Career Decision…Make the Leap?

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  • #190945
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Hi all,

    Coming back to the forum after having been away from reading since I completed my exams last winter. I am in search of some advice from those of you who have been at this profession for many years or even just a few.

    I am currently a staff accountant for a regional firm in the Midwest. In our office almost all staff/managers work on both tax and audit. I am entering my 4th tax season (1 as an intern at another firm) and feel that I have gained a ton of experience in my few short years in this business. My office atmosphere is laid back for the most part, and I genuinely get along with almost all of my coworkers. My supervisors and partners believe in me and have explicitly mentioned career growth and a partner track in my (not very distant) future.

    With all that said, I am seeking advice on whether or not to leave the firm to start my own practice. I have it nice at my current place, but I wonder if there is more out there for me. Also, I am starting to get burnt out/bored with my non-busy season work. I have a passion for tax, planning, and consulting. Unfortunately for 8 months of the year, I am stuck auditing less than interesting clients with the rest of our staff. The thought of running my own business and building my own client base is exciting to me. I recently completed my MBA and would love to start using more than just my analytical skills as an accountant to truly run a business.

    Do any of you have any insight or advice on the leap to start my own CPA practice? Should I switch to an industry job in order to build a client base before going head first into it (I don’t feel comfortable moonlighting while working at a public firm). Am I crazy to walk away from partnership by early to mid 30’s and a safe and steady income? Basically, is the grass greener? Thanks everyone and sorry for the long rant.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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  • #635741
    fuzyfro89
    Participant

    Can't answer all your questions, so I'll try a different approach. Let's say you make director/partner within the next 10 years, how will your happiness change? Will you still be bored 8 months of the year?

    “but I wonder if there is more out there for me…”

    To me, this suggests you should go out and try something new. If you leave on good terms, then you will find it easy to return after a year or few years so long as you keep the relationship strong.

    I knew a handful of partners at my former Big 4 firm that had left at some point and returned. When you look at seniors, managers, and sr managers, many of them did as well.

    Lots of things change as your career progresses, so no matter how much you like someone, they can't honestly promise you something like partnership in 5 years. The world changes faster than that. Take everything with a 1-2 year outlook. So long as you can see yourself happy for the next 2 years doing something, then go for it. If things change before that or afterwards, that's fine, but at least you tried to make some sort of plan rather than just going with the flow OR jumping around with no direction. You could perhaps try out industry for a year or two and then even try working on your own for a year or two. Those experiences will be valuable as you either build your own business or return to join a firm at a more senior level with some experiences that other people don't have… which makes you very valuable.

    Good luck on whatever you decide, and just remember tha tyou don't need to commit to anything forever.

    #635742

    @YoungCPA – I like your thinking. I love that you're not settling and that you’re striving for more. In my very short opinion, think about it like this; if you are thinking about doing something today and wonder what it’ll be like, but then don’t do it, will you regret it years down the road or always wonder what if? With that in mind, we can all agree that no road worth traveling is easy.

    BEC - ✔ REG - ✔ AUD - ✔ FAR - ✔

    Becker + NINJA MQCs for FAR

    Licensed January 2015

    #635743
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I would try to sit down and think very seriously about what you want in 10 years, what you think you would like or dislike about each of these options in 10 years, and how to get there from here. To me, I would think that being partner in a firm wouldn't be too much different from being an owner (yes, in many ways, but not in many other ways), so figuring out what would be different and which differences you like more is probably key.

    My thoughts on it: Building up a firm would be a long, arduous process with a lot of risk, but *if* successful could be more rewarding long-term. However, if your main reason to switch is to do what you consider to be more interesting work, then consider the fact that “beggars can't be choosers” and you would have awhile of needing to take any work that came along just to pay the bills before you're able to start being picky. I worked in a small tax accounting firm for a year and found that there was 8+ months a year that weren't very focused on taxes, consulting, or planning, so my hesitancy for you would be that it may be hard to find a position in public accounting which is doing those things 12 months a year. I'd almost suggest a private tax job, where you could essentially be doing tax consulting and planning every day for a large corporation, but I don't know a lot about industry tax jobs so can't really advise directly.

    #635744
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Young CPA, well I think you should really sit down and think of why you would want to go on your own. Is this something you've always dreamed about? or just something that came up that you thought would good? I think working for someone will always be a challenge due to the office dynamic/politics. THe fact that you are well liked and things are going well for you, that's good but that doesn't mean it will always be that way. I also believe that your young enough to take a risk and make a business for yourself. You obviously have experience in the field and if you challenged yourself in becoming an entrepreneur, things could be even better.

    Seems as though your a bright young professional with lots of energy, I say do it! Don't ever let fear rule you.

    Good luck

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