[Anonymous]

Hello Ninjas,

Here is my situation:

I was employed as a senior accountant by a mid-size company . Three months ago, I accepted a job opportunity as a Staff Accountant at a LARGE and well-known corporation. Technically, it is a demotion for me. The pay is the same pay, but better commute, benefits, growth opportunities, VERY generous PTOs plus 10%-20% bonus, which is part of many reasons I took the job. Another reason is I’ve wanted to work for a big corp. However, since I don’t have big four experience, it is so hard to apply for a senior accountant position in a big corp; I’ve tried so many times. Also, I thought a senior accountant position at mid-size company will be somewhat equivalent to accountant position in a larger corporation. However, after three months of working here, it is definitely not the case. In addition, there are about 7 other accountants at my level that are not CPAs, except me who have both CPA/MBA with 4 year experience, but not from a big four. All CPAs in my company are senior accountants and higher with big four experience. My co-worker also kept asking me why I took this job since I have both CPA and MBA…etc. I sometimes feel humiliated. In terms of performance, I’d say I am way smarter than many of them. I know what I am doing. I am definitely outperforming and continuously impressing my boss and business partners (executive levels). I am so confident that I am able to do a senior accountant job at my current company,

Since I am not that happy, I went for couple interviews with mid-size companies for a senior accountant position and received two offers with 20% raise in salary. I don’t seem to have problem getting a job at a med-size companies. Do you think I should accept the offer and work myself up to an accounting manager position then go back and apply for big corporation in couple years, if I still want it? Or hang in my current company with a hope to get promoted to a senior accountant in a year or two.

Please advise since I have to make decision by NEXT WEEK….

Thanks all Ninjas …!!!

[Anonymous]

I'd like to avoid making the condescending statement that “3 months isn't long enough to render judgement”. As someone who once spent the better part of 2 years in a role I couldn't stand (but was surprisingly good at), I knew within the first 3 weeks that it wasn't the right fit. Frankly, if I had been offered a 20% raise to leave, I absolutely would have taken it.

That all being said, I'd question why you left the mid-size to begin with. If the specific intent was to take advantage of the benefits/opportunities that a large corporation offers, then it may well be worth sticking around. Without knowing anything about your long term goals, I'd look at this decision from several perspectives:

1. How much networking opportunity is there? Will you be able to form connections with peers who will go on to do great things? This is arguably the largest benefit of Big 4 experience, outside of having the brand on your resume. A lot of high talent individuals begin at Big 4, and end up moving into “sexier” roles (ie, general advisory/consulting, restructuring, etc..). Building a network with people who will go on to do bigger things is much more important than it often seems, and I regret not focusing more upon this early on after graduating.

2. How good is the name of the corporation? How “cool” is the department you work in? Hypothetically, working as a cost accountant for Kraft carries a lot less weight than working as an accountant on the Corporate Financial Accounting team for Jones Lang LaSalle. This is subjective, but if your plan is to reach Controller, Ops VP, Treasurer, CFO, etc… then having a good name and good department on your resume is worth focusing on.

3. How much is a 20% raise worth in absolute dollars? Going from $45k to $54k may not have that much of an impact on your quality of life in the short term. Going from $70k to $84k will have a somewhat noticeable impact.

4. How long are you willing to wait for a promotion, or for someone to recognize your superiority to your peers? That's not meant sarcastically. Larger corporations generally take longer to actively recognize great performance than mid-market employers.

Last, (and perhaps most importantly):

5. How “in control” of your attitude are you? The fastest way to get fired is a shitty attitude. I've seen this happen time and time again — even to people who are objectively high performers. If your perception of your role creates a situation where you're unable to hide your dissatisfaction, then you should absolutely leave as fast as possible. People may not always recognize great performance immediately, but they almost always pick up on resentment/frustration/bad-attitudes immediately.

[Anonymous]

I'd like to avoid making the condescending statement that “3 months isn't long enough to render judgement”. As someone who once spent the better part of 2 years in a role I couldn't stand (but was surprisingly good at), I knew within the first 3 weeks that it wasn't the right fit. Frankly, if I had been offered a 20% raise to leave, I absolutely would have taken it.

That all being said, I'd question why you left the mid-size to begin with. If the specific intent was to take advantage of the benefits/opportunities that a large corporation offers, then it may well be worth sticking around. Without knowing anything about your long term goals, I'd look at this decision from several perspectives:

1. How much networking opportunity is there? Will you be able to form connections with peers who will go on to do great things? This is arguably the largest benefit of Big 4 experience, outside of having the brand on your resume. A lot of high talent individuals begin at Big 4, and end up moving into “sexier” roles (ie, general advisory/consulting, restructuring, etc..). Building a network with people who will go on to do bigger things is much more important than it often seems, and I regret not focusing more upon this early on after graduating.

2. How good is the name of the corporation? How “cool” is the department you work in? Hypothetically, working as a cost accountant for Kraft carries a lot less weight than working as an accountant on the Corporate Financial Accounting team for Jones Lang LaSalle. This is subjective, but if your plan is to reach Controller, Ops VP, Treasurer, CFO, etc… then having a good name and good department on your resume is worth focusing on.

3. How much is a 20% raise worth in absolute dollars? Going from $45k to $54k may not have that much of an impact on your quality of life in the short term. Going from $70k to $84k will have a somewhat noticeable impact.

4. How long are you willing to wait for a promotion, or for someone to recognize your superiority to your peers? That's not meant sarcastically. Larger corporations generally take longer to actively recognize great performance than mid-market employers.

Last, (and perhaps most importantly):

5. How “in control” of your attitude are you? The fastest way to get fired is a shitty attitude. I've seen this happen time and time again — even to people who are objectively high performers. If your perception of your role creates a situation where you're unable to hide your dissatisfaction, then you should absolutely leave as fast as possible. People may not always recognize great performance immediately, but they almost always pick up on resentment/frustration/bad-attitudes immediately.

[mla1169]

I'm not convinced an accounting manager at a mid sized firm will translate to an accounting manager at a large sized firm. If working for a large company is your ultimate goal you're better off to stay put and be promoted. You said growth opportunity was one of the reasons for accepting this position but it's only been 3 months.

If you've decided in this short time that working for a large company isn't for you, and that ultimately you were happier at a mid sized firm, and would be happy to stay in one for a very long time, accept the offer.

Whatever you decide, don't compare yourself to your peers and coworkers. Yes you have more credentials than they do, but ultimately you were all hired to do the same job.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[mla1169]

I'm not convinced an accounting manager at a mid sized firm will translate to an accounting manager at a large sized firm. If working for a large company is your ultimate goal you're better off to stay put and be promoted. You said growth opportunity was one of the reasons for accepting this position but it's only been 3 months.

If you've decided in this short time that working for a large company isn't for you, and that ultimately you were happier at a mid sized firm, and would be happy to stay in one for a very long time, accept the offer.

Whatever you decide, don't compare yourself to your peers and coworkers. Yes you have more credentials than they do, but ultimately you were all hired to do the same job.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Gatorbates]

Sounds like you work at my company 🙂

Licensed Florida CPA:
B: 71, 73, 79
A: 83
R: 78 (expired), 77
F: 74, 74, 80

It's finally freaking over.

[Gatorbates]

Sounds like you work at my company 🙂

Licensed Florida CPA:
B: 71, 73, 79
A: 83
R: 78 (expired), 77
F: 74, 74, 80

It's finally freaking over.

[Anonymous]

Under any and all circumstances, do not say or give any indication to any of your coworkers that you want to leave. Someone posted last week that he got fired because his boss found out he wanted to leave.

[Anonymous]

Under any and all circumstances, do not say or give any indication to any of your coworkers that you want to leave. Someone posted last week that he got fired because his boss found out he wanted to leave.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much everyone for advice….

1911CPA,

The reason I left the mid size for this job is because I didn't learn anything and there was not any growth opportunity for me. Here are the answers of your questions.

1.How much networking opportunity is there? – the networking is great, there are over 50 people in finance department.

2. How good is the name of the corporation? – As I mentioned it is a large and well know corp. If only I mention the name, I am sure 95% of people will know.

3. How much is a 20% raise worth in absolute dollars? while I cant disclose the dollar $$$, but I can assure you that it is noticeable impact.

4. How long are you willing to wait for a promotion, or for someone to recognize your superiority to your peers? – I am not sure I would want to wait for long since I am now doing a lot of staff level work……

5. How “in control” of your attitude are you? – Pretty good.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much everyone for advice….

1911CPA,

The reason I left the mid size for this job is because I didn't learn anything and there was not any growth opportunity for me. Here are the answers of your questions.

1.How much networking opportunity is there? – the networking is great, there are over 50 people in finance department.

2. How good is the name of the corporation? – As I mentioned it is a large and well know corp. If only I mention the name, I am sure 95% of people will know.

3. How much is a 20% raise worth in absolute dollars? while I cant disclose the dollar $$$, but I can assure you that it is noticeable impact.

4. How long are you willing to wait for a promotion, or for someone to recognize your superiority to your peers? – I am not sure I would want to wait for long since I am now doing a lot of staff level work……

5. How “in control” of your attitude are you? – Pretty good.

[Mayo]

I say stick it out. If what you say is true, and you're being noticed by your superiors, then the hard part is mostly already done. However, 3 months is still too short of a timeframe to expect a promotion.

Unless it was expressed otherwise when you were hired, the company has put in the investment in time and money to do a search for a Staff Accountant, read through resumes, interview them, and finally decide on you. So I wouldn't expect you to move up in less than a year.

My advice:

1. If you're truly excelling in your role then ask for more responsibility or more difficult tasks. Maybe take something off your direct supervisors plate? If they trust in your work I see no reason why they wouldn't be open to find something more complex for you to tackle.

2. Again, if you find yourself with free time because you're blowing through stuff then you should consider trying to make improvements in your areas.

Maybe learn how to write macros in VBA to save you time when formatting. Maybe you learn the ERP system very well and find ways to pull data that speeds up a process or two.

3. Network, network, and network. Remember, the goal is long term relationships. You're at a large corporation. Take advantage of that.

4. Network!!

5. Get involved in work-related activities outside of your normal work duties. This can be volunteering with the company, joining some sort of work-related social group (e.g. Work related biking group or fitness club, etc.).

6. Inquire about training. Large corps are always providing training as long as it's related to you job.

Point is, be involved in the company, use the resources, work hard, and give it time. Also, try to remember why you left the Mid-size company in the first place.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Mayo]

I say stick it out. If what you say is true, and you're being noticed by your superiors, then the hard part is mostly already done. However, 3 months is still too short of a timeframe to expect a promotion.

Unless it was expressed otherwise when you were hired, the company has put in the investment in time and money to do a search for a Staff Accountant, read through resumes, interview them, and finally decide on you. So I wouldn't expect you to move up in less than a year.

My advice:

1. If you're truly excelling in your role then ask for more responsibility or more difficult tasks. Maybe take something off your direct supervisors plate? If they trust in your work I see no reason why they wouldn't be open to find something more complex for you to tackle.

2. Again, if you find yourself with free time because you're blowing through stuff then you should consider trying to make improvements in your areas.

Maybe learn how to write macros in VBA to save you time when formatting. Maybe you learn the ERP system very well and find ways to pull data that speeds up a process or two.

3. Network, network, and network. Remember, the goal is long term relationships. You're at a large corporation. Take advantage of that.

4. Network!!

5. Get involved in work-related activities outside of your normal work duties. This can be volunteering with the company, joining some sort of work-related social group (e.g. Work related biking group or fitness club, etc.).

6. Inquire about training. Large corps are always providing training as long as it's related to you job.

Point is, be involved in the company, use the resources, work hard, and give it time. Also, try to remember why you left the Mid-size company in the first place.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[yourmomsaCPA]

OT – I don't understand why people are won't post $$ when it's anonymous on here? The company name, I get but c'mon.

FAR - 87 2/18/14
AUD - 84 4/2/14
REG - 87 7/23/14
BEC - 78 8/26/14

I'm finally an *official* CPA - TX

[yourmomsaCPA]

OT – I don't understand why people are won't post $$ when it's anonymous on here? The company name, I get but c'mon.

FAR - 87 2/18/14
AUD - 84 4/2/14
REG - 87 7/23/14
BEC - 78 8/26/14

I'm finally an *official* CPA - TX

[fuzyfro89]

^Agreed. People are asking about what you (CPA888) get paid now, because 20% doesn't tell us much.

If you are at $45k now, a potential bump to ~$54k may not be significant enough to warrant switching companies so soon. However, if you're at $80k (guessing not, I don't know any staff that get paid this much) and comparing it to $96k, that's a nice chunk.

You are more than welcome to take the raise and jump.

As far as whether to go back to a smaller company? Depends on how small. Big companies need people who understand controls, complex GL systems (Oracle, SAP, etc), and rigorous review processes. If the “medium size” company is large enough to have this stuff, then it's not going to be hard to get back in.

A key problem if you're an accounting manager at a small/midsize corporation vs a large corporation is the similarity of your work… of course industry, public vs private, etc, also makes a difference.

As far as $$, I wouldn't even consider it if the dollar difference is <$10k (referring to total comp=salary+bonus+401k match+etc). If I was doing great, and knew my supervisor(s) recognized me, I wouldn't want to leave and risk having a shitty manager/company for a few dollars…

[Author]

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