[cantpassagain1]

I find that I make more mistakes when I do tasks that are not interesting to me or otherwise think are negligible. With that said, try to think about how pervasive your mistakes are to the few things you think are enjoyable or interesting to you. Also think about if the mistakes that are being pointed out to you by your manager are actually legit; meaning, are they mistakes that could alter the outcome of an audit procedure, or are they formatting, documentation, ect. If they are legit mistakes, happen frequently, and on takes that you find interesting, then maybe consider honestly if you have been actually trying to correct them or if you take the feedback and move on. To say that accounting is not a right fit is probably drastic since you've passed the exam and have been with a firm for 2 years – at some level (and probably a sufficient one) it obviously clicks with you. Alternatively, if you don't find anything in what you are doing, or could be doing (think about what your senior and manager do, i.e. what you will be doing in 2-5 years), to be interesting, then consider the alternatives once you've given yourself a little vacation.

[cantpassagain1]

@Vbmer that is good to know. I noticed in your signature you're B4 Deals Manager – I'm in B4 right now (L2 associate, assurance) and the business combinations I see regularly in audits is what has got me thinking about the CFA.

How do you think your firm would react to a first year/second year senior in audit try to pivot to M&A if they have their CFA? Thinking longer term, do you think the exit opportunities are better for someone with that experience/credentials + 2-3 years in M&A?

[cantpassagain1]

Ya I am just trying to get an idea if it really is something I want to pursue. With you guys being CPAs and in pursuit/are chartered – are you trying to pivot out of accounting or is it a value add in what you are doing within accounting?

Trying to determine where a CPA & CFA would be most valuable in either finance or accounting.

[cantpassagain1]

Absolutely don't contact HR. Assuming you have one, reach out to your coach (or someone like a coach, for whom you report to/have been assigned to – I think all firms call them something like a “coach” or “relationship leader”) before anyone else. Probably should wait until after busy season like you mention, for purposes of not looking like you have a bad attitude and so that it at least looks like you gave tax a shot.

Make it clear that audit is what you want and be as forward looking as possible. For example, make it more about why you think you'll do well/enjoy audit more rather than why you don't like tax. If they specifically ask what you didn't like about tax, be honest, but if being honest will come across like you're trashing it, then come up with something else – remember, this is what that person does for a living.

From there, your coach will probably do all the heavy lifting for you in terms of getting HR involved and so forth. If not, he will tell you how to go about it.

Tons of people make switches, nothing at all to hesitate about. Just be smart about when you ask and 9 times out of 10 they will honor it.

[cantpassagain1]

This is a good question honestly. First, I would say draw a greater distinction in the number of passed exams – I'd say your best shot is to just wait till you've got them all out of the way. The thing is, passing the exam is kind of assumed at the B4 (and any large size firm for that matter). With that said, applying to the B4 with your license in hand and 2-3 years experience for level 1 associate position is solid and they would be stupid not to hire you.

I would absolutely agree with what was said previously – polish up your LinkedIn! Its hard to land at a B4 if it's not through campus recruiting, but definitely not impossible. Ive had B4 recruiters reach out to be via LinkedIn when I was at the same experience level as you.

[cantpassagain1]

Pretty good for only 2 weeks studying honestly. I think the fix is easy – just start from scratch next time and study for 3 weeks. I would not consider myself gifted by any means and I only studied 3 weeks for REG and got an 84 – I crammed like crazy (averaged 6-7 hours a day). Since your passed section falls off in October I would say get the hardest section out of the way right now (probably FAR) and be conservative on how much time you give yourself to study – i.e. make sure you pass.

Come back to REG in October when you can take it again, three weeks, pass it, on to the next one.

My personal advice if your goal is YE19 is to just be conservative and give yourself the time you need – if you dont have that luxury then just bust your tail day and night to make it happen. With that said, consider why you want to finish by YE – promotion? raise? bonus? – if not, perhaps forgo that goal so you ensure you pass without failing.

[cantpassagain1]

Continue with FAR and squeeze it in as you've planned. Worry about AUD after FAR – you got this!

[cantpassagain1]

EA would be good choice if you want to stick to the tax route rather than accounting. Not sure there is a comparable tax specific certification. The only other thing i've heard of people doing for tax is JD/LLM (in tax) but that doesn't sound like the route you want to go.

[cantpassagain1]

I would weigh how much longer you can make it against your convictions that are pressing you to leave – keeping in mind how much (if any) the experience you get from your firm adds to your career in the long term.

I feel like this is the age old question – you're not alone. I am often conflicted if I should stay in public accounting as well. I’m at a large regional firm and I have a hard time maintaining most time. I’m aware its only going to get harder but the experience it provides is incredible. Nonetheless, its surprisingly harder than you think to make an exit that is a step up in your career with only two busy seasons under your belt.

I have gathered that public accounting can seriously take some years off your life. With that said, concluding that “public accounting isn’t for me” is the general rule, and essentially assumed by everyone in the field given only 2% make partner. However, as someone who has been wrestling with this question as well and accepted I should leave, the profession as a whole seemingly requires a certain amount of time to be put in. As such, even if you conclude to humble yourself and forgo goals of making partner or manager, or whatever, sadly you might find you can’t quite leave at the moment.

[cantpassagain1]

I think the point that is missing is segregating “people skills” and “office politics”. The former is necessary for meaningful promotion. However, the latter is not necessary.

I started at an audit role where I immediately knew I didn’t fit in. Heavy office politics and some arguably rude individuals. However, I put my head down, proved I was good, and always had a good attitude.

Something that might help is to not talk Bad about people but be honest about what you think of the firm in general, areas to improve, etc. The key is to steer clear of individuals specifically.

[cantpassagain1]

This seems to be a good problem to have in my opinion – the fact that you have the opportunity to take over your Father's business.

However, I see how you have reservations if it is not what you bargained for. My advice if you miss medicine, hate F/S prep, but will ultimately be inclined to take over your Father's business is this –

Get into auditing at an accounting firm that has a plethora of health care clients. It appears time is on your side so make sure it's a right fit. Get experience so that you can go out and gain these types of clients for your Father's firm once you take over. Typically manager level (~5 years) is when you may (depending on the firm) have the opportunity to learn the client engagement/acquisition process.

I would be shocked if mid-tier and even B4 would not pick you up if you expressed a strong interest to work solely in health care, given your background in medicine. A large part of auditing is assessing risk via understanding the entity. You'll be out at these clients in a medical environment, which I assume is a plus for you, even though it's not in a medical capacity.

It seems like you have a lot of options. I'm not sure if you're a follow-your-heart type of guy, but if that's the case then just nix everything I just said and get back into medicine – don't think twice. If you can't bear both mundane work and not taking over your Father's business in good conscience about it's future, then look into auditing in order to prepare for that day.

[cantpassagain1]

@Cpamang – That is just ridiculous. I would try to fix it as @Ultrarunner says. Just go talk to someone you trust. Tell them what you have been experiencing under this manager. Ask how they suggest you deal with it to relieve the tension between you and the manager. If no suggestions come from it, sit on it for a little bit to see if anything changes. If not, go back and see if you can switch teams or managers.

[cantpassagain1]

@RJ – What size firm was that at? Why aren't you an auditor anymore?

@Cpamang – I understand the frustration. I have a manager that has similar tendencies. He will talk underneath his breath about my work papers to others in the audit room while I'm sitting feet away. When I'm on his engagements, I perform terribly. Alternatively, every other engagement I knock out of the park

With that being said, I'm not sure I agree with @RJ ‘s premise in that you always learn the most from these types of managers. Managers that demand perfection for things that could have the slightest impact at a conceptual level are not the same as micromanagers.

So, I think you need to ask yourself a few questions –
1) Would you perform better under a different manager, or do his tendencies make you better despite the frustration?
2) Have you learned any new audit theory under him?
3) Is there a way that you can make the situation better by trying to bring light to the situation?

I pose that last question because the last engagement I did for him (last engagement of it's type for the summer) we had a very frank conversation where I asked him for his candid feedback. The manager, senior, and I (I'm a staff as well) had about a 3-hour dinner just talking. He started the conversation off with “you do a great job; you're a hard worker; etc. ect.” All the advice that followed was posed in a general, never specifically saying it was towards me, but in reality, I knew it was. At some point in the conversation, I remember him say “you don't need to be a pussy about it” when talking about voicing one's opinion. I laughed and agreed. Did it take me off guard? Absolutely. The next day was the last day of field work and it went great. I knew how I needed present myself around him for him to show me any respect. My work papers didn't change, my work habits didn't change, it was just everything being out in the open that allowed for me to get through it rather than get stifled by it further.

Hopefully that helps

[cantpassagain1]

Thanks @recked, that seems to be the dynamic as I research this more.

I think one of the driving forces that is often overlooked for why there is a shortage of accounting academics is because of the acceptance rate to get into Ph.D programs. I dont know what types of backgrounds a lot of applicants have, but a lot of schools I see have 1% acceptance rates. Id imagine this makes it difficult for someone like myself, with little experience and normal above average academic track record to pursue this arena.

[cantpassagain1]

Thank you @aaronmo and @jsdailey.

I think I will have to put in some thought of the next couple of weeks to determine if I am going to tell my current firm about things. I hope that it wont create any changes in the work that I get or how I am assessed. Simply put, I just dont want to be able to hear what they say about me. It makes concentrating almost impossible.

As far as the GMAT goes, I think I will start preparing soon. I dont think around a 700 is unattainable, but I will probably have to take it a few times. Thanks for the heads up on what they typically look for in admissions. I think I will apply to broad array of schools. I notice that the acceptance rate is around 1% for the top schools, at least based on the figures from their website (which might inflate how many applicants they get). I cant imagine many people want to go down the academia route. The average pay is a lot less than what you could make if you stayed in public for just 5-7 years and took a controller position, not to mention the forfeited salary while in school. But who knows.

Anybody else have any insight on how I should go about putting myself in the best position for acceptance into a program?

[Author]

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