Maria Dills

Background

About Maria Dills

During this past year, I did not work so that I could focus my time on completing my Master’s degree. I graduated with my Master’s in Taxation from the University of North Texas in May 2020. I am currently studying for my CPA exams. As part of my Master’s program, I interned with Clifton Larson Allen (CLA) in the spring of 2019. I was fortunate to gain experience in both tax and audit work. At the time, I was convinced that audit was the path for me. However, after participating in actual audit work, along with the travel, I found it eye opening. The audit work itself was interesting, but I realized that the travel required was not something I enjoyed. I had only taken one tax class in my undergraduate studies and it was not something that I was drawn to. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the corporate and partnership tax work more than I thought I would. It was challenging and would frustrate me to no end. Then the ‘A-Ha’ moment would come, and the sense of accomplishment was overwhelming. This was when I decided to change my Master’s program to taxation. As I worked on my assignments, my organizational, time management, quantitative, and analytical skills grew stronger. My understanding of financial statements, tax returns, equity, and applicable law increased. My communication skills evolved into a more comfortable rhythm. I loved going to work knowing that I was going to learn new things each day.At the end of my internship, I was offered a position with CLA. I did accept and my expected start date is August 1, 2020. Along with beginning a position with CLA, I will be working on taking and passing all sections of the CPA exam over the next year. I look forward to getting back into the work force and I am truly excited to begin this next chapter in my career.