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SiGmA_X posted:How slow are all of your various work computers/systems? Horrible. Mostly because there are 10,000 people trying to use the same servers.
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Oct 25, 2014 02:51
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I'm really glad I went into corporate accounting. I never would have had the chance to participate in setting my own layoff in motion in any other career.
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Oct 31, 2014 06:16
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Lemmi Caution posted:I'm really glad I went into corporate accounting. I never would have had the chance to participate in setting my own layoff in motion in any other career. Ralph Kramden would disagree. 
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Oct 31, 2014 12:31
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Waah. I recently started my Big 4 job. Is it normal to feel like you are just loving up for the first weeks until things become more routine? I was given a project with minimal guidance and while I understood the ultimate goal and the issues to be addressed, I had no idea what I was actually supposed to deliver, how detailed things should be, how much time I should actually spend researching vs. setting up a document to populate with information as it became available, etc... The sad part is, it wasn't really that hard. I feel like crap because I could have been far more effective with a 15 minute background on what was actually happening and where I should start. That lack of communication just killed me and I spent a day panicking about what to do (no one was around to help for a while). I guess I am fine with all of this so long as it is expected. Probably being too hard on myself.
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Nov 1, 2014 21:05
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Mush Mushi posted:Waah. I recently started my Big 4 job. This is every new project and every day pretty much. I'm a senior. Good luck.
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Nov 2, 2014 00:04
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Lemmi Caution posted:I'm really glad I went into corporate accounting. I never would have had the chance to participate in setting my own layoff in motion in any other career. I dunno man, you could have gone into a public practice and floundered, that seems to get things rolling.
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Nov 2, 2014 01:50
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Don't get me wrong. The experience left me so traumatized that the next time I see something similar I'll be a pro. 
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Nov 2, 2014 02:56
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but only after crying internally for 15 minutes.
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Nov 2, 2014 03:30
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Mush Mushi posted:Waah. I recently started my Big 4 job. Is it normal to feel like you are just loving up for the first weeks until things become more routine? I was given a project with minimal guidance and while I understood the ultimate goal and the issues to be addressed, I had no idea what I was actually supposed to deliver, how detailed things should be, how much time I should actually spend researching vs. setting up a document to populate with information as it became available, etc... The sad part is, it wasn't really that hard. I feel like crap because I could have been far more effective with a 15 minute background on what was actually happening and where I should start. That lack of communication just killed me and I spent a day panicking about what to do (no one was around to help for a while). I don't know if this applies, but generally the standard is "look at what they did last year and try to make it better, unless it's a first year client, then lol good luck." Don't just roll stuff forward, and make sure things didn't change and make the prior year information irrelevant, but it's better to have a base template to use as a jumping off point. I've been doing some key report testing lately, and the difference in the amount of time it took me to update the documentation around a key report we've tested for years vs. the time it took me to document a newly in-scope key report was hours*. *partly because I realized halfway through I was documenting it the wrong way 
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Nov 3, 2014 02:21
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I was going to send off the work experience form (California CPA) for my last job, but noticed the categories of employees listed are all people who have passed the exams or have had a license in the past. The actual form itself doesn't ask you to indicate which category you fall into, but do I have to wait until I pass all the exams to get this form signed off? I'm a little worried my management or the company itself might not be around by the time that happens.
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Nov 4, 2014 01:52
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Mush Mushi posted:Waah. I recently started my Big 4 job. Is it normal to feel like you are just loving up for the first weeks until things become more routine? I just started at a small firm, and it's pretty much the opposite of that. Everyone is super helpful and laidback. There's a lot of handholding. It's a bit annoying on some stuff (like "this is how you calculate FV") but it's mostly super chill and fun.
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Nov 4, 2014 14:12
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I'm moving from a grad tax position to...well...nothing at the moment. I'm sending in applications for analyst roles and Financial Accountant roles that I think I could handle, but for now it's looking like it might be a pretty poor summer 
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Nov 5, 2014 07:03
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Butt Wizard posted:I'm moving from a grad tax position to...well...nothing at the moment. I'm sending in applications for analyst roles and Financial Accountant roles that I think I could handle, but for now it's looking like it might be a pretty poor summer I'm applying for financial assistant positions where I can find them.
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Nov 5, 2014 22:26
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Pegged Lamb posted:I'm applying for financial assistant positions where I can find them.
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Nov 6, 2014 00:20
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I got my current job through a local recruiting firm that specializes in acct/finance staffing.
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Nov 6, 2014 02:45
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Butt Wizard posted:I'm moving from a grad tax position to...well...nothing at the moment. I'm sending in applications for analyst roles and Financial Accountant roles that I think I could handle, but for now it's looking like it might be a pretty poor summer Not judging, but is there a reason you missed the big fall recruiting season? It's probably too late for public as all the people my firm interviewed got offers or denials. And if you're in tax, you probably want public. The financial institution recruiting season is in the spring iirc, so you should probably get your poo poo together for that.
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Nov 6, 2014 03:53
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Bloody Queef posted:Not judging, but is there a reason you missed the big fall recruiting season? It's probably too late for public as all the people my firm interviewed got offers or denials. And if you're in tax, you probably want public. The financial institution recruiting season is in the spring iirc, so you should probably get your poo poo together for that. I've been working in a public CA firm full-time since early 2012, and it's just not my thing. I'm trying to find work in an NZICA recognised ATO so I sit my quals next year but I'm going to be cutting it kind of fine. Worst case scenario is doing some time outside an ATO and doing the exams and then having to find another job that is one to finish my pre-sign-off experience. It's a pretty rapidly-changing situation so I'm trying not to get too down about it at the moment. E: I should add, I hate tax. I can do it but time & cost thing is just something I'm not really able to deal with that well.
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Nov 6, 2014 05:12
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Butt Wizard posted:I've been working in a public CA firm full-time since early 2012, and it's just not my thing. I'm trying to find work in an NZICA recognised ATO so I sit my quals next year but I'm going to be cutting it kind of fine. Worst case scenario is doing some time outside an ATO and doing the exams and then having to find another job that is one to finish my pre-sign-off experience. It's a pretty rapidly-changing situation so I'm trying not to get too down about it at the moment. I thought from your post you were a fresh graduate. Butt Wizard posted:I've been working in a public CA firm full-time since early 2012, and it's just not my thing. I'm trying to find work in an NZICA recognised ATO so I sit my quals next year but I'm going to be cutting it kind of fine. Worst case scenario is doing some time outside an ATO and doing the exams and then having to find another job that is one to finish my pre-sign-off experience. It's a pretty rapidly-changing situation so I'm trying not to get too down about it at the moment.
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Nov 6, 2014 11:22
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Bloody Queef posted:I thought from your post you were a fresh graduate. Ah bugger. It's a weird position to be in - from what I can tell here most people either give up on public practice accounting within the first year or they see it through to get qualified and then leave once their bonding period ends. It's looking likely that I'll sit the professional exam next year though so that's something positive that's come out of all this.
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Nov 11, 2014 08:34
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Democratic Pirate posted:I don't know if this applies, but generally the standard is "look at what they did last year and try to make it better, unless it's a first year client, then lol good luck." Don't just roll stuff forward, and make sure things didn't change and make the prior year information irrelevant, but it's better to have a base template to use as a jumping off point. I've been doing some key report testing lately, and the difference in the amount of time it took me to update the documentation around a key report we've tested for years vs. the time it took me to document a newly in-scope key report was hours*. 12/31 roll forward erry day
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Nov 15, 2014 00:55
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posh spaz posted:I just started at a small firm, and it's pretty much the opposite of that. Everyone is super helpful and laidback. There's a lot of handholding. So I was wrong about that. Everyone was super cool for like a week. The second week they expected me to be able to work with their kludgy buggy Win95 proprietary software without making any mistakes, and without any further training. So, needless to say I no longer work there. Is it normal for people to get pissed for newbies making mistakes? None of these were critical, I thought, but maybe I was wrong. None of my numbers were wrong. It was stuff like using the wrong size post it note to flag files and updating their client management program. There were like 20 steps to take after receiving data from clients. They didn't have these steps written down anywhere. I made a checklist myself from feedback on the files I turned in, but there were a lot of decision-tree type tasks, like "if this, then do these 6 steps, but if this then do 1-4 plus these 4 other steps." So out of 20-30 steps total I would miss 1-2 on maybe half my files. I may have made more mistakes than that. The system they had seemed really convoluted so I'm not sure. So I guess my question is, am I actually an idiot that sucks at details and should give up on accounting, or did I just find a bad company? When I called the agency the first question they asked was "did you receive adequate training?" so I suspect this has happened before. I was hired to do reconciliation accounting, which is something I had done before in an industry position and not sucked at, but I hadn't even gotten to the point of doing that work when they decided my attention to detail was bullshit. posh spaz fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Nov 15, 2014 |
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Nov 15, 2014 16:56
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posh spaz posted:So I was wrong about that. Everyone was super cool for like a week. The second week they expected me to be able to work with their kludgy buggy Win95 proprietary software without making any mistakes, and without any further training. They filed by post it note size? Not even color? yeah its not you
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Nov 15, 2014 17:06
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Did you get let go or did you quit? Either way they seem crazy.
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Nov 15, 2014 17:08
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Pegged Lamb posted:They filed by post it note size? Not even color? yeah its not you The post-its were for flagging accordion files in boxes. The general work flow was: 1) Review client documents to figure out what data we need 2) Request data 3) Data comes in electronically 4) The 20-30 tasks to update their customer mgmt program 5) Print out all data 6) Flag the data with post-its and send to staff accountants 7) Staff accountants manually enter data from printed sheets 8) Accountants print off reports 9) Files go to admin where they were scanned and uploaded to the system (yes, including the data I printed off in step 5) I have no idea why they didn't have me just enter the relevant data into excel or whatever in step 5.
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Nov 15, 2014 17:13
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Bugamol posted:Did you get let go or did you quit? They forced the issue on Friday. I kind of agreed with them it wasn't a good fit, but I was also shocked since it wasn't a full 2 weeks into the job. I was struggling making any sense of the work flow for a few days before then. I had been talking to the VP about how they could improve their computer system and workflow, and he agreed with me, but the managing director had made the program so it was his baby, and the two owners had made the crazy hard copy / post-it system, so that was their baby. But also we just moved here from out of town so I would've stuck it out longer, at least long enough to cover moving expenses before I got fired/left.
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Nov 15, 2014 17:17
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posh spaz posted:Print out all data Yeah this workflow sounds dumb and crazy
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Nov 15, 2014 17:22
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I did call back one of the CPA firms that wanted to interview me, that I had previously declined. The guy laughed really hard and said he threw my resume in the garbage. But, he said I could come in for an interview Tuesday if I bring a hard copy.
posh spaz fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Nov 15, 2014 |
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Nov 15, 2014 17:51
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posh spaz posted:I had been talking to the VP about how they could improve their computer system and workflow, and he agreed with me, but the managing director had made the program so it was his baby, and the two owners had made the crazy hard copy / post-it system, so that was their baby. No company would take the suggestion of a one week on the job temp employee to make any change. You set yourself up as a troublemaker by doing that. On top of that, when a company has glaringly obvious workflow problems, you probably aren't the first to bring it up. In fact you are probably replacing the last person who brought up the same changes. You were there to do a simple (albeit convoluted and inefficient) job and that's it. It's rough, but efficient back offices don't make money. Back offices are cost centers that owners want to get the job done without noise. Ideas that are implemented come from managers or consultants, that's basically it. Really sucks that you had just moved, however working for a CPA firm would undoubtedly be a step up. Edit:resolved N.N. Ashe fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Nov 15, 2014 |
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Nov 15, 2014 18:57
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N.N. Ashe posted:Also you are posting privileged information on a public forum in anger, I think you're better than that. Is it privileged information if I was never asked not to divulge any of that information, nor actually ever sign an NDA?
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Nov 15, 2014 19:24
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posh spaz posted:Is it privileged information if I was never asked not to divulge any of that information, nor actually ever sign an NDA? Don't be a baby. With or without this, it's still unprofessional. Get that job at the CPA firm if it's still available and use this as a learning experience. Edit: On that note, I'm going into TAS in 2 weeks from now. You're all welcome to tell me what a horrible decision I just made.
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Nov 15, 2014 19:37
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Edit:Resolved
N.N. Ashe fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Nov 15, 2014 |
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Nov 15, 2014 19:52
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Aqualung posted:Don't be a baby. With or without this, it's still unprofessional. I was seriously asking, I wasn't trying to be flippant. I'll delete it, I apologize. Re this: N.N. Ashe posted:No company would take the suggestion of a one week on the job temp employee to make any change. You set yourself up as a troublemaker by doing that. On top of that, when a company has glaringly obvious workflow problems, you probably aren't the first to bring it up. In fact you are probably replacing the last person who brought up the same changes. About the first part, the VP was the one who pulled me aside and initiated the conversation about their system. He said he wasn't happy with how they were doing things and explained how he would do things differently. He asked what I thought about that, I agreed with him, and made some comments along the same lines as what he was suggesting. Was that some kind of trap? I think you're right about the second part. My impression was they've had a lot of churn recently, and one of the people who was doing the same job who had been there a bit longer was kinda dumb and couldn't even use a 10 key properly. The job was advertised and described as a higher-level job than back-office data entry, but I don't think they actually wanted someone at that level. Thanks for the feedback, everyone. The more I think about this situation the happier I am to be out of it. posh spaz fucked around with this message at 20:42 on Nov 15, 2014 |
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Nov 15, 2014 19:52
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Had an interview at the CPA firm today. The owner asked what happened at the last place. I really didn't want to say anything negative about them, but he kinda pressed me on it. I told him about the piles of paper files everywhere and he was like, "that sounds like a nightmare. You really don't want to work at a place like that." So I guess you guys were right about everything.
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Nov 18, 2014 22:52
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posh spaz posted:Had an interview at the CPA firm today. The owner asked what happened at the last place. I really didn't want to say anything negative about them, but he kinda pressed me on it. I told him about the piles of paper files everywhere and he was like, "that sounds like a nightmare. You really don't want to work at a place like that." Hey Spaz, I'm based in NZ too and have worked for two different small CA firms. I've taken an odd route towards getting my CA - I completed a diploma which would allow me to get my AT in 2011 and got a job for a small CA firm early 2012 for 3 months. This place was very relaxed about pretty much everything, unfortunately I was with them for a 3 month fixed term contract and after that one of the important people got hired by the biggest client so couldn't carry on there. Next place I went I was at for 5 months - this one was way stricter in terms of paperwork - every job had a massive ring binder which had like 15 sections in it for all different things, needed to create a new batch which was a new page every time new journal entries needed to be made and if one was entered wrong it needed a new batch to reverse and reenter. Doesn't sound as bad as your old one though. Would up getting let go from them because of "lack of growth" - I think it was more to do with one of the ladies there really just bullying me and my complaining to the boss about it. Anyway, since then I've got back to study to get a degree which will let me get my CA and just about finished it. Hopefully will get a much better role but I've dropped the ball in terms of applying to the big CA orgs so will either need to wait a year or go through another route. Just wanted to let you know there are other NZers here and that you'll be able to find a way better job than that previous one you had.
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Nov 19, 2014 02:46
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I'm actually not a kiwi. Maybe you confused me with butt wizard? In any case, thanks for the encouragement. I'm trying not to get discouraged. I have enough savings I'm not desperate yet, and I'm taking more accounting classes starting next month. I figure if I can't get the work experience I need now, I can just do the MAcc full-time, pass the CPA and then try to find a job as a staff accountant.
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Nov 19, 2014 15:50
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posh spaz posted:I'm actually not a kiwi. Maybe you confused me with butt wizard? What area are you in? You've missed out on the big 4 recruiting season, but regional firms seem to take in new hires sporadically throughout the year.
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Nov 20, 2014 17:14
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Bloody Queef posted:What area are you in? You've missed out on the big 4 recruiting season, but regional firms seem to take in new hires sporadically throughout the year. I just moved to CO. I actually just have an MBA - Finance right now. I need like 7 more classes before I can sit for the CPA exam, and 10 before I can get the cert, so I'll start working on that part-time next month. I did bookkeeping stuff when I ran a small retail business (A/P and A/R), and I did payroll accounting (reconciliation + fixing tax accrual accounts) at a big company for a bit. I got straight A's in my MBA program, and I'm generally good about reading stuff and figuring it out. But, I also have only done fairly low-level accounting, and I've only taken 3 specific accounting classes total. This has come up in interviews, and is maybe not a deal-breaker, but it's not great either. I'm looking for accounting assistant positions right now. I assumed the Big 4 would be way out of my league, with my experience and lack of qualifications, so I haven't even looked. I've honestly only applied to a dozen places so far. I got hired at one, had an interview at another and turned down an interview at a third place, since I took the job at the first place. So I think that's encouraging but I don't know. I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do short-term. I'm qualified for retail management, although long-term I think I want to do controlling. I just don't know if I should bother trying to find an entry-level accounting position now, or if I should just take any job and try again in a year or so once I've gotten more classes under my belt.
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Nov 20, 2014 17:41
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posh spaz posted:I just moved to CO. I actually just have an MBA - Finance right now. I need like 7 more classes before I can sit for the CPA exam, and 10 before I can get the cert, so I'll start working on that part-time next month. I wrote up a bigger effort post, but lost it in the awful app. So I'll summarize but apologize for being terse. With your exams passed and having all eligible credits Big 4 isn't unattainable, especially in a less competitive market like CO (I'm assuming Denver area) . Don't rule out the next size class down of firms. McGladrey, BDO and Grant Thornton. There also may be some fantastic regional firms, which are a little more understand of non traditional situations.
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Nov 20, 2014 18:43
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Well I just signed with one of the Big Four in California, to start in Fall 2015. I'm graduating from a non-California school, and I'm a little worried about meeting California's new education requirements for the CPA exam. I've completed the worksheet you can find online, and looked at the tipsheet, and I think I'll fulfill the new requirements, but I'd feel better about it if I someone more knowledgeable were to look everything over. Are there any resources I can contact to review my class history?
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Nov 23, 2014 13:19
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Your big 4 should have like a compliance/licensing department. Maybe your recruiter can point you in the right direction if you have questions.
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Nov 23, 2014 13:27
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