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I feel like this might be a dumb question, but can I list my current position as "accountant" on my resume? I'm not a CPA, but I work directly with the company controller and handle most of the accounting side of things. We have a bookkeeper that does almost all of the data entry and the controller spends most of her time determining who we pay, how much, and when. This is in California.
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May 12, 2012 07:18
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MiTEG posted:I feel like this might be a dumb question, but can I list my current position as "accountant" on my resume? I'm not a CPA, but I work directly with the company controller and handle most of the accounting side of things. We have a bookkeeper that does almost all of the data entry and the controller spends most of her time determining who we pay, how much, and when. What is it that you do?
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May 12, 2012 07:22
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"Hey boss, what am I?"
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May 12, 2012 13:06
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MiTEG posted:I feel like this might be a dumb question, but can I list my current position as "accountant" on my resume? I'm not a CPA, but I work directly with the company controller and handle most of the accounting side of things. We have a bookkeeper that does almost all of the data entry and the controller spends most of her time determining who we pay, how much, and when. Pretty sure you're a staff accountant.
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May 12, 2012 22:29
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Moneyball posted:"Hey boss, what am I?" Pure gold. Gonna try this someday. My professor in college told us that we were accountants back in undergraduate. It's what we were training to do and would never stop training to do. I don't believe there is a milestone that gives you that credential beyond study and practice to presently or eventually do it for pay.
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May 15, 2012 15:55
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MiTEG posted:I feel like this might be a dumb question, but can I list my current position as "accountant" on my resume? I'm not a CPA, but I work directly with the company controller and handle most of the accounting side of things. We have a bookkeeper that does almost all of the data entry and the controller spends most of her time determining who we pay, how much, and when. Search "staff accountant" on careerbuilder and if one of the positions reasonably approximates to what you do on a day-by-day basis than you are a staff accountant.
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May 15, 2012 16:12
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I'm guessing this is still the de facto accountant thread. We just picked up enterprise & advanced inventory yesterday (our inventory is a super bitch) and I am itching to find cool tech to put in place  I've been looking into automating some of our business process(getting hand written information converted then moved into quickbooks & storage, along with some contacting people for routine information) but I don't know where to really dig into some information. Can anyone recommend some good OCR for handwritting, programs that can be used for this, or any sort of guides/resources/experiences and stories that would help a fellow accountant escape some tedium?
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Jun 14, 2012 00:22
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MiTEG posted:I feel like this might be a dumb question, but can I list my current position as "accountant" on my resume? I'm not a CPA, but I work directly with the company controller and handle most of the accounting side of things. We have a bookkeeper that does almost all of the data entry and the controller spends most of her time determining who we pay, how much, and when. I think it's a reasonable question given how some other professions work. For example, even if you have a masters degree in architecture, you can't legally call yourself an Architect until you pass the architecture licensing exam. http://www.architectmagazine.com/legal-issues/trust-me-im-an-unlicensed-architect.aspx Bet the AICPA wishes they had this kind of jurisdiction over the "Accountant" designation.
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Jun 14, 2012 00:45
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Sukashi posted:Yup. Our firm at this point is extremely picky about campus hire candidates since supply far exceeds demand Is this similar to the issues facing law grads or is it no where near as bad? I was considering starting a MSA program this fall while working full-time and would be trying to get into a firm (regional or Big 4) after I get my required hours (Econ undergrad with a couple of accounting classes).
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Jun 19, 2012 03:17
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St1cky posted:Is this similar to the issues facing law grads or is it no where near as bad? I was considering starting a MSA program this fall while working full-time and would be trying to get into a firm (regional or Big 4) after I get my required hours (Econ undergrad with a couple of accounting classes). I think supply has always exceeded demand, but that's not to say it is a bad job market for accounting hopefuls. There always has been and always will be a finite number of openings for campus hires at Big 4 firms and large regional firms. I think over the past few years some of the standards for campus hiring have been tightened, but over the same time period I've seen the number of winter and summer interns grow as well as the number of new hires that start. Judging from everyone I know in accounting versus the more than a handful of friends I have in the legal world, I'd say it is still a much less arduous process to get hired at a decent public accounting firm than law firm.
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Jun 19, 2012 03:39
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hellboundburrito posted:I think supply has always exceeded demand, but that's not to say it is a bad job market for accounting hopefuls. There always has been and always will be a finite number of openings for campus hires at Big 4 firms and large regional firms. I think over the past few years some of the standards for campus hiring have been tightened, but over the same time period I've seen the number of winter and summer interns grow as well as the number of new hires that start. Judging from everyone I know in accounting versus the more than a handful of friends I have in the legal world, I'd say it is still a much less arduous process to get hired at a decent public accounting firm than law firm. Alright. I won't be interning since I've been out of school a couple of years and I'm working full-time already. I'll just make sure I keep my GPA up and keep in touch with the people I know in the firms around here.
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Jun 19, 2012 03:55
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hellboundburrito posted:It obviously depends on your location, but $52k as an experienced hire at a Big 4 (especially at the senior level) seems extremely low, so I don't blame him for passing. But I'm curious about your thoughts on advancement and the salaries that advancement at a Big 4 would have. If you stay in the IRS for 7-8 years, what's the expected compensation? My general thought, and I may be wrong, is that while you're averaging 40-50 hours/week, there isn't a lot whole of room for advancement or compensation increases. Is the draw to an agency like the IRS more a function of decent pay with less hours and decent benefits than it is the potential for advancement? Yes, as mentioned the CID carries guns and works lots of narcotics/money laundering etc cases. They get first pick of the choice cases involving high dollar amounts. It is difficult to get into the program, partly because of the health requirements (although seeing some of the people in that division I question how stringent they actually are) and partly because of the budget situation and the fact that they typically hire from the revenue agent positions so there are lots of things at play to get there. As a bonus, CID gets to retire in 20 years and their pensions are higher than non-criminal agents. They also get paid 25% more but have to work 25% more as they work 50 hours a week versus 40, although I've been told they get several of those hours to work out and stay in shape. It wouldn't be a bad gig if you could land it. To answer your question about compensation I don't think you can practically reach above a GS-13 while working as a revenue agent. Not saying that there aren't GS-14 agents out there somewhere, particularly as audit team leaders in Large Business & International, but they are exceedingly rare. Most career agents I've known seem to accept that a grade 13 is the highest they will reach. Actual compensation amounts vary according to your geographical location but you can look them up on OPM.gov. In my area, a grade 13 starts off at about $82,000 and maxes out at $106,000 after 10 steps. To get to step 10 takes about 19 years or something so there aren't an awful lot of people making that much. If I had to guess I'd say most experienced revenue agents make mid-90s. For reference, a fast career progression may take someone to the GS-13 step 1 level in 5-7 years if they are all-stars and the budget allows. I'm sure by the time you got to that level in the private sector you'd be at a manager level and clearing low six figures but I don't really have any confirmation of that. Granted, $82,000+ is a lot of money when you only work 40 hours a week and get 6-8 hours paid leave every 2 week pay period. Not to mention the defined benefit portion of the pension and TSP matching etc. You certainly won't be making as much as a partner at a big 3 or a local/regional firm but you can live comfortably. If you wanted to aim sky-high and become an executive, OPM.gov indicates you could make between 155,000 and 199,000 but again there probably aren't very many people actually making that - pulling this out of my rear end but only a few hundred people out of the ~95,000 member organization. If you want to start collecting Ferraris, you should stick to the big 4 partnership path.
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Jun 23, 2012 17:43
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According to the AICPA website, there's going to be a CSO update for the CPA exam on January 1, 2013. January is when I'll first be able to sit for the CPA exam, so does that mean whatever test review I use has to be the 2013 edition? I'm not really sure what exactly the updates consist of compared to previous exams, but here's what they posted on the website: http://www.aicpa.org/BecomeACPA/CPAExam/ExaminationContent/ContentAndSkills/DownloadableDocuments/CSOs-SSOs-Effective.Jan2013.pdf
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Jun 24, 2012 09:34
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I'll be entering the job market soon after a 3-year layoff because of personal circumstances I don't wish to divulge but I want to know what to expect out there. Is is still hard to find jobs? I'm not yet a CPA since I still lack the experience requirement (already passed the exams though) and I'm basically starting from scratch since my last layoff. What should somebody like me whose work experience is segmented (worked for about 2 years after graduation and went jobless for 3 years after that until now) expect? I suppose my minuscule work tenures before are slightly irrelevant now given that the job/accounting landscape has changed. I live in the Bay Area by the way. I'm not so hot on public accounting so I don't know if that would severely limit my opportunities. Hopefully not because I don't want my life to miserable again. Demented Guy fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Jul 11, 2012 |
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Jul 11, 2012 20:02
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I'm looking for a good primer on GAAP. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm a reasonably intelligent guy and have had plenty of on-the-job training around what I need to know visa-vi GAAP, but it'd be great to get a more holistic picture.
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Jul 11, 2012 20:31
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Demented Guy posted:Is is still hard to find jobs? What exactly would you be interested in doing in private industry? General staff accountant? Tax guy (Sales & Use, etc)? It's a pretty broad area so it's not quite so simply to say yes or no without more clarifications on what you're interested in... Hoopaloops posted:I'm looking for a good primer on GAAP. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm a reasonably intelligent guy and have had plenty of on-the-job training around what I need to know visa-vi GAAP, but it'd be great to get a more holistic picture. How detailed a primer are you looking for, exactly? What is your end goal by learning about GAAP (and possibly IFRS as well)?
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Jul 12, 2012 02:00
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Anyone here have any experience with Randstad Finance and Accounting? I got a call from one their recruiters asking me to come in and meet with them. Are they legit or am I getting scammed here?
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Jul 12, 2012 02:27
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Probably the best place to ask this. I'm in managerial accounting and we are going over selling bonds. When bonds sell at a premium and we make semi-annual interest payments, where the hell does that extra cash go? Ex: Interest Expense $3,097 Premium on Bonds Payable $903 Cash 4,000 Ok, so we pay our bondholders 3,097 in interest. Where is that extra $903 dollars of cash going to? Assume cash is on the credit side of the equation because I can't seem to get it to do that here. Spartan421 fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Jul 12, 2012 |
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Jul 12, 2012 04:01
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Spartan421 posted:Probably the best place to ask this. I'm in managerial accounting and we are going over selling bonds. When bonds sell at a premium and we make semi-annual interest payments, where the hell does that extra cash go? Yeah, so what happens is the bondholders get the full amount of cash ($4,000) because you're paying the bond rate (IE: what's listed on the bond) whereas you amortize the bond based on the market rate (which in the case of a bond priced at a premium is lower, since you are offering a higher interest rate than the market is which means there is higher demand for the bonds and therefore an increase in the bond price paid on issuance, hence the interest expense being lower with the remaining balance paid out going against the premium as bonds are 'pulled to par' with a final payment made at par during maturity, either downward if at a premium or upperward if at a discount). Note: The interest expense is not actually reducing the par value of the bond, it's only an allocation of the actual interest expense incurred (versus a reduction of the premium, which is amortized over time). Hopefully that helps. Horseshoe theory fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Jul 12, 2012 |
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Jul 12, 2012 04:14
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That's the semi-annual amortization of the bond premium. The bond was issued at a premium (above face value). That premium is amortized over the life of the bond until maturity. Amortization of the premium represents a portion of the interest that the bond purchasor earns over the life of the bond so it's still technically interest. And such discrepancy arises because of the explanation in the post above this. quote:What exactly would you be interested in doing in private industry? General staff accountant? Tax guy (Sales & Use, etc)? It's a pretty broad area so it's not quite so simply to say yes or no without more clarifications on what you're interested in... Becoming an in-house staff accountant is fine by me. Given my relative lack of experience and the length of time I'm idle, I don't know if I'm qualified to perform a much more complicated function since I'm basically starting from scratch. Demented Guy fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Jul 12, 2012 |
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Jul 12, 2012 04:17
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Demented Guy posted:Becoming an in-house staff accountant is fine by me. Given my relative lack of experience and the length of time I'm idle, I don't know if I'm qualified to perform a much more complicated function since I'm basically starting from scratch. I've seen a good deal of staff accountant jobs on Craigslist, Monster, etc. What experience did you have prior to the downtime, anyway?
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Jul 12, 2012 04:25
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Yep. There's a lot of listings there but I don't know if I can trust it because Craigslist. I worked a year in my home country (Philippines) in the Tax Compliance Group at an audit firm (Ernst and Young affiiliate) doing tax review, compliance and control engagements before moving here in the US to work for a small accounting firm doing bookkeeping, external auditing and individual tax returns. They fired me 10 months into my job and I was stuck doing nothing not because I'm lazy to look for another job but because of circumstances beyond my control. Now that I'm ready to go back to the job market, I just don't know what to expect so that's why I'm asking here.
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Jul 12, 2012 04:31
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Demented Guy posted:Yep. There's a lot of listings there but I don't know if I can trust it because Craigslist. If you did tax work with an E&Y affiliate, auditing and bookkeeping, I'd shill all of that work on the resume and build up a picture of skills/knowledge so you can angle that you're solid in all the major facets expected of staff accountants (understanding of the basics of income/sales taxes, bookkeeping, budgeting and preparing financials for review or audit) and try to limit the focus on the 3 year work gap. I'm in a controllership function in the NYC area and that tends to be what I look for when I've had to hire bookkeepers/staff accountants.
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Jul 12, 2012 04:33
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Thanks for the tips. It's really helpful. Hopefully I can get a job soon because being a useless prick is already tiring.
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Jul 12, 2012 04:41
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ThirdPartyView posted:Yeah, so what happens is the bondholders get the full amount of cash ($4,000) because you're paying the bond rate (IE: what's listed on the bond) whereas you amortize the bond based on the market rate (which in the case of a bond priced at a premium is lower, since you are offering a higher interest rate than the market is which means there is higher demand for the bonds and therefore an increase in the bond price paid on issuance, hence the interest expense being lower with the remaining balance paid out going against the premium as bonds are 'pulled to par' with a final payment made at par during maturity, either downward if at a premium or upperward if at a discount). Ok, thanks. I've had to re-read your explanation a few times but I'm getting there. It's just weird that Interest Expense is not debited for full $4,000 but I guess we have to wear down that Premium on Bonds Payable account somehow.
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Jul 12, 2012 04:44
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Spartan421 posted:Ok, thanks. I've had to re-read your explanation a few times but I'm getting there. It's just weird that Interest Expense is not debited for full $4,000 but I guess we have to wear down that Premium on Bonds Payable account somehow. Well, the interest expense calculated is ((market rate as a decimal/2) x book value of bonds as of the time you calculate the interest), since the interest expense is based on the market rate, whereas the amortized premium itself is the difference between the amount paid out and said interest expense. A discount bond is the opposite (cash paid out is less than the interest expense with a credit to the discount account). Do you have the full problem to post? I can walk through it if you want me to... Horseshoe theory fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Jul 12, 2012 |
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Jul 12, 2012 04:49
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That's ok but thanks. I'm pretty sure my mind is on the verge of a breakthrough.
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Jul 12, 2012 05:03
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Spartan421 posted:That's ok but thanks. I'm pretty sure my mind is on the verge of a breakthrough. Alright. Are you in an accounting program or in a different business undergrad or graduate (MBA?) program, if you don't mind me asking?
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Jul 12, 2012 05:05
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Accounting undergrad.
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Jul 12, 2012 05:10
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Spartan421 posted:Accounting undergrad. Fair enough. Welcome to the party, enjoy the ride!  Also, feel free to post any other questions that come up pertaining to accounting (whether financial or tax) here and I or someone else (like Demented Guy) should (hopefully) be able to answer your question.
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Jul 12, 2012 05:14
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Heya fellas, me again. I've just finished up my Accountancy unit for work experience at a small firm in Bribane. It was enjoyable, and gave me a chance to play with bank reconciliations, superannuation transaction, tax returns for comps/trusts/individuals, and some data entry. As I'm in the final year of my degree (2 semesters left), I'm weighing up my choice between CA and CPA. I'm leaning more towards CA - I hear it's alot of work and study, but imparts a hell of alot of knowledge to you. However, I still haven't been able to find out what level of knowledge it provides, and what sort of questions they ask. This is just out of curiosity, mind you. So tell me, what will I be getting myself into? I've been told about the hours, and what units there are, but not about the detail and quality of a units content.
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Jul 12, 2012 11:14
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I'm interviewing soon for an entry level position at a CPA firm which specializes in performing reviews/audits (edit: also prepare tax returns) for construction companies. Anyone have any experience in this area? I'm about a year out since graduation (May '11) and just recently returned back home from Korea. What sort of topics/concepts should I brush up on? I am going back over my old auditing exams and bank reconciliation tests. I assume I most likely will be assigned with auditing cash accounts? I aced all my accounting courses in addition to tutoring students so I think it will all come back pretty quickly. If anybody had any tips I'd appreciate it. Borgonderbee fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Jul 29, 2012 |
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Jul 29, 2012 03:26
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Borgonderbee posted:What sort of topics/concepts should I brush up on? Never did auditing (much less construction auditing) but I imagine looking over the percentage-of-completion method can't hurt. And yeah, knowing about bank recs, AR, etc. and how the auditing testing process is for those areas obviously isn't a bad idea.
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Jul 29, 2012 03:55
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Borgonderbee posted:I'm interviewing soon for an entry level position at a CPA firm which specializes in performing reviews/audits (edit: also prepare tax returns) for construction companies. Anyone have any experience in this area? At an entry level position, they're not going to expect you to have intimate knowledge for how construction accounting works. That said, a lot of construction (excluding residential home building) is union, so knowing how union benefit plans and pensions work is a plus. Especially since there has been more disclosure requirements made regarding union pension plans for audited financial statements. Have a working knowledge of percentage-of-completion method. Completed contract may be nice to know too. Reality is though, it's an entry level position, and unless you've had a prior accounting internship, you don't really know anything about accounting. They're going to be more concerned about when you plan on taking your CPA exams than whether you know the finer points of percentage of completion.
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Jul 29, 2012 04:11
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ASIC v Danny Bro posted:Heya fellas, me again. With the CA the focus is on understanding the underlying accounting concepts, and being able to apply them to practical examples. Each question you are asked will be a case study type question where you get background information about a scenario, and they ask you a couple of questions. Each exam covers 4 questions with a bunch of parts, and you'll probably write about 4-5 pages per question. Examples of parts of questions I remember include: Tax - Here is company X's draft balance sheet with some accompanying notes. The accounting profit for company X is $100k. Calculate taxable income, citing relevant authority for each adjustment / lack of an adjustment to the accounting profit. Management accounting - Here is a case study for a particular company. Prepare a SWOT analysis with 1 factor in each category/porters 5 forces/PESTEL. Financial accounting - company x acquired company y. During the year there were these internal sales and this much inventory on hand etc. Prepare the consolidation adjustments. Auditing - Here is a case study of company X. You have assessed the controls in the IT environment to be weak; describe 2 specific and relevant risks, and for each risk identify and explain a relevant COBIT area of threat to the information requirements of company x. EBA - Ethics and also more questions from the above but in less detail. It's hard to tell you the "detail and quality of a unit's content". More detail than your undergraduate degree. You'll have enough information that you understand the theoretical underpinnings of a consolidation and could calculate consolidation adjustments and write up the relevant journal entries, but not enough information to know how a firm would practically go about identifying and making consolidation adjustments.
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Jul 29, 2012 05:39
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ThirdPartyView posted:Yeah, so what happens is the bondholders get the full amount of cash ($4,000) because you're paying the bond rate (IE: what's listed on the bond) whereas you amortize the bond based on the market rate (which in the case of a bond priced at a premium is lower, since you are offering a higher interest rate than the market is which means there is higher demand for the bonds and therefore an increase in the bond price paid on issuance, hence the interest expense being lower with the remaining balance paid out going against the premium as bonds are 'pulled to par' with a final payment made at par during maturity, either downward if at a premium or upperward if at a discount). The one thing that always annoys me with this is that bond issues work totally different than stock issues, and it throws me off for some reason. Why aren't they just all issued for 100, and the market takes care of it afterwards, like stocks? The book and my professor would always frame the problems saying, "but the market rate for such a bond is X," which makes absolutely no sense because every single issuing entity is different and you can't possibly compare it to a "market rate" like that. It is like saying that the IPO of stock A was $10 but the market rate for such a company is actually $12.
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Jul 29, 2012 07:10
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So I spent this summer doing summer leadership programs and ended up with internship offers from all of the big 4 for next summer. Part of me wants to say, "Yay, I did it! Time to relax", but waiting nearly a year before starting seems like an awful long time. Would it be wise to pursue a part-time internship during the school year with a smaller firm after already accepting a big 4 offer? I feel like I could benefit from the work experience.
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Aug 22, 2012 21:18
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What year are you?
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Aug 22, 2012 22:41
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Will be starting my senior year in a 5 year program. Two years of school left before being CPA eligible in my state.
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Aug 22, 2012 22:47
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Mush Mushi posted:Would it be wise to pursue a part-time internship during the school year with a smaller firm after already accepting a big 4 offer? I feel like I could benefit from the work experience. If you think you can juggle the office workload and the class workload well enough, why not? What area are you going to be interning in at the Big 4? Audit? Tax? Consulting (not sure if they have internships in this area)? If, say, you're doing an Audit internship at the Big 4, it may be a good idea to do a Tax one at the smaller one (if possible - smaller firms may have you do both Audit and Tax) or vice versa to sample the different areas and figure out what you're interested in after graduating. Horseshoe theory fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Aug 23, 2012 |
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Aug 23, 2012 00:08
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