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PatMarshall posted:PwC? I recognize that bonus structure lol. I left B4 2 years ago to return to a midsize firm, its cool in some ways since I have a realistic shot at partner in the next 2 years, but I miss the sophisticated clients. I get a lot more facetime with clients, but now I'm trying to build a practice and business case and the stress is real. COVID ain't helping. Figured it might be obvious lmao. And you don’t have to be smart at all to get a CPA and work in public accounting. In fact I often feel fairly dumb for having done so. e: when I was an intern I sat next to this manager who had a sage piece of wisdom: accounting is a trade, as much as people want to treat it as an academic subject. there’s no Harvard accounting school. We have people sitting in Bangalore who figure out how to do taxes, you have the advantage of living in the same country as the taxes, anyone can do this poo poo. Hurt Whitey Maybe fucked around with this message at 14:15 on Jan 17, 2021 |
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Jan 17, 2021 14:12
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True, to an extent. The people in Bangalore are generally chartered accountants and quite smart in their own right. I'm a lawyer, so I think of tax primarily as law. Its how I justify the LLM to myself haha.
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Jan 17, 2021 19:02
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PatMarshall posted:True, to an extent. The people in Bangalore are generally chartered accountants and quite smart in their own right. I'm a lawyer, so I think of tax primarily as law. Its how I justify the LLM to myself haha. Oh absolutely not taking away from my Indian colleagues, I’m endlessly impressed they can do US tax. Like try to name a single feature of the Indian tax system or imagine preparing Karnataka income tax forms and you’ll see my point.
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Jan 17, 2021 20:50
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Hey y'all, just dropped in to say gently caress PPP LOAN APPLICATIONS Happy New Year!
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Jan 19, 2021 20:20
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black.lion posted:Hey y'all, just dropped in to say Is there something going on with the second round? People were asking me to work late and freaking out. I even told one guy to relax. The PPP didn't run out the first time and had a lot of left over funds. I had people apply on the last day successfully. Why is everyone so scared? Did something happen?
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Jan 20, 2021 02:22
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A lot of my clients are seriously small small businesses (like <$100k gross a year) and a lot are body workers (PTs, massage therapists, etc etc) so they're all super thirsty for the free money This round you're only eligible if you can show a drop in gross receipts >25% in a single comparable quarter (or comparing annually) So I have a thousand disorganized clients asking if they qualify for PPP and they all feel they need to know right now and that should come before all the payroll filings + 1099s we have to do in the next 10 days, and also can we fill the app out for them, and also can we do the forgiveness app for the first PPP they still haven't done Many of these clients only give us their gross receipts once a year for their return, but try telling them we don't have their quarterly income lmao "BUT I SEND YOU MY NUMBERS EVERY YEAR" Also iirc the PPP did run out for the first round until the Fed dumped more cash into the pot & changed the rules; a lot of these clients remember the funds running out before they got replenished so they're functioning on the assumption this will run out also. I love my clients but I wish they could just smoke some weed and chill tf out I guess, idk tax season blech I'm also studying for FAR rn so it's possible I'm just cranky and feeling overwhelmed
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Jan 21, 2021 19:25
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FAR sucks PPP sucks accounting sucks.
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Jan 21, 2021 20:55
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Hellblazer187 posted:FAR sucks PPP sucks accounting sucks. 
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Jan 21, 2021 21:27
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Hellblazer187 posted:FAR sucks PPP sucks accounting sucks. This statement is true and fair
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Jan 21, 2021 22:25
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black.lion posted:A lot of my clients are seriously small small businesses (like <$100k gross a year) and a lot are body workers (PTs, massage therapists, etc etc) so they're all super thirsty for the free money Hi yes, are you me? Cause I'm in the same boat with clients bugging me about whether they qualify and can I do the application and forgiveness for them pretty please. As if I don't have a billion things to do before tax season gets into full swing.
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Jan 21, 2021 23:01
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I think one of the most annoying things about the PPP is that every drat bank has to have their own dumbass portal to do the applications on, so you have to learn a dozen different ways to apply for the loans/forgiveness. Very few banks around here will just accept the application forms.
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Jan 22, 2021 02:33
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this is why I like having private equity clients who decided it would look unseemly to take PPP loans with a few billion AUM. Also, anyone ever work at the US PE group at EY in London? Recruiter messaged me on LinkedIn and now I got a call tomorrow to talk it over. Basically the same job I have now, but in London, which could be sick.
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Jan 22, 2021 02:56
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Dear Annoying Client, This letter is to inform you that your fee will be increased this year from $475 to $15,000. Also our payment terms have changed. We accept payment in cash only, deliverable personally by you to the summit of Mt. Everest.
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Jan 22, 2021 20:50
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Hurt Whitey Maybe posted:this is why I like having private equity clients who decided it would look unseemly to take PPP loans with a few billion AUM. That sounds cool, assuming they pay enough so you can afford to live in London! Closest I came was third round interviews for a similar position in Hong Kong with KPMG, but I asked for too much money and they went away.
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Jan 22, 2021 22:21
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PatMarshall posted:That sounds cool, assuming they pay enough so you can afford to live in London! Closest I came was third round interviews for a similar position in Hong Kong with KPMG, but I asked for too much money and they went away. I actually talked to the recruiter today and was a bit surprised to find out what the market in London was lower than what I assumed for US tax professionals. The guy was saying £60-80k ($80k-110k) for a manager, while I’m making $94k in Atlanta. Two months vacation sounds p dope though, and living in London sounds neat. Definitely gonna have to see how far £80k goes in London and figure out how to approach the salary negotiation.
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Jan 22, 2021 22:36
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Yeah, that seems low. I asked for 160k (this was three years ago), which was too much lol, but I wouldn't make that move for less than 120k, but again I don't really know the market in the UK.
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Jan 23, 2021 01:08
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That's really strange, because the fees in the UK are pretty high. I do US Expat taxes primarily and local firms in the UK will often charge like, a grand for a pretty simple 2555/1116 tax return.
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Jan 23, 2021 15:31
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PatMarshall posted:That sounds cool, assuming they pay enough so you can afford to live in London! Closest I came was third round interviews for a similar position in Hong Kong with KPMG, but I asked for too much money and they went away. How often does this kind of thing happen? I'm working on my CPA right now, but unfortunately I can't imagine that (even if I eventually theoretically get a job with a bigger multinational firm) there'd be much demand for Canadian tax professionals in most other countries. That is to say, I've been thinking about moving to another part of the world if I have my CPA by the time I'm 40 and have nothing tying me down here (I'm 34 now). Unfortunately, I assume that I'll still have to do enough legwork to find employment in another country and have the necessary qualifications (even with mutual agreements CPA Canada has). I was hoping we had more agreements with EU countries since I have EU citizenship, but unfortunately the only country other than Ireland is France, and only if you go through CPA Quebec (which I don't). I have no problem taking extra courses and working my way up. I just figured I'd ask because I've been entertaining this fantasy about living and working somewhere else. I figure it's an idea that'll have to come down to reality eventually, but on the other hand, Canadian real estate is absolutely insane and I can't see it being any worse establishing myself anywhere else (short of London or Hong Kong). I mentioned the possibility of being able to live and work in Ireland to my cousin that lives in London during a Christmas phone call, and he mailed me a CD of Irish Pub Songs a month later. Also, my first mandatory CPA PEP (post-prerequisites) online module starts this weekend, so wish me luck with all of that.
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Jan 26, 2021 22:24
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Historically Ireland was a lynchpin in global tax planning, mainly IP, and as a result there was a good amount of tax work in Dublin. BEPS, EU regulations, and US tax "reform" have changed this somewhat, but it may still be a good option. I am in international tax (US), and the position I was looking at was as a local US tax desk resource in Hong Kong. My role would have been to assist Hong Kong and Chinese clients with investments and business expansion into the US from China/Hong Kong. Big 4 firms maintain local country tax desks in NYC and a few other places, depending on local needs. This is very hard to get if you are not a manager or director at a big four firm locally to begin with. You probably need to find a niche or a 100% remote job to make it work. That said, I don't know what I don't know, so may be worth asking around on expat boards, etc.
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Jan 27, 2021 02:10
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mojo1701a posted:How often does this kind of thing happen? I'm working on my CPA right now, but unfortunately I can't imagine that (even if I eventually theoretically get a job with a bigger multinational firm) there'd be much demand for Canadian tax professionals in most other countries. If the Canadian tax market is anything like the US, recruiters will be up your rear end if you work for a sizable firm (Big 4, and the not quite Big 4 probably). I probably ignore a couple recruiter messages a week. Then one day out of the blue a recruiter contacted me about the opportunity in London, so I’ve been rolling with it and seeing what happens. I figure worst case the money isn’t as much as I want or they don’t want me and I still have my job anyway. Have an interview lined up for next week so hopefully that goes well. I would guess you are right that international demand for US tax is probably more than Canadian tax, but honestly I have no idea. In terms of “legwork”, that part has been easy since I’m being recruited. The recruiter just takes care of the “admin” side of things for me, and puts my resume on the top of the pile. This may be obvious stuff to someone who has worked with recruiting services before, but I continue to be impressed at how pleasant an experience it is compared to doing campus recruiting. Overall, get your credential, get a job with a prestigious firm if you can swing it, and make sure DMs are open on LinkedIn. If you can specialize in US tax or international/cross-border tax somehow that would probably also be beneficial, but no idea how you’d go about that in Canada. If I’m talking out my rear end, by all means correct me anyone, this is my first rodeo as an experienced tax professional on the job market.
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Jan 27, 2021 03:10
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Very true, once you get a few years of public (especially big 4) on your resume, you'll get a lot of attention from recruiters on Linkedin. They vary wildly in quality, but as long as you are interested in the positions they are pitching, its not a bad option. That said, if you just want to switch firms and stay in public, you can do it yourself without them pretty easily, I prefer to work with the in house HR people over recruiters, but both work. My reservations with recruiters is that they can give you the hard sell for whatever position they are trying to fill, regardless of your interest.
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Jan 27, 2021 04:28
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If you work for a large international firm, especially Big 4, you can work your way to an international/overseas office. It’ll take some politicking, willingness to hound the domestic partners/HR to drive the process forward, and knowing the firm has leverage on you until you get the assignment, but I know a fair number of American acquaintances across multiple firms that have been working in cool European cities for many years now.
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Jan 27, 2021 05:49
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Getting a transfer to another country within the same company is usually pretty hard unless you're a top performer and are really ready to push hard for it (like telling them you're moving to X country either way hard). They'll also make you sign something saying that you'll stay with the firm for X years or you'll forfeit relocation reimbursements. The number of years varies based on your level and the size of your relocation package. Also depending on which country you're moving from/to, you may get held back a year on promotions. My plan is to move to a different country and just remote work forever onward.
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Jan 27, 2021 06:28
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Has there been much of a move towards fully remote jobs in industry-side accounting globally? I was hoping there'd be more jobs coming up and a bit of a culture shift, but in New Zealand we haven't had many fully remote jobs that I've seen lately. Theres only been a few mid tier audit and small firm tax roles, which aren't that appealing and tend to pay quite poorly.
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Jan 27, 2021 07:09
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and thats the way it was posted:Has there been much of a move towards fully remote jobs in industry-side accounting globally? I’ve been full work from home for 9 months now and I’m getting recruiting emails that emphasize that the positions are 100% remote. Obviously the situation in the US is way different than NZ and I don’t know if the trend will outlast the virus but it’s definitely a real thing here
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Jan 27, 2021 07:16
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Thanks for the replies, everyone.PatMarshall posted:Historically Ireland was a lynchpin in global tax planning, mainly IP, and as a result there was a good amount of tax work in Dublin. BEPS, EU regulations, and US tax "reform" have changed this somewhat, but it may still be a good option. I only mentioned it because it's one of two European countries with which we have agreements, but the only one that is part of the EU, so I wouldn't have to worry about residency or anything (provided I can find out how to get a new Polish passport because my last one is from when I was a teenager and I have no idea how my mom proved citizenship for me). I have a friend who moved to London a number of years ago, married to a British citizen, but still has issues with residency and work permits (works in film & TV, so maybe that has its own problems). Australia and New Zealand also look nice, but I like the idea of cheap intracontinental flights for vacation. Hurt Whitey Maybe posted:If the Canadian tax market is anything like the US, recruiters will be up your rear end if you work for a sizable firm (Big 4, and the not quite Big 4 probably). I probably ignore a couple recruiter messages a week. Then one day out of the blue a recruiter contacted me about the opportunity in London, so I’ve been rolling with it and seeing what happens. I figure worst case the money isn’t as much as I want or they don’t want me and I still have my job anyway. Have an interview lined up for next week so hopefully that goes well. That is good to know, since I've already gotten a few offers on LinkedIn, and I'm in PEP (not sure how the US CPA works, but it's the post-prerequisite but pre-Common Final Exam stage) and only working with a small local public accounting firm. It's still my first proper full-time accounting job, and I've been here for almost 7 years now. I've had an eye for working with a bigger firm on Bay St. or thereabouts, but I figure I'll stick with my current firm for at least a year after I get my CPA, as I have no real interest in a potential partnership here, mostly because I still don't know what's out there (one of my first interviews right out of college was for a business valuation and litigation support firm, and I had no idea what that was at the time). Also a good idea nonetheless to get a US tax certification. We have a few clients we file 1040's for, but they're mostly non-residents that my boss uses his PTIN for. Good Citizen posted:Getting a transfer to another country within the same company is usually pretty hard unless you're a top performer and are really ready to push hard for it (like telling them you're moving to X country either way hard). They'll also make you sign something saying that you'll stay with the firm for X years or you'll forfeit relocation reimbursements. The number of years varies based on your level and the size of your relocation package. Also depending on which country you're moving from/to, you may get held back a year on promotions. That was kind of what I meant by legwork, insofar as I'd have to make the actual move myself instead of just applying internally with HR or something. Also, if I could just move anywhere else and do my job remotely, that'd be the dream, too. I visited an old high school friend who is now working as a doctor in Croatia back in September 2019, and I really enjoyed the feel there. He also runs some kind of small seaside hotel there, and the Facebook posts alone remind me of how nice it was. As it stands right now, there's no real effort to make my office more remote, even though we're under a stay-at-home order and my 5-person office is full most days of the week. The main partner I work for has set a retirement date of July 2022, so maybe that's why.
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Jan 27, 2021 16:16
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Pour one out for whoever writes the financial statements at GME and is searching around for someone else's stock price disclosure to plagiarize
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Feb 1, 2021 07:18
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Good Citizen posted:Pour one out for whoever writes the financial statements at GME and is searching around for someone else's stock price disclosure to plagiarize Nothing they write will ever be good enough. They just need to roll with the times and communicate via meme 
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Feb 1, 2021 07:40
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Hurt Whitey Maybe posted:. The market for US tax professionals is massively larger internationally. The only Canadian accountants I’ve seen make the jump internationally with any regularity were auditors at international firms and US tax professionals. I’ve looked at it myself (as a CDN tax guy w/ significant big 4 experience) and the only practical option was either an operational or supporting role within the tax group internationally at a firm I was at (think white papers or risk management for the practice) or switching to US tax. That said, if you’re in PEP now you can still transition to a larger firm. I saw people from BDO/GT making the move with regularity and those firms might be a better fit for a PEP candidate in their 30s.
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Feb 5, 2021 14:58
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Speaking of US tax professionals abroad, apparently my interview with EY London went well yesterday, and they want to do another round, this time with a partner. I’m guessing this is a good sign, and that unless I say “hmmm tax partners are all bad people” I should have a good shot.
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Feb 5, 2021 22:42
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I passed on a couple opportunities like that because I didn’t want to torpedo my relationship with my girlfriend at the time (who is now my fiancé so it was for the best). I do know someone who switched big 4 firms to make that exact move a few years ago and it worked out for them big time when they came back to the states. Good luck!
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Feb 6, 2021 00:11
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Mush Mushi posted:I passed on a couple opportunities like that because I didn’t want to torpedo my relationship with my girlfriend at the time (who is now my fiancé so it was for the best). I do know someone who switched big 4 firms to make that exact move a few years ago and it worked out for them big time when they came back to the states. Good luck! Thanks! Fortunately I’ve managed to torpedo my relationships on my own so as long as I can bring my cat (non-negotiable, I will unironically back out if for some reason I cannot bring my cat), I should be all good.
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Feb 6, 2021 01:23
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I have a full time US tax practice in Tokyo built on word of mouth. Pretty good market here.
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Feb 6, 2021 04:49
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Hurt Whitey Maybe posted:(non-negotiable, I will unironically back out if for some reason I cannot bring my cat)  sale on Banksy art posted:I have a full time US tax practice in Tokyo built on word of mouth. Pretty good market here. This sounds sorta fun, are most of your clients expats or...?
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Feb 6, 2021 22:40
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Everywhere in the world where a rich American could live needs a US Tax professional. Unlike other countries who leave their expats the gently caress alone, the United States taxes your income no matter where you are no matter how long you've been gone. The first two years out are tax free, but if you go all dances with wolves you gotta kick up to your motherland otherwise ~consequences~
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Feb 6, 2021 23:12
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KirbyKhan posted:Everywhere in the world where a rich American could live needs a US Tax professional. Unlike other countries who leave their expats the gently caress alone, the United States taxes your income no matter where you are no matter how long you've been gone. You have to file. With the FEIE and the FTC a big portion, a substantial majority, do not need to pay anything. There's absolutely no "first two years out are tax free" rule whatsoever.
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Feb 7, 2021 00:33
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black.lion posted:
People on expat packages usually have their taxes taken care of as part of their package. My clients are mostly long-term residents who have businesses here or dual nationals just trying to stay in compliance.
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Feb 7, 2021 05:02
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Hurt Whitey Maybe posted:Speaking of US tax professionals abroad, apparently my interview with EY London went well yesterday, and they want to do another round, this time with a partner. I’m guessing this is a good sign, and that unless I say “hmmm tax partners are all bad people” I should have a good shot. ime (actuarial) this is a vibe/culture/ambition check, they think you know what you’re doing so you just have to talk about it a bit more and show that you have some thoughts about the future. I’ve had success talking to these interviews like they’re my boss but I’m not sure that’s useful advice.
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Feb 7, 2021 09:35
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Hoshi posted:ime (actuarial) this is a vibe/culture/ambition check, they think you know what you’re doing so you just have to talk about it a bit more and show that you have some thoughts about the future. I’ve had success talking to these interviews like they’re my boss but I’m not sure that’s useful advice. Thanks. That kind of framing makes sense and definitely helps thinking about the next round. There were a lot of (kinda funny) questions where they were trying to figure out if I was qualified in the first interview. Like “do you know how to do foreign withholding?” and I was a bit stunned at how direct they were. Just needed to answer that with “yeah I do that all the time, I know Forms 1042, 8804, and 8288.” They’re explicitly trying to find people to do compliance, and I guess they probably get a lot of hot shot consulting types in international tax who don’t have as much experience doing straight compliance.
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Feb 7, 2021 13:52
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Congrats Hurt Whitey that's exciting!
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Feb 7, 2021 14:18
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