[Anonymous]

So…the offer just came in and it’s a 12% gross decrease from my current salary! I know I have no audit experience, but I thought the fact that my CPA license is pending (any day now) would count for something.

I just bought a home with my husband back in November and as the one making the most (as of now anyway), we cannot financially take a 12% hit to my income. I would like to counter to a 5% decrease in my current gross pay. That’s the lowest I think we can handle.

I’m kinda freaking out here…What do you guys think??

[GSU-CPA]

Why dont you tell us what the offer is in numbers and what city it is for so maybe someone can tell you how it compares to what they started with. I dont see why you are keeping the offer amount a secret ..this is an anonymous msg board anyway … its not like anyone knows you personally.

Either way seems to be the only option you have left is to reply in a email and say how much you are making in your current job and that currently you are not able to make such a big pay deductions. See what they say they might match what you make right now. Also make sure you mention again in your email that you have passed your cpa exams and you are awaiting on your licans. Make it know that you really want to work there but cant take 12% pay decrease.

REG-77
BEC -Waiting on score May 5th
AUD - May 30
FAR - Q3 depending on if i pass above two in Q2

[Anonymous]

current salary: $60,000 in Los Angeles, CA

[GSU-CPA]

Hopefully someone in LA can help you out. I still think you should make a counter offer and explain how much you would love to work for them but you are currently making 60k and your living situation doesnt allow you to take such a big salary cut. You then go over your strengths experience you have and the fact you are getting your CPA soon and see what they say.

Can i ask why you didnt like doing tax? Are you doing tax now in one of the big 4? Reason i ask is because i am considering doing tax after i get my CPA.

REG-77
BEC -Waiting on score May 5th
AUD - May 30
FAR - Q3 depending on if i pass above two in Q2

[acamp]

Yeah, $53K sounds about right for a first year. Remember a CPA license means almost nothing in public accounting until you have to have one (manager). From a firm/client perspective more CPAs on site might be nice, but I've never come across anyone caring.

Does your offer include the $5K CPA Bonus? With your exams passed you should be able to apply for that right away. Granted there taxes and such, but it should help bridge the gap, not to mention if you are starting later in the year you can recoup some money come tax time.

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California CPA

[Anonymous]

Thanks GSU…for some reason before I graduated college I had already determined I was going to be in Tax no matter what even though my grades were WAY better in Audit and it seemed to come more naturally to me (albeit classes aren't the best indicator of what the real job would be like)…now that I'm in tax, it's not what I expected. I'm not really helping people as much as I had envisioned. Clients just want me to deduct everything under the sun and not pay attention to reportable TAXABLE income…I didn't expect to spend most of my time trying to reason that the law is the law.

[Java230]

It's the raise prospects and development that's most important. I got offered about 50thousand but was gtyd a 15percent raise annually for four years since that's a training time, cap at 90 thousand and then after 4 years raises are competitive. .so look at your pay in 3 to 4 years.

So I think your offer is in the ball park.

Licensed WA CPA 2/2015
Government Auditor Since 2007

[Anonymous]

An offer from a Big 4 firm is usually “take it or leave it” because they know they can find someone out of college who will be more than willing to work for them at that price, especially at a staff level. It's worth a shot though.

And like acamp said, ask whether you're eligible for the $5k bonus for passing the CPA exam within a year.

@Java230

What firm did you work for that guaranteed a 15% raise for 4 years? That's huge!

[lude4life13]

Remember that auditing in Big 4 is not a money maker, but an investment of your time for future earnings. The fact that you get paid so little (considering the crazy hours you will be working with no additional compensation) is part of the reason that you can leave after 2-3 years and make 70-80K working 40 hours a week (not to mention to various avenues you can take career wise). I have personally heard of a lot of people taking pay cuts and “demotions” to go from tax to audit, since they felt like tax was not going anywhere in terms of future desirability to prospective employers.

It sucks but you can't really expect a senior level position OR senior level compensation when you do not have much relevant experience, even though you have been in tax for a couple years.

[Anonymous]

IMO a 12% paycut isn't even that much (at the current point in your career)…If you make $60k now, your offer is ~$53k. You will only make ~$200 less per pay period after taxes (assuming 2 pay periods a month) in the new job. Having Big4 experience is worth MUCH MORE than that down the line.

[Anonymous]

Well I already sent the email to the point of contact…

“Thank you for forwarding me the offer information.

I currently earn $60,000 in salary and while I am really excited about my career with Big 4, I cannot take a 12% gross decrease in my income having purchased a home only 8 months ago.

I am hopeful we can come to an agreement that will work for both parties.

Respectfully,

CPA4bdaypresent”

We'll see what happens!

[Anonymous]

Good luck! Please keep us all posted. Would love to see if its actually possible to negotiate with Big4.

[Anonymous]

Two things…first of all, I kind of did the opposite as the OP. Someone once told me that all the introverted quiet people went into tax so I never even thought twice about audit, even though my grades were way better in tax classes and I liked it way more. I wish I could go into tax but I dont have a masters in tax so it would be hard. Good for you for making the switch!

Secondly, 53K in LA seems pretty low.That's what I make, 2.5 years in to my career in a city where the cost of living is like a sixth of LA. That might be normal for an entry level auditor but most entry level auditors also dont have their CPA license coming in either.

[Anonymous]

@amanda_1988: I don't think you need a Masters in Tax to make the switch. Maybe go for your EA to show you're serious about the transition…You can do it! 🙂

To your point about being entry level with a CPA license…THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING!…I don't think I'm being unreasonable…I would totally be cool with making the same pay even with my CPA license because of the points already made by other posters about earning potential down the road, career opportunity, etc.

I just don't want my finances to take a hit (I know it may not seem like much, but a girl's got student loans!) just because I had an epiphany and decided to switch practice areas.

[lude4life13]

53K in Southern California is the correct amount in todays market, it is not low at all. And having a CPA license coming in doesn't give you anything more than the bonus that Big 4's offer. The salary is not increased at all for someone with it.

[Anonymous]

lude4life13: you may be right…and truthfully at the end of the day, I'd still take the offer if they didn't increase the offer because I really feel it's a great career move. With the reverse sticker shock that came with the offer, I guess I wouldn't feel right just taking it without making some sort of effort to lessen the financial blow.

woops…recruiter just called…gotta go take this!

[Author]

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