[Michael_Scarn]

Just wanted to post this here cause I figured this is where I’d get the best feedback and advice from people in a similar position.

So here’s the backstory. Been with t a this firm since graduating in 2014. It’s a smaller local firm in the Phoenix area. We have 4 partners, 2-3 staff, and 2 bookkeepers plus and office admin. We do both audit and tax so 2 busy seasons. We do a lot of municipalities, so we travel around the state quite a bit.

That brings me to now. I passed the CPA this last year and got licensed i in June. So I was anticipating a bigger raise than I normally get. Not crazy, but just more than usual. Plus one of the other staff guys took another job just before our annual reviews and the start of our busy audit season. So I figured, since I’m already the most senior of the staff, that even more responsibilities would fall on me. Plus the only other staff is quite frankly, bad at his job. So I am always cleaning up is messes. Taking all of that into consideration, I figured this would be the year for a nice raise and showing they’re committed to keeping me here.

Here’s my salary breakdown:
Year 1: $51,000
Year 2: $55,000
Year 3: $61,000
Year 4: $66,000
Year 5: $72,000

My expectation for year 6 is that they would bump me up to at least $80,000. I thought that was fair and not unreasonable. Plus with being a CPA now and taking on more work with one of our staff leaving and no one coming in to replace him anytime soon, there was money to allocate to me.

Instead they bumped me to $77,000 and then went on some spiel about how high their fixed costs were and how they wish they could go higher.

So my question to all of you? How would you feel?

[MaLoTu]

I wouldn’t be happy, but are you making what is in line with your market?

Almost always from my phone... please excuse my typos!

All 4 passed - 2016

CA CPA

[AusNat]

I'd agree, I'd need to know how that compared to the specific market. It looks like you've seen a 50% increase in base salary after 5 years at the firm. How does that compare? And are there opportunities for bonuses on top of that base?

I will say that I wouldn't expect an additional raise/bump at my public firm or any of the others I've looked at for getting my license if I was in a position where that was the expected progression. Mine will actually count not having it against tax and audit associates if you don't pass within 2 years, and won't promote to manager without a license, no exceptions; we're hired as CPA candidates with the expectation that we'll pass and get licensed in the first few years. We have a one-time pass bonus if we pass within a year of being hired, but getting licensed within a few years is just meeting expectations for an associate, not exceeding them or moving to a new role. I'm not downplaying your accomplishment btw – it's a big deal, but perhaps they just see it as a natural part of the development course you've already been on.

AUD - 94
BEC - 90
FAR - 95
REG - NINJA in Training

Are we there yet?

Waiting impatiently on my last score.

[tmacpa]

You can always look around and see if you can get an offer more where you want to be or even higher. Maybe even talk to a recruiter also just to see what they have to say. If you get a higher offer you go to your boss: “Hey I was extended an offer of $XX that is going to be hard to turn down” Then they either counter or you go to the new firm.

Do you like doing both audit and tax? You could see about specializing in one, cutting down on busy seasons, etc. Make a Pros/Cons list

AUD - 78
BEC - 79
FAR - 78
REG - 90

short-term sacrifice = long-term gain

[MOAC]

A harsh reality is we generally don’t get big raises after getting the CPA license. But yeah I think $80K is reasonable in your situation. Also right now it’s a buyer market, you can get whatever you want. I recently switched jobs and got a 20% bump in my salary.

FAR May 2012 81 (lost credit, didn't sit for other sections.)
FAR 86 Aug 2015
AUD 85 Nov 2015
BEC 84 Dec 2015
REG 78 Mar 2016

Passed ALL sections in first attempt!!

[Author]

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