|
Hi all. I graduate from my accounting degree tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don't have a graduate job. I've had quite a few interviews, but have fallen short just one place so many times it is driving me nuts. I really want to continue my studies for my CA, but will have to put that on hold. So, my question is... can I study for my Grad Dip of CA regardless of if I have a job or not? Or is it solely for people in the CA program?
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 12:47
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 11, 2024 10:54 |
|
|
Pittsburgh Lambic posted:Well, there's the possibility that I'm just not trying hard enough, too, I suppose. Like I said, I'm not sure I come off well in applications and cover letters, and I know my interviewing skills aren't the best, which I'm working on. You need to start cold calling and emailing small CPA firms in Houston and ask for an interview. If you're willing to go into tax there's a ton of firms in Houston. Audit may be trickier to get into because the large Houston-based firms hire out of college and can be picky, and small firms with auditor typically don't hire entry-level. Look at EEPB and Ham, Langston, & Brezina. I've worked for one and with the other as an industry accountant with their auditors and can tell you that the both firms have quite a few that aren't going to win popularity contests or are very bright apples.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 17:40
|
|
|
KILLALLNERDS.EXE posted:gently caress, the UFE prep is nasty. Somebody, tell me everything will be alright Don't worry, it's pretty OK - I did it last year.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2013 22:51
|
|
|
Should I start cold calling if I've only taken Intro to Financial? I'll be taking Intro to Cost this semester and by next spring I should be taking Intermediate I at my local community college.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2013 01:36
|
|
|
Muffin Top posted:Should I start cold calling if I've only taken Intro to Financial? I'll be taking Intro to Cost this semester and by next spring I should be taking Intermediate I at my local community college. Cold calling for what? I'd think at that level you'd need a stellar GPA and some other compelling reasons (extracurriculars/honors) to even get in the basic pre-internship externship phase. I'd think if you interview well and live in an area with a lot of business then you might be able to manage an industry internship? Does your school have a job/internship fair in the fall because that's where the action is at. Cold calling at your stage would be like slamming your head against a wall. E: I view cold calling as a last resort when you missed the internship/hiring phase towards the end of college but still have good/really good credentials. Your school should have better resources for you otherwise. Good Citizen fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Jul 23, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2013 01:52
|
|
|
Cold calling for any type of a/p a/r job or something that can at least get my foot in the door. I have a year until I graduate with my associates and then transfer to a real 4 year school and complete my degree there. I live in the NYC metro area so I'd naturally assume there's a lot of firms of any type to do basic bookkeeping work I suppose. I know my school has one job fair in the fall at least and another one in the spring too.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2013 02:18
|
|
|
Muffin Top posted:Cold calling for any type of a/p a/r job or something that can at least get my foot in the door. I have a year until I graduate with my associates and then transfer to a real 4 year school and complete my degree there. I live in the NYC metro area so I'd naturally assume there's a lot of firms of any type to do basic bookkeeping work I suppose. I know my school has one job fair in the fall at least and another one in the spring too. Oh, ok. My experience with A/P A/R is that they're looking for someone to work full-time+ and will want to keep you there for the long haul or train you up into a staff position. Disclosing that you're only going to be around for a year might make that pretty tough. Does your school have an online job posting board? There's always places that miss the big recruiting season or don't plan ahead far enough that are looking for whatever they can get during some set time period. If your previous work experience has some cash handling that you can emphasize on your resume then you might be able to get in that way. Also, GO TO YOUR JOB FAIR. Never miss a school job fair ever. No test you're taking the next day or night class you'll need to miss is ever as important as getting seen by those companies. Honestly I think cold calling would be more discouraging than it's worth for you unless you know someone. Just keep laser focused on your school's job board (assuming there is one) and the paper/craigslist/whatever.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2013 02:26
|
|
|
You could probably get a part time A/P job that you might be able to work your way up to something, but realistically nobody is going to make you their bookkeeper with no experience and an intro class.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2013 05:11
|
|
|
I've avoided this thread for years since I can go on forever about my job and try hard to separate work and life (one e/n thread got my attention to this one). I'm a forensic partner at a firm and recently was recruited to the SEC and am now in a fairly political position and do a lot of work with the PCAOB. Any other partners here? Anyone have any particular audit concerns?
|
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2013 17:20
|
|
|
got dat wmd posted:I'm a forensic partner at a firm and recently was recruited to the SEC Please do. I know there are many, many disciplines in the field, but I know what I like and dislike so far. Granted, it's based on classroom material, but I just know that cost accounting is like pulling teeth, and tax is acceptable but "meh" to me. I'm interested in auditing and possibly the more technical side. I'd like to get into that and maybe go for the CISA cert. Do you have that? Based the very basic description, I think you're where I'd like to be.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2013 04:48
|
|
|
Anyone have any advice for a Big 4 exp associate considering leaving? I have done the normal part and spoken to a few recruiters to get a feel for what's out there but I'd prefer to hear from people who don't make 5% of my base for a successful placement. I am in the hedge fund/PE fund group at the firm and going into my 3rd year. I have my CPA exams passed but due to CT requirements, I will need to wait until September until I am certified. My career goals would be to break into finance but as everyone else is also trying to do the same thing, I am thinking that going the fund accounting route with some exposure to front office will likely be the best decision I would be able to make.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2013 15:06
|
|
|
jaymm posted:My career goals would be to break into finance but as everyone else is also trying to do the same thing, I am thinking that going the fund accounting route with some exposure to front office will likely be the best decision I would be able to make. Fund accounting would work, whether at a PE/hedge fund firm or at a back office place like SS&C (and then enter a client firm that way after a year or two). Horseshoe theory fucked around with this message at 00:15 on Aug 6, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2013 00:04
|
|
|
I'm kinda in the same boat, except I'm not really looking for another tax job. Been in big4 tax almost a year and honestly I just don't like the work. I'm going to be looking for a job in startups soon and hopefully onto an MBA after that. I'd rather get paid less and do something that is interesting than waste my life away in big4 tax. None of the people above me are happy and I can see this job sucking the life and passion right out of them and I don't want that to happen to me  Thank god I got that CPA when I did because I'd never have finished it now! e: is there anything more soul draining than doing 300 tax returns at the client site in a room by yourself for 3 months? Not to get all existential and poo poo but it really makes you wonder what mistakes led up to this lifestyle. It's like solitary confinement! moon demon fucked around with this message at 06:33 on Aug 6, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2013 06:29
|
|
|
Sometimes I sit here at my small biz, overwhelmed with all the accounting, marketing, legal, IT, and operations work. And I wish that I could just sit in a corner undisturbed with spreadsheets and Prosystem Fx.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2013 18:17
|
|
|
Atleast the tax return will be read by someone/a computer at some point. Last week I put together a cash projection for a property that showed with the current cash and payables we're looking at a balance of around -$50,000. I got a response of "thanks, just what I needed." The next day they took a $40,000 distribution. Today I got an email asking me why we're slow paying payables.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2013 19:00
|
|
|
I need some advice. I've been in customer service for several years, I have a BA in History, and I'm Colorado. I just took accounting 101 to see what this is like and enjoyed it enough to go further into accounting. I just don't know where to go. I have almost no relevant experience in accounting, though I have worked for several years as a cashier in the past so I've done lots of cash handling. I have a hell of a lot of research to do on my own, but I've got at least one basic question: Would it be better to go for something like a bookkeeping certificate from the local CC (I can post links or courses if requested), try to get a job as a "clerk" of some sort, get a little relevant experience in the overall accounting world and *then* go for a more advanced degree? Or would I be better served by trying to get a new job where I get some relevant experience right away and go for a more advanced degree at my next opportunity? Basically my lack of relevant experience feels a little like a hindrance and I'm wondering if I should try to fix it before forking over money for more schooling. By advanced degree I mean something like an Associate of Applied Science or a Masters in Accounting. I'm going to talk to an adviser at the local CC as well as a couple people I know in the field before I do anything. I may also try to talk to advisers at the local colleges for some advice as well. I know I have lots of research to do before I should decide, but I just want to narrow my focus a little. Much like YF19 Pilot upthread, I've realized I need a general overview of the industry so I've got a copy of the vault guide on the way ($20 on amazon) and I'm doing plenty of reading otherwise. Any other advice you accounting goons have would be greatly appreciated. Edit: I hate to add to my question, but is it worth trying to apply for a "clerk" position now? I got an A in my 101 class, but I realize that probably means next to nothing. TheBoyBlunder fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Aug 10, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2013 01:13
|
|
|
I would probably recommend doing the accounting degree and self-teaching yourself QuickBooks and maybe Peachtree/Sage 50 (although most small to medium businesses use QB, so it alone would be a solid enough credential).
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2013 02:02
|
|
|
Do you want to go hog wild into public accounting, or are you looking for industry positions? And what is your age, and does the school you got your BA from offer accounting/are you even near that school anymore?
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2013 05:35
|
|
|
TheBoyBlunder posted:I need some advice. I've been in customer service for several years, I have a BA in History, and I'm Colorado. I just took accounting 101 to see what this is like and enjoyed it enough to go further into accounting. I just don't know where to go. I have almost no relevant experience in accounting, though I have worked for several years as a cashier in the past so I've done lots of cash handling. I have a hell of a lot of research to do on my own, but I've got at least one basic question: I don't think it is worth going for more "experience" unless the job opportunity would help you pay for a degree in accounting. If you really are interested in this field, I think the best option is to get a degree and then go job hunting from there. You could go try to get a job in bookkeeping or clerking somewhere, but I don't really see that panning out into the career I think you are hoping for. It wouldn't *hurt* your resume, and it would help bring in some extra money, but I think it would take a while for you to get a "true" accounting job from there without a degree in the field. If you get the degree, you'll open doors to jobs you likely won't otherwise have the opportunity for (whether it is public accounting or industry) and you could even be on the CPA track. In terms of the actual degree, I'd highly suggest the MSA - without a BA/BSBA in accounting, this is probably the most effective route, albeit the more expensive one. From there, you'd be a candidate for staff accountancy or even entry-level public accounting if that is something that interests you. Hope this helps.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2013 05:35
|
|
|
Mush Mushi fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Jan 15, 2021 |
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2013 16:28
|
|
|
Mush Mushi posted:I am on my way to a certain team-buildin, flash mobin, disney world celebration right now. This may be a long shot but are any of you goons going to be there? Oh god have fun. I hope they changed it because in 2011 it was an awful grind. Not a fan of having every second of a 16hr day planned for me but hey they paid for it. Just lay off the booze!
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2013 16:57
|
|
|
abagofcheetos posted:Do you want to go hog wild into public accounting, or are you looking for industry positions? And what is your age, and does the school you got your BA from offer accounting/are you even near that school anymore? Sorry for the delay in my reply, it's been a busy week. 1) I think I'm looking for an industry position, but I'm not positive yet. 2) 31 3) They do, but I'm 60-90 minutes away depending on traffic. It can be 2+ hours with bad weather. Moving back is not really an option. Edit: And they do not offer an online program. TheBoyBlunder fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Aug 15, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 15, 2013 00:37
|
|
|
TheBoyBlunder posted:Sorry for the delay in my reply, it's been a busy week. 1) I think I'm looking for an industry position, but I'm not positive yet. 2) 31 3) They do, but I'm 60-90 minutes away depending on traffic. It can be 2+ hours with bad weather. Moving back is not really an option. Edit: And they do not offer an online program. Okay. This is geared for public accounting, but I will share with you my tried and tested (sample size: 1) "How to go Back to School for Accounting and Get Hired by the Big 4" strategy. Industry would work pretty much the same way, at least industry at a large corporation (smaller ones probably would be cool with an associates, but honestly I don't even know). The fact your old school is far away is problematic, because going back there would shave off 1-1.5 years of the time to get a bachelors, if your school would allow you to use previous credits for the gen ed crap. If you can find another school that will take those credits, just as good. The key to going back is you want to position yourself to get on the recruiting track that "normal" bachelors students experience. Public accounting, and some industry accounting, all have a pretty rigid recruiting schedule, with different programs for different summers during your 4 years. Lets say you go back, and have 2.5 semesters of school to get your bachelors. This will position you for the summer of your sophomore year being your first program summer. A lot of firms have silly experience programs for this summer, where you basically visit their offices for a couple days, network, blah blah blah. They are really stupid events, BUT look fantastic on a resume for potential internships. In fact, many of them lead directly to an internship offer. Here is a link to an example of one with a smaller regional public accounting firm. A couple issues: you probably won't have many classes under your belt to have on a resume for one of these things. Accounting firms really like GPA. The other issue is that they generally do the recruiting in the early spring, if not previous fall. So it might take a little luck to get into one of these programs, especially a top tier one (I'm sure Big 4 recruits in the fall). BUT! Any program looks good on your resume. I personally ended up doing my program with a very small firm and every single recruiter the next year spent a lot of time talking to me about the experience. Try to get in on any program you can. Oh, and at the very freaking least join one of your schools accounting professional organizations. It doesn't matter which one, Ascend, BAP, whatever. Join one and participate. It looks great on your resume and is a super easy way to network with both students but recruiters. So that is summer sophomore - the experience program (or programs, if you can swing it). The fall of your junior year is when recruiting gets serious: internship recruiting. Most firms do their recruiting for the junior-senior summer in the fall, often in the very first weeks. I could probably talk at length about this alone for a returning student, but long story short your age won't be a hindrance, and will probably actually be a bonus, to any interviewer. You can easily come off as far more interested and informed than the idiot undergrads you will be interviewing against. You might have to work harder to impress Big 4 (because they are looking for robots/bodies to chew up, not necessarily great employees), but in my office there is a ~35 year old that was hired a couple years ago, so it probably won't matter. Anyway, again the key here is to get an internship, any internship. Internships, if you don't do something idiotic like sexually harass a partner, pretty much always lead to job offers. Yes, you will have a job offer before you are a senior. Yes, it is amazing. Even if they don't give you an offer for some reason, you at least have it on your resume for the following fall recruiting for jobs. Getting a masters of accounting is another possibility: if you start this fall you could possibly bang out all the required accounting courses in order to get enrolled for next fall's masters class. It will be expensive though, and the recruiting won't be quite as easy of a process (you probably won't be able to get an internship, meaning you will have to apply for a job afterwards). It is late in the year to probably have this work, but this would be the ideal schedule: Fall '13: Classes Spring '13: Find a experience program Summer '14: Participate in experience program Fall '14: Get recruited for internship Spring or summer '15: Complete internship, get job Fall '15-Spring '16: *smug* your way through senior year Summer '16: CPA exam (if you go that route) Fall '16: Start job (public accounting you usually start late in the year) Sorry for so many words.
|
|
#
?
Aug 15, 2013 04:08
|
|
|
Last day of my internship today. In a week here I'll be starting my masters program and teaching what is roughly equivalent to an undergrad accounting lab, though it's a bit more involved than that. It's exciting but kind of scary since I've never done anything like directing a class for several hours a week on my own, especially since it's a weed out class that destroys so many non-accounting business undergrads. I'm signing up for my CPA now and basically this next year is going to be nuts. My severance bonus from my internship was a case of beer and a $75 gift certificate for Total Wine. It was pretty thoughtful of them to get something I'd actually use.
|
|
#
?
Aug 15, 2013 04:34
|
|
|
Mush Mushi posted:I am on my way to a certain team-buildin, flash mobin, disney world celebration right now. This may be a long shot but are any of you goons going to be there? Hopefully you weren't the dude who puked on a Partner's shoes and ran off, but if your flight was on Sunday I'm assuming you're San Fran/San Jose office? Those San Jose kids asked a lot of questions.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 02:42
|
|
|
Had an interview with EY. They said they'd contact me within two weeks to let me know what their decision is. I've had friends that got callbacks on their way home from the interview with offers, albeit from smaller offices. Is this a rejection? If so, I'm a little bummed, because I thought I really connected with the recruiter (had an interview with recruiter and manager), while manager interview was so-so. What's my process now? Just get on the big 4 websites and apply for every job that exists in 2013? Or go to my school's (graduated with a Master's) Meet the Firms event and try not to look so desperate.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 07:53
|
|
|
Big 4 callbacks are a little more strict, some schools won't even let them call you until after a certain date so that you can decide between all of them rather than just pick the first one. I wouldn't worry about it quite yet. If it didn't work out, Meet The Firms is a great place to get back recruiting as many firms will still have open positions. Just keep an open mind, your offer may come from a smaller firm.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 17:11
|
|
|
Don Markstein posted:Had an interview with EY. They said they'd contact me within two weeks to let me know what their decision is. I've had friends that got callbacks on their way home from the interview with offers, albeit from smaller offices. Is this a rejection? If so, I'm a little bummed, because I thought I really connected with the recruiter (had an interview with recruiter and manager), while manager interview was so-so. Back when I had interviews, I didn't get a callback until a week or so after. I knew some people that got an immediate callback with an offer after the interview too, but in some cases it was because people had other offers outstanding. So don't worry about it and continue your job hunting efforts.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 17:30
|
|
|
Democratic Pirate posted:Hopefully you weren't the dude who puked on a Partner's shoes and ran off, but if your flight was on Sunday I'm assuming you're San Fran/San Jose office? Haha! I knew there had to be someone. Yeah I am in the Bay Area. Did you witness that puking incident? I was actually surprised at the amount of partying going on. We all just received the offer that we've been working for years to get, and the only requirement for the program was "don't be a dumbass." Yet, I would hear people in the room next to me talking about the best way to conceal their handle of vodka from the partners like they were the chaperones on a high school band trip. I had a lot of fun though. I was impressed by the resources and planning it must take to pull that off for four waves.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 20:30
|
|
|
Mush Mushi posted:Haha! I knew there had to be someone. Yeah I am in the Bay Area. Did you witness that puking incident? I was at DU this summer and it was like a freaking frat party. It was awfully embarrassing.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 21:58
|
|
|
It's not surprising. Any company party I've ever been to that served alcohol had the accountants and sales people wasted before any other groups. And it wasn't because they were lightweights.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 22:37
|
|
|
Mush Mushi posted:Haha! I knew there had to be someone. Yeah I am in the Bay Area. Did you witness that puking incident? Nice, I had three SF people on my team that were all pretty cool. I didn't see anything too crazy since I never made it past the bar at the hotel and out to downtown or the boardwalk. I accepted my offer last december (Risk Assurance internship last fall semester) so I got all my partying out of the way already, plus I spent last weekend drinking heavily to make up for not going too hard in Orlando. It was funny talking to the partners about partying though. All one of them wanted to do was grab a case of beer, go sit on the pier, and split it with his team. He was pretty mad that "the one or two idiots" every year kept ruining his ability to do that.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 22:53
|
|
|
abagofcheetos posted:I was at DU this summer and it was like a freaking frat party. It was awfully embarrassing. DU is always a frat party. I look forward to DU every year to spend $200 at the Barn.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 01:23
|
|
|
Mush Mushi posted:I am on my way to a certain team-buildin, flash mobin, disney world celebration right now. This may be a long shot but are any of you goons going to be there? By now you're long gone from Disney and hopefully you didn't get drunk enough to lose your full-time offer. Back when I was an intern 5-6 years ago the Partner who gave me my offer just told me not to be "the guy who throws a deck chair into the pool." It's pretty hard to lose an offer (or to even not get an offer) from the Firm I'm certain you were with, so I hope you still managed to have fun. I'm just thankful that flash mobs weren't a thing when I went to Disney -- everything I've heard about the "mandatory" flash mob sounds terrible. I used to see summer interns practicing the flash mob dance in the office... it was slightly entertaining.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 08:17
|
|
|
I honestly can't believe all the big four pampering. I had an intern this summer who told me she got an offer last summer from PwC I think for being there something like 8 weeks total working tax but spending half the time playing "team building" games and retarded Disney stuff. I don't know how you can be properly evaluated during all that. I get it that it's a pr move to encourage these young kids to talk up the firm and hide the reality of the job but I'd be hesitant to hire any junior Associate that came out of a Big 4 recently now since it says up front that work didn't turn out to be playtime for them.
|
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 12:55
|
|
|
got dat wmd posted:I honestly can't believe all the big four pampering. I had an intern this summer who told me she got an offer last summer from PwC I think for being there something like 8 weeks total working tax but spending half the time playing "team building" games and retarded Disney stuff. I don't know how you can be properly evaluated during all that. You get really pampered as a summer intern. Also I constantly hear stories about interns that are terrible and don't really contribute, yet still receiving full-time offers.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 17:01
|
|
|
Yeah getting a big 4internship is kinda just like putting on your résumé that you can put yourself together for a few events and not come off as a total idiot. It's pretty meaningless, though its still better than no internship at all.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 17:16
|
|
|
That would be true if it was just an internship, but the fact that those are almost guaranteed hires after so little practical experience is mind numbing to me. I had to work my rear end off back when it was the Big 6 to secure full time employment at a smaller firm, it's pretty much unbelievable to me that merely being picked from the pool with no previous accounting experience, let alone work/life experiences guarantees you a $60k+ job in two years when you graduate.
|
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 17:23
|
|
|
I'm not disagreeing with you, I just think that the hard work goes into securing the internship rather than securing the full time job these days. The internship itself is cake, but it's pretty competitive to get the internship in the first place. When I was recruiting for my internship I went to recruiting events every single night for 3 months. Granted that's probably overkill but I'm just sayin', the real work goes into getting the internship. Also I've seen plenty of interns gently caress things up and go on to get hired. I'm also senioring on projects with 3rd year associates (I started 9 months ago). There's a lot of dumb people in this profession and I don't think it has anything to do with how hard you worked to get your job.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 17:52
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 11, 2024 10:54 |
|
|
I've only been in public accounting for less than a year, but my impression of interns and the entry-level hiring process seems mostly based on how well people like you or can stomach being around you for 11+ hour days on end.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 18:11
|
|
