Career Advice

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  • #2754957
    szkasha
    Participant

    Hi, Everyone–

    I was hoping to get a little advice from others in the same field. A little background on myself, I’ve worked in industry for 5 years. I’m currently a senior financial reporting accountant. I went back for my Masters and am halfway through my CPA exam. I applied through school to a bunch of different companies and got an offer from one of the big 4. My problem is that it’s over a 10k pay cut. I know for a lot of people that’s nothing, but I’m not sure if it’s worth it to take such a step back.

    I feel lost. The benefits of working at the big 4 just don’t seem there in my situation. I already have my CPA exam paid for. I have my masters paid for. I have experience working under a CPA so that’s set too (all my bosses at CPAs).

    I’m just not sure what to do. Everyone keeps saying “Well, what do you want to do long run?” and, honestly, I don’t know. I think that’s probably my biggest problem. I guess my question is… what’s your opinion? Take the job and go back to entry level in audit or stay in industry?

    Xoxo a very anxious CPA
Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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  • #2755017
    MaLoTu
    Participant

    I have a few follow up questions:
    In Big4 you are starting a out at square one and making only $10k less than you are with five years experience as a senior?
    Do you want to do finance or financial reporting forever?
    Are you willing to work 50 hours a week during non-busy season and 60-70+ a week during busy season? Add to this that you will have to work there 5-6 years to have the best chance to jump to manager role in industry.

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

    All 4 passed - 2016

    CA CPA

    #2755074
    szkasha
    Participant

    Hi, MaLoTu– I just copied these over so I could answer all of it…

    In Big4 you are starting a out at square one and making only $10k less than you are with five years experience as a senior?
    It's 12k less. Less PTO, worse health insurance, less money in my pension. With my whole compensation package it's about $20k less.

    Do you want to do finance or financial reporting forever?
    That's the thing. I wouldn't mind it. I don't hate the work that I do, I'm just looking for a place with more career growth. Everthing feels stagnant where I'm at.

    Are you willing to work 50 hours a week during non-busy season and 60-70+ a week during busy season?
    Yes. I already am currently working 45-50 hours a week. I go to school and I'm studying for my last two exams. I'm a hard worker and busy seasons don't scare me.

    Xoxo a very anxious CPA
    #2755089
    MaLoTu
    Participant

    I see why you are having trouble because that is a very tough call.
    I don’t think at this point that not having public accounting experience is going to hurt your career growth. You will learn a lot in audit, but like I mentioned above, to get to the next level is going to require a 4-6 year commitment and if you absolutely hate it and leave then it was all for what?
    I would probably stay in my current role and once you are done with exams start looking to see if you can move to another company maybe as a manager.

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

    All 4 passed - 2016

    CA CPA

    #2755092
    charlesrskinner
    Participant

    I have been an auditor/accountant for around 13 years now. So I will give you some of the things I have learned throughout my career.

    -I have purposely stayed away from Big 4 firms. I have worked in medium sized regional firms most of my career and here is why. At a big 4 firm you are a number. For every available opportunity there are 20 people competing for it. When I walk down the hall and pass a partner, I want them to know my name. I do not want to be lost in the fog.

    -The only reason in my opinion to work Big 4 is they typically show alot of effort in the work culture and environment. Plus they have so many resources that benefits are typically better. From what you say your benefits are currently better than whats being offered.

    -Working at midsized firms can actually accelerate your career progress. Less people, more opportunities for the company to grow and you with it. If a big 4 firm got 10 new clients, well thats a Tuesday for them. But if a midsize firm got 10 new clients that means they need more seniors, managers, staff etc. the effect is much larger on the midsize firm.

    -Typically to make manager at a big 4 firm you need 7-10 years to make manager where at a midsize firm it is more like 5 and they typically provide you with as much responsibility as you can handle.

    -Personally I would never take a paycut to go work Big 4.

    -If it were me I would either stick it out where you are until you figure out what you really want to do or find an offer that takes you somewhere new without setting you back.

    "It doesn't matter if you passed with a 75 or a 95, passing is passing..."

     

    CPA, CFE, CICA

    #2755656
    Puppykoala
    Participant

    Have you thought about other path like internal audit? At my team at Big 4 an associate normally gets to manager level around 5 years, even shorter if you are a top performer. With experience, you can get up in the chain so much faster. The opportunities to get on different types of projects are so abundant as long as you express your interest, sooner or later you are going to get on one. Transferring between services and locations are relatively easy as well. Money/benefits is a meh really. I had industry experience and had to take a cut in everything. I think its worth it. The learning, the opportunities, the networking are invaluable here. But of course work is hard and people are underpaid. It really boils down to what do you want more – growth or comfort/money. And of course, smaller sized firms work out for people as well. Pros and cons.

    Shoot for the stars!

    FAR 88 04/19

    REG 95 07/19

    BEC 91 11/19

    AUD 88 12/19

    #2756022
    bigstakk
    Participant

    I think you should absolutely take the job. You will sacrifice $10-20k today but you gain way more than that down the line. Without pubic accounting experience your career in private will always be limited. Typically senior manager and higher roles require public. I personally only did 3 busy seasons at a top 15 mid sized firm which was just the bare minimum to be considered quality experience. If you go to a big 4 and tough it out for 2-3yrs even you will make senior and then your opportunities to get a manager or assistant controller position will be greater than you staying at your current job for that same amount of time. Big 4 carries a lot of weight and some firms won’t even hire you without it. I’ve been able to get by with mid tier firm experience and a masters in accounting to work my way up to a VP level role but I’ve been with my current company for 9yrs and committed to getting my cpa which gave my cfo more confidence in me. Cpa is key but public and especially big 4 is also a big boost. Doesn’t sound like you have kids or a family to worry about so I would absolutely suck it up and accept the position because you will 100% make up the wages sooner than you think and with even just a few years of big 4 experience you will warrant a better job title than you would be able to get with only 7-8yrs of private. Do it! Good luck!

    AUD - 81
    BEC - 87
    FAR - 80
    REG - 82
    ______________

    Ethics Exam - 90%
    Licensed CPA in CA

    #2756382
    12tang
    Participant

    What does your heart tell you? It kind of sounds like you won't like the pay cut and overall setback. Stack that on top of the abuse you'll receive and I think you'll regret it even more. Of course the experience will help your career long-term. But I also think too many people prescribe to the formula, Public Accounting (especially big4) = only way for success in accounting. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are many professionals that have had very successful careers without public, hell my boss was one and he didn't even have his CPA! I never went public and sit as an assistant controller at a company with annual revenues around 80 mil. Not saying that I'm super successful but some would say I am. There are many paths where you'll find success, and I firmly believe that success is always what you put in to it, and not found strictly by following a prescribed formula. Listen to what your heart tells you.

    BEC - PASS

    FAR - PASS

    AUD - PASS

    REG - PASS

    BOOM!  JUST LIKE THAT, I GOT MY LIFE BACK!  =D

    Using Becker self-study
    FAR: (82) 175 hours - 1st attempt
    BEC: (XX)
    AUD: (69) 45hrs of study - 1st attempt
    REG: (XX)

    #2756400
    fuzyfro89
    Participant

    Always difficult to take a step backward, but it really depends on your career goals.

    Many mid and upper financial/accounting management roles will ‘prefer' those who have had some public accounting or consulting experience. It's possible to get there without it, but much more limiting… not because you can't be smart, but in a competitive job market there are ‘qualifiers' that a lot of employers use such as “public” or “big 4 experienced”, “MBA”, etc.

    Getting that big 4 experience also is not a golden ticket… many of my former colleagues have had very average results after leaving public. Not in a bad way, some of them realized a slower pace was right for them after the grind in public.

    #2756442
    Lindsey_p87
    Participant

    Personally, I wouldn't do it, but none of us can tell you the best path for you. I disagree with the idea that public is the only way to a successful career, but if you actually like the idea of a career in public, of course you should take the job. It sounds like you need a change, but perhaps you should consider moving up in your industry? Once you complete your CPA, you should be eligible for better, more challenging positions. Idk what job market you are in – but I'm in Nashville and I see Manager positions on LinkedIn all the time, no public experience required.

    AUD - 79
    BEC - 82
    FAR - 79
    REG - 86
    DONE

    FAR - PASSED 11/14
    AUD - TBD
    BEC - TBD
    REG - First take 2/16

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