Abbie Baumwald 25 is a senior tax associate at Philip Stein & Associates in Jerusalem Israel. She’s been working as an accountant for two years.   People think it must be so boring to work with numbers all day. What they don’t realize is working with numbers for me at least is like playing a challenging game of Sudoku. It can truly be fun! It can also be really interesting. To fully comprehend the business activities of our clients we obtain seemingly useless information about industry practices. We dig deep into each client’s industry and are exposed to all the strange things that go on. This allows us to better assess the taxability of the company in each state. In a single day we can go from discussing a software company to a soil manufacturer to an oil well-drilling company.   The skill I never realized I’d need is writing. English was always my worst subject in college and public speaking was a close second. But in the tax world you need to write memos reports letters to the IRS you’re constantly corresponding with staff and clients. Having good if not great writing skills is vital for the job. You need to sound professional in your writing communicate clearly with others and know what you’re talking about. You also often need to present your work to fellow staff and clients so public speaking skills are important too.     My favorite office supply is my computer. I like to keep things simple organized and all in one place so I hardly use any supplies other than my computer.   During tax season I survive by taking advantage of all the free food the firm provides during busy seasons and by allowing my husband who learns full-time to do a lot of the cooking at home.