Hello,
I work atop the Bonham Strand Trade Centre in Shengwan with some great people, and for some great clients. As a bookkeep & accounting trainee, I spend my days sifting through mountains of invoices to prepare precise and thorough financial statements. Centre O’s goal in the audit process is to minimize a client’s tax burden and provide an accurate representation of their companies’ financial standing. To ensure this outcome, I was introduced to and enacted their multi-step process. First, all the invoices are categorized into different accounts based on the nature of the activity. Second, the invoices are logged as monthly vouchers and cross-referenced with bank statements. Third, the vouchers are summarized in a table called the column account. Finally, this information is extracted to produce the period’s income statement and current balance sheet. What a process!
Centre O also expanded my role outside of accounting. Notably, I provided an analysis and presentation on the differences between corporate taxes in the US and Hong Kong. Quite simply, Hong Kong has lower taxes, and a much more comprehensible system than found in the US. Hong Kong has only one company tax – the Profits Tax – at flat rate of 16.5 percent, while the US has many taxes, rates, and exceptions. Additionally, I took part in the statutory books process at Centre O – one of their key service. Registering a company, or just changing the name requires a lot of red tape. Moreover, this process can be daunting- and worse for a new entrepreneur- time-consuming. Fortunately, Centre O helped me understand and take part in the process.
In short, I have done and grown a lot during my time here at Centre O. I am excited to bring what I have learned back to school this August where I’ll begin my Junior year attending the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.
All the Best,
Neil Kumar