CLFP certification and work towards my CPA license.

3.
To be more successful in my current role, I can use assistance from my managers. With a flexible role allowing for my hours to have some flex to them (less hours at the beginning/end of the month, heavier hours in the middle of the month), as this is something we've grazed upon before, I want to feel more confident in making judgement calls to take time off when work is low (with some anticipation of a lesser workload on the horizon) or to maneuver my schedule in a way that allows me to work less hours during less busy times of a month (I.E. 3.5 days of work in a week (Don't work Thursday afternoon-Friday or 6 hour work days, etc.). Having the ability to maneuver my schedule as I seek fit and have some more anticipation of my schedule will allow me to do better in my role and come to work more energized for good work days! Over the last few months, my workload has felt much more flexible than desired during times of the year when I'm eager to work. This will especially help when work is much lower than desired.

In order to study for my CPA, ECS would need to provide a more consistent workload year-round that reaches 30-35 hours/week outside of tax season. Studying for QuickBooks exams over the last several months has further proven my desire for a more consistent workload. Although I had points in time where no work was available, it made it difficult for me to continue studying for exams once I started with learning modules for each exam, as modules would be several hours of work to get through one section. I do not feel confident in my abilities as a test taker who's struggled with studying and exams throughout my high school and college career to be successful without a very consistent workload. An inconsistent, heavier sales tax workload will cause me to burnout, very quickly if I'm studying and working on heavy amounts of sales tax at the same time. This will be something we can revisit once I pass my CLFP exam, but will be something to consider for the future. I feel the workload I have now is adequate, but I do not feel entirely happy with how work is allocated to me right now.

4.
A concern over the last year that I've briefly mentioned in a few 2-1s, is that I've wished to increase my remote working ability to allow myself more time to either work more for our firm (due to cutting out time for commute times & getting ready to appear professional in our office, sometimes lunch since I usually work through lunch while at home, etc.), or even catch some more rest when I need it. Without comparing myself to employees of similar job title, I feel like this has gotten worse for me over the last year (excluding a major medical emergency & sickness precautions where my work ability left no other choice but for me to work remotely). Discussing possible solutions to this that feel adequate for both my employer and my expected job status would increase my morale in my current role. During tax season, as hours are long and we spend six days/week working, working remotely is something I need to remain a happy employee at ECS.