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ShakeyDog posted:Hey all, was hoping one of you could offer a little career advice. As mentioned earlier, I just finished my first year of public accounting and I'm thinking about what areas I want to specialize in. To give you some perspective, here are a few areas that I've developed over the last year: I work in the banking industry, exclusively in commercial banking, the most rewarding thing for me is the ability to help somebody (or a corporation) in a way that not many can. I like to give em my expertise, that very rewarding to see them succeed in their business endeavors. Much like a good lawyer or a good accountant. Thats a good goal for you to focus on while pondering the big question. A degree in accounting will open you a lot of doors, and it will take some soul searching to find out the place you enjoy working more, cause thats where you'll perform best. Instead of focusing on particular jobs, why don't you focus on things you prefer/enjoy and go by elimination: 1- A big company or a small outfit 2- Working mostly alone or with people 3- Accounting work (like working in an accounting firm) or comptroller/CFO work (in a manufacture for exemple) 4- Cost accounting? Forensic accounting? Income tax? Corporate tax? Audit? Fiscality (my brother in law is a good fiscalist and I'm telling you, he can't burn through all the cash he's making...) All in all, it really depends on what motivates you. A friend of mine is a comptroller in a manufacture w/ 200 employees depending on is good work as part of the small management team that poush them forward. He's proud of that. My brother in law, beside making stacks of money is really proud that he runs is own accounting outfit and that he is nobodys biatch.
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Nov 10, 2012 03:27
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ShakeyDog posted:Hey all, was hoping one of you could offer a little career advice. As mentioned earlier, I just finished my first year of public accounting and I'm thinking about what areas I want to specialize in. To give you some perspective, here are a few areas that I've developed over the last year: It's hard to say what you should try to specialize in since everyone is different, but I think it's good that you're thinking about it early in your career. I support trying to figure out what you're most interested in early on because otherwise you run the risk of getting pigeonholed - not necessarily because you can't change directions or your skills won't be desirable somewhere else, but maybe because changing directions later on can set you back for promotions and such in your current firm. Personally, I think consulting/advisory is the more rewarding sector of public accounting (I'm in audit currently) and there are lots of different types you can get into - IT, M&A, valuation, forensics, transformation, etc. I think you should start by narrowing your list of experiences down to a few things you liked most - i.e. do you prefer tax versus audit? If you like auditing but aren't sure the "lifestyle" is for you, maybe internal audit is a good alternative. There's also nothing wrong with trying to specialize in an industry such as NFP, as there will always be demand for industry-specific expertise. I don't know what kind of firm you work for or what kind of opportunities they have, but if it's large enough you could/should consider trying to do a rotation or something in some different areas to see what you like.
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Nov 11, 2012 04:32
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Just accepted an offer from a Big 4 firm to do a winter tax internship at their Philly office. Can't wait to start, although I'm sure my enthusiasm will be beaten out of me quickly. Although this is tax, I'm starting to think I may be more interested in audit so if the internship goes well and I do get an offer is there a good way to try and get in with audit instead?
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Nov 19, 2012 09:12
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Jota posted:Just accepted an offer from a Big 4 firm to do a winter tax internship at their Philly office. Can't wait to start, although I'm sure my enthusiasm will be beaten out of me quickly. Although this is tax, I'm starting to think I may be more interested in audit so if the internship goes well and I do get an offer is there a good way to try and get in with audit instead? Sorry, but you're stuck in tax for life. No one will hire you in audit if you have 4 months of tax experience already.
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Nov 20, 2012 00:20
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Jota posted:Just accepted an offer from a Big 4 firm to do a winter tax internship at their Philly office. Can't wait to start, although I'm sure my enthusiasm will be beaten out of me quickly. Although this is tax, I'm starting to think I may be more interested in audit so if the internship goes well and I do get an offer is there a good way to try and get in with audit instead? I can't imagine this being an issue, especially if you make a good impression. What makes you think you'll be more interested in auditing though?
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Nov 20, 2012 01:45
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rockin peanut posted:Sorry, but you're stuck in tax for life. No one will hire you in audit if you have 4 months of tax experience already. Obviously not what I was implying at all but thanks. ShakeyDog posted:I can't imagine this being an issue, especially if you make a good impression. Okay thank you. I've just enjoyed auditing so far more than tax in my classes I had on them. Although I imagine I won't really know how I feel either way until I get some real experience. I guess I'll just see if I feel stronger about tax after this internship and go from there.
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Nov 20, 2012 02:30
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Guys I'm thinking he was joking... I will be interning winter at a Philadelphia big 4 as well, in audit. I will be sure to post here how awesome audit is and how I got all the babes and moneys and power.
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Nov 20, 2012 03:56
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Talk to an audit guy about how weird tax people are and how only weirdos can like tax. Audit people seem to love that.
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Nov 20, 2012 05:59
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Harry posted:Talk to an audit guy about how weird tax people are and how only weirdos can like tax. Audit people seem to love that. To be fair, the same thing is said by tax people about audit people (I remember going to a PwC Tax seminar when I was doing my Accounting degree a number of years ago where they spent half of the time trashing the audit guys). It seems to apply to both areas... 
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Nov 20, 2012 06:05
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Harry posted:Talk to an audit guy about how weird tax people are and how only weirdos can like tax. Audit people seem to love that. I work in a small group that is both audit and tax combined. I try to associate with both sides of the house, but it's funny how separate most people on both sides like to keep things. At the end of the day, we're all cogs in the machine.
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Nov 20, 2012 19:29
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I last posted in this thread asking for advice in August as I was interviewing with a private audit firm. It went well, and I all but had the job when at the last minute the person I was replacing cancelled their plans to move out of state  .Since then, I've had a hell of time finding ANYTHING in my area that offers audit experience. I now have an interview with my State Auditor's office for an "Auditor III" position. Anyone have any experience to share? I had never really considered government jobs before. Although the job description/requirements didn't specify, my university didn't offer a Government Accounting class so I don't have much knowledge in the area. Will that likely be detrimental to my ability to perform? I have a feeling the pay will likely be low (and maybe a lovely job in general), but being unemployed sucks. Luckily I don't have any debts. Borgonderbee fucked around with this message at 03:20 on Nov 21, 2012 |
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Nov 21, 2012 03:16
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Borgonderbee posted:I last posted in this thread asking for advice in August as I was interviewing with a private audit firm. It went well, and I all but had the job when at the last minute the person I was replacing cancelled their plans to move out of state I'm a state auditor; it's a good job if you are at all interested in how states operate. You'll see a wide variety of environments ranging from typical offices to universities to maximum security prisons and mental health centers. The pay usually is usually lower than public accounting in most states, but the benefits are great and you won't have to deal with the ridiculous hours people complain about with public firms. The downside is that the experience you gain is pretty much only going to be useful if you plan on transferring to another state/federal agency or a firm that has contracts to perform governmental audits. Do you know whether the position is for financial/compliance/performance/IS audits? There are some pretty big differences in the work you'll do depending on which one you'll be assigned to. As for your lack of knowledge about governmental accounting, don't worry about it. Governmental accounting can be confusing at first since most people never take Gov/NFP classes in school, but you'll pick it up pretty fast as you go. You might want to read a bit about the interaction between different fund types (governmental, proprietary, and fiduciary) just to get a basic understanding for your interview. Carlton Banks fucked around with this message at 07:48 on Nov 21, 2012 |
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Nov 21, 2012 07:41
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Carlton Banks posted:I'm a state auditor; it's a good job if you are at all interested in how states operate. You'll see a wide variety of environments ranging from typical offices to universities to maximum security prisons and mental health centers. Thanks for your information. The job description isn't clear, but I believe I'll be performing financial/compliance audits? The description reads: "[...]determine the fairness of Financial Statements, compliance with state/federal laws, and the allowability of reported costs of Medicaid providers." To be honest, you've actually brightened my spirits as I had the attitude that I would just be "settling" for this position. As I said, I had never considered government work so I really have no idea what to expect. Based on your experience however, I no longer feel like I may be throwing myself into a job with disproportionate hours/pay. I only just found out about scoring the interview yesterday, so I'll definitely do my research before the interview. Thanks again.
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Nov 21, 2012 10:41
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Carlton Banks posted:I'm a state auditor; it's a good job if you are at all interested in how states operate. You'll see a wide variety of environments ranging from typical offices to universities to maximum security prisons and mental health centers. May I ask why you became a state auditor? I'm in public but have occasionally looked at state postings. Did you choose state over public? If so, why? Regardless, where do you see yourself in five years?
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Nov 21, 2012 11:12
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hellboundburrito posted:May I ask why you became a state auditor? I'm in public but have occasionally looked at state postings. Did you choose state over public? If so, why? Regardless, where do you see yourself in five years? I chose state over public since I've always been really interested in how governments operate. It was a tough decision at the time since I was worried about hurting my future opportunities by not having public experience, but spending some time talking with the Auditor General during my office visits convinced me to go for it. As for where I see myself in five years, it's kind of tough to say right now. I'm planning on moving to Colorado in the next year or so, but I am undecided whether I will stick with state auditing after I move or go for an internal role with a state/fed agency. Luckily I have a bit of time to figure out which path to take.
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Nov 21, 2012 17:40
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What should I expect from a payroll accounting class? Will it be useful at all for CPA prep, or will it at least be easy credits? I don't have a lot of options next semester.
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Nov 30, 2012 09:16
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Lemmi Caution posted:What should I expect from a payroll accounting class? Will it be useful at all for CPA prep, or will it at least be easy credits? I don't have a lot of options next semester. You'll need to elaborate on the fact that you "don't have a lot of options next semester." But a payroll accounting class won't mean much in the world of public accounting. If you're taking the class for credits towards the CPA exam, it might be worth it but you should check out your state's requirements. If the class counts towards what you need to sit for the exam it's worth it, but otherwise I think it is useless unless you want to go into payroll administration.
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Nov 30, 2012 11:49
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Most companies outsource that kind of stuff nowadays because the reporting requirements are so tedious. Unless you're working specifically in payroll at a public company, I doubt it'll be relevant to your career. It's nice to know if you're starting a business too, but that's about it. If there's no other classes available, check with your state board (or your department undergrad counselor) to see if it counts towards the CPA. That's all that really matters right?
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Nov 30, 2012 16:30
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Well, it has "accounting" in the title, so it would count toward general business/accounting credits, but it doesn't satisfy any specific requirements. I think I'll skip it though. I'll be taking intermediate accounting, internal controls (SOX), business tax, and need something else. I don't have much else to choose from. There's a cost accounting class available online, but I was hoping to take that one in-classroom.
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Nov 30, 2012 17:29
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Can anyone think of any drawbacks to taking auditing as an online course?
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Dec 1, 2012 05:04
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Absolutely none if it counts for the CPA exam. I don't think the payroll class would be entirely worthless like the people said above, if you ever plan on working for a smallish to medium sized company you'd probably run into payroll. The most important thing to do is check with your state board about which classes count, they should have a list.
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Dec 1, 2012 05:38
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Harry posted:Absolutely none if it counts for the CPA exam. I don't know what you mean by this. Nearly every kind of business course can count towards some portion of the California CPA requirements. Are you saying Payroll is specifically excluded? I wasn't asking about that though. I was asking if payroll accounting was a waste of time because it sounds like kind of a BS course and it doesn't seem to do much to prepare for the content of the CPA exam. I'm definitely not going to take it in any case, because I do in fact work in a small to medium sized company and we do not do our own payroll. Now I'm debating taking audit online.
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Dec 1, 2012 06:18
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I think he is saying online classes don't count towards the CPA exam requirements. I've never heard of that rule, but you could always call your CPA board and ask. They are typically pretty friendly and helpful, oddly enough.
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Dec 1, 2012 06:21
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That should have been doesn't count, as in if it doesn't help you sit for the exam or go towards the requirement. I don't know what the California requirements are, but in Texas the "hard" part was getting the 30 hours of accounting in addition to like 24 of business or something like that.
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Dec 1, 2012 06:24
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Online courses don't appear any differently on transcripts from regular ones, and there are CPA prep courses that you can complete entirely online if you already have a bachelors. Certain classes I don't want to take online because of the benefit of interaction and the resource of having a professor that you see every week. For example, I'm waiting for a non-online cost accounting class to come up because I know I will be asking lots of questions in class. Same for tax. I was looking for opinions on auditing, and if I would be missing out on anything just doing it online.
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Dec 1, 2012 06:34
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For me, Auditing was all about understanding *why* we do certain things. I don't think that part clicks unless you're really paying attention. Memorizing can get you through the exam but I really liked learning the concepts in person. If you can focus while taking online classes then fine, but otherwise I would take it in person. It's a pretty important subject. There is an entire CPA exam called Auditing, after all.
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Dec 1, 2012 07:07
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Any CA or to be CA's from Canada in this thread? If so, any tips on the UFE and whether or not its even worth my time to write it considering the designations are merging? Also, I've noticed for public practice firms like to hire CGA candidates more than CA students aswell. Any thoughts on this too?
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Dec 2, 2012 04:31
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Defenistrator posted:Any CA or to be CA's from Canada in this thread? If you're in a position to write the UFE now, and you delay taking it for CPA changes, that means you'd be waiting x years to get a designation before the full transition takes place. If you can't write for a while yet, then just pay attention to changes as they get confirmed. If you want to be in public practice, CAs will still be the only ones able to sign off on financial statements. Everyone might become a 'CPA', but you'll need to right a UFE equivilent exam in the future anyway, because not all CPAs will be equal in that regard. CGAs are definately not better regarded in public practice. If you see a posting for 'CGA preferred', it's probably a position not worth paying a CA for.
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Dec 2, 2012 09:17
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rockin peanut posted:If you're in a position to write the UFE now, and you delay taking it for CPA changes, that means you'd be waiting x years to get a designation before the full transition takes place. If you can't write for a while yet, then just pay attention to changes as they get confirmed. But I could have sworn any of the designations can sign off on financial statements now because now its not about the designation but rather about whether or not you have your License to practice public accounting (LPA). If you go through the non-traditional route to get your ca (which I am going through right now because of the aforementioned preference of most public practice firms to hire cga candidates) then I won't be allowed to sign off on financials unless I get my LPA afterwards. CA Ontario (where I am getting my designation from) has set the final ufe date for September 1 2014 and the CPA designation will start in 2015. The CMA designation has already agreed to join the merge but the CGA designation is still out on hiatus. Technically, since November 1st of this year all CA's are now CPA-CA's because they were issued the new designation. I'm just really confused right now because it's so freaking difficult for a person in my position to land a decent paying job in public practice AND get my CA designation. I'm currently getting paid less than 12 bucks an hour and I'm working out of some dudes house just for this drat thing. I've applied to other CA firms for positions but either I don't have enough experience or they would prefer a CGA/CMA candidate.
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Dec 2, 2012 15:59
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I'm simplifying the terminology a bit, but you won't be licensed to sign financial statements unless you take a CPA route extremely similar to the current CA route. That means:
Are you sure your current employer is considered an approved training office? I really doubt a 2-man operation could ever get approved. That will matter if you want to sign financial statements, as noted above. And again, CGAs are definately not more respected tham CAs.
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Dec 2, 2012 19:36
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rockin peanut posted:I'm simplifying the terminology a bit, but you won't be licensed to sign financial statements unless you take a CPA route extremely similar to the current CA route. That means: Its not a 2 man operations theres about 10 of us working and we got the approval to train CA's through the non-traditional route. I see what you mean, I guess I'm just frustrated stuck in this rut.
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Dec 3, 2012 00:08
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Borgonderbee posted:
Just wanted to update. The interview ended up being quite informal, I got to meet the State Auditor as well as the Senior Auditor who would be the head of my team (should I be hired). It seems I'll be specifically assigned to the Medicaid Audit team. They definitely put me at ease when the training process was explained and left the interview feeling great. The interview was last Thursday, and a job offer landed in the mail yesterday! It will require moving to my State's Capital, so I've got a lot of organizing ahead of me. Thanks for the information Carlton.
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Dec 6, 2012 10:38
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Is anyone familiar with the UK/Ireland scenario for accounting and stuff sub-accounting level? I graduated with a business degree two years ago, but not in accounting. I've worked one decent job, a year long contract with a not-for-profit that had me doing anything and everything business related. But unless I want to go down the sales route I'll have to move to a big city (probably out of Ireland) to get a decent career because there's simply nothing in my area. I've tried going after the small business, start up, not-for-profit, culture and arts route seeing as they have more general positions but that's pretty much a dead end with the economy. Realistically, it's crunch time for me, either I refocus my area or move to another city and work for omnicorp selling doodads and stopping doodads from getting returned. I know this is incredibly basic, but I was managing the journals for the not-for-profit. Really simple stuff like making sure the invoices were paid, comparing bank accounts to cheque books and credit card spending. I know accounting is magnitude greater in complexity, but I figure it's an area with work available and I really didn't mind staring at spreadsheets for hours a day. I've seen a few clerk type positions come up, really just putting things in and out of spreadsheets, but I could do what a friend did and go down the entry level clerking role and work in my own time up through the various qualifications. (Accounting Technician being the one I'm looking at here in Ireland.) What I'm really wondering, is whether it's feasible for me to even get into that type of entry level position as a 28 year old over someone deciding they want to go that route at 18. I have the whole wealth of life-experience thing, I think I have quite good experience from my not-for-profit position. I have no intention of ending up with the Big 4 and see myself in 15 years working a low to reasonably paid job dealing with start-ups and arts and culture based institutions (the dream.) There's a chance I could get a job in a warehouse and do the Accounting Technician stuff on my own, but I imagine having a role even tangentially related to accounting while doing the exams would be much more beneficial and a lot easier.
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Jan 3, 2013 03:31
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Lots of points. 28 isn't too old I'd be more likely to go with a 28 versus younger for a low level role, better chance of you sticking around. Non profit bookkeeping (journalkeeping?) is super different than for profit, just as a heads up. Either way, find out what software programs companies in your area are using and train up and get certed, makes a big difference. From my understanding arts & non profits as far as career, generally use part time bookkeepers/ outsource, so you'd need multi clients or work for a firm to have it a career. Hope thats a bit helpful. Oh caveat this is based off American experience. N.N. Ashe fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Jan 4, 2013 |
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Jan 4, 2013 01:35
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So I'm still in the first half of getting my accounting degree, and I've started reading about sustainability, or environmental' accounting. Where would I start if I wanted to pursue that?
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Jan 4, 2013 06:07
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Bone posted:So I'm still in the first half of getting my accounting degree, and I've started reading about sustainability, or environmental' accounting. Where would I start if I wanted to pursue that? I would start by creating those fields as viable areas of employment, because the related careers do not really exist as such. Like, a political group might be involved in requiring companies to do x environmental thing, and as an accountant, you would accrete an expense for that thing over time. The end. Accountants don't reallly do policy change, they just follow changes that get put in place. Once you have a strong employment record behind you, maybe you could parlay that into a position with a lobbying group; I'm not really sure. But that's not really anything you could do right out of university.
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Jan 4, 2013 06:25
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I finished my BS in Accounting last month and I can't decide between my CPA and MBA and which to go after first. I didn't go to a prestigious school (Salem State University) and my GPA wasn't spectacular, just okay- 2.9944. (couldn't just have a couple extra percentage points?  ) I'd likely be taking a couple prereq courses and rolling into the MBA program there this fall. Or, I could put off grad school, start studying for the CPA right now and get my MBA afterwards.MBA first: If where I get my MBA from is less important than having it at all, I'd like to get it done as quickly as possible. I know I will be accepted at SSU, and I can transfer some of my credits. I could finish by the end of 2014 and then start taking parts of the CPA. CPA first: If it really is important to get into the best grad school I can, I could spend the next year and a half taking the CPA while applying to programs. Although I'm not sure how high to aim with a 2.99 GPA. Would completing parts of the CPA raise my chances? I'm just happy to be finished with the first step.
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Jan 10, 2013 18:28
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Because you didn't mention any work experience I'm having trouble seeing what value you'd get out of an MBA straight out of undergrad.
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Jan 10, 2013 18:33
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Don't ever say you have a 2.99 GPA. You have a 3.0 GPA. It may sound like the same thing but it isn't.
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Jan 10, 2013 18:45
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Mandalay posted:Because you didn't mention any work experience I'm having trouble seeing what value you'd get out of an MBA straight out of undergrad. I'm a "non-traditional" student at 28, with most of my my experience being retail, manufacturing, and security. But I've had a couple temporary office jobs and a season as a tax preparer. Hopefully soon I'll get an answer about a job in cash posting I interviewed for recently. So I'll need more experience to get anything out of it? Harry posted:Don't ever say you have a 2.99 GPA. You have a 3.0 GPA. It may sound like the same thing but it isn't. Haha, yeah I was thinking about just saying 3.0 in the future, but wasn't sure if rounding up is going to be an issue for those who actually see it. Moneyball fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Jan 10, 2013 |
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Jan 10, 2013 18:51
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