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Hellblazer187 posted:I did 4 internships in law school and have zero job prospects. So if one good non-gently caress up internship in accounting gives a really good shot at a job, that's a vast improvement. A joint CPA/JD is rare and quite sought after. I would recommend what a previous poster mentioned and consider steering your career to estate/trust issues. Interesting work, usually with interesting clients who might or might not do what you recommend - it's like playing the lottery!
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Nov 17, 2009 20:02
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Kinson posted:This is good advice. Estate/trust attorneys are a rare breed. The last tax seminar I went to had one as a speaker for 3 hours and I (and everyone else) found the topic to be very interesting.* Don't know about that, went to a few classes in late October and the speakers changed every two hours. You'd go from an awesome speaker to a complete snoozefest four times a day.
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Nov 18, 2009 19:24
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Kinson posted:Sounds about right. Worst part - seminar was in Vegas. Sweet, sweet Las Vegas waiving from out in the lobby.
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Nov 19, 2009 21:12
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Kinson posted:I hit a two day tax seminar in St Cloud, MN. Only left the hotel (which had the shittiest coffee ever) once to play a round of golf across the street. Was the worst course I've ever played on and they were aerating the greens to boot. Why did you go all the way to Vegas for class hours? Don't you live in Oregon? No cpe available nearer? Backstory: When my wife and I got married, I told her since she planned the wedding I get the 10 year anniversary. She said sure. I them informed her at ten years we would renew our vows in front of Elvis in Vegas. She laughed. Well, ten years was July 09, and bless her soul, she said find some CPE in vegas so we could write off some of our trip. And yes, Elvis was as awesome as you might imagine.
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Nov 22, 2009 00:16
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scribe jones posted:Any of you knuckleheads have experience with nonprofit accounting? I am working on this statement of financial position (i.e. bizarro balance sheet) and it is driving me batty. The way the template is set up is this: Most SFP will list the current surplus on another statement (sort of like the income statement), instead of putting it on the SFP (balance sheet).
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Dec 23, 2009 19:53
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scribe jones posted:Next quarter Aaaaand you'll look like someone who is a day late and a dollar short. The FASBs are now gone effective for statements 9/30/09 and later. Look up the accounting codification standard now if you want to be 
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Dec 24, 2009 18:47
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scribe jones posted:Well it's an exercise, and all the dates given are in 2007... owned much??? Owned much? How so? I see no date on your original post. Ah well, good luck when you start doing real work.
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Dec 26, 2009 08:30
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Hellblazer187 posted:edit: other possible career path would be to go solo as an accountant who can also provide some legal services (wills, trusts, etc.) although I'd have to be careful with the bar combining the two services. Mostly I just want to work for a company and make a salary though. You don't want to do legal work. The bar will jump all over you, and if you mess up and get sued, you're going to get cleaned out. Prosecutor: Do you have a law degree? Any formal training? Work for a law firm? You: No. I read a book and took a continuing ed class on it, though.
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Jan 18, 2010 21:13
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renholder posted:ah, ok. what kind of issues do you come up with fin 48 implementation at private companies? just curious Most private companies aren't dealing with the same kind of sophisticated tax structures (read: overseas trusts, variable interest entities, etc.) that are in a more "gray" area that some of the larger companies do. (Disclaimer: Some private companies do it as well, most do not). Circular 230 has dampened the "go for it and let the IRS figure it out" attitude at a lot of firms. Putting a FIN 48 disclosure on your financials is a wonderful roadmap to point the IRS to your audit risk areas. Hence, I make sure all our financials issued are FIN 48 free for our clients, and that has involved making them change their accounting in certain areas.
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Feb 5, 2010 02:48
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Brother Michael posted:so I have been told that a CPA and financial advisor (I guess a CFP?) team up is pretty common, what about a CPA and Lawyer team up? Depends on the state, some have ownership requirements (here in OR they relaxed the non-cpa owner rules a few years back). Besides that, you might want to separate the two for liability purposes.
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Mar 2, 2010 08:07
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hellboundburrito posted:There were 203 people in my intern class, and only one didn't get an offer. That person didn't get an offer because he allegedly sexually harassed a senior associate (it is said that he told her "drat, you white but you got a black rear end!") but he was still allowed to finish out his internship. Well, we accountants are not known for our people skills.
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Mar 7, 2010 20:09
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Run my own practice, 90 hours weeks are the norm until 4/15.
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Mar 10, 2010 02:25
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Mandalay posted:I hear there are goons in *this very thread* offering to help you for free! (I guess it's for the CPA experience requirement?) Meh, not so bad, I dork around eight months out of the year. I've already got one junior staff, don't need to train another.
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Mar 10, 2010 08:53
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scribe jones posted:As someone who feels the same way (I want to work in tax but I would muddle through if I were in audit instead), is there a better way to thread that needle with a recruiter? Or do you just have to go all in one way or the other? Just tell them that you want to work on whatever job you're applying for, and switch later. Easier to switch once you get your foot in the door. And most college kids tend to lean towards audit, since it's "sexier." Recruiter might if you'd be interested in tax at the time as well.
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Sep 7, 2010 20:52
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garythetard posted:If you go audit can you decide on any industry you want to specialize in or does it all just depend on what the firm needs at that time? Depends on who you suck up to and can tag along on their audit jobs. Small firms you will tend to audit everything (some local firms specialize, but not many). Large firms will tend to have niches, and the staff will lobby and politic heavily to get in on the "glamour jobs." (Nike, Microsoft, etc.) Find the niche you are interested in beforehand, and perhaps bring it up in the interview/hiring process. (Tip: if you're being interviewed, ask the interviewer [or wait until they bring it up] what niche they work in, and state THAT's the one you might like to get some exposure in as well). Then find the main manager/senior who audits a lot of those clients and see if you can get assigned to work with them. If they like you and you're easy to work with, they will fight to get you assigned to their audit schedule (tip #2 - this means being on time, proactive, quick learner, no whining, and bust your rear end to not get your time written down ["realization"] since it makes the senior/manager look great). If you find that the niche you're trying to get assigned to is not working, ask the manager (in a polite way) what you can do to get assigned to those. Don't be naive, though - you might just not be cut out to work on those jobs or with the currently assigned staff.
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Sep 8, 2010 17:57
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gmilo posted:My firm fits this description. However, it really depends on the firm. While Big4 experience is always sought after, smaller firms (and their smaller clients) typically give you more of an opportunity to work on every area of an audit from start to finish. All my coworkers who have quit have gotten good jobs. Don't get stuck in the mentality that its big 4 or bust. Seconding this. A well-trained 3-4th year staff will have more experience running engagements than a 3-4th year Big 4 staff, simply because you're allowed more engagement administration. Big 4 will work more with public companies, but unless you're doing international tax/trust work (at which point you might be a lawyer anyways), you're not necessarily going to be dealing with more complex issues. Big 4 is as sexy as it gets in the accounting world, but it's not required by any means.
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Oct 11, 2010 20:08
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gmilo posted:This is purely anecdotal but the only thing I've heard from tax lawyers or people who know tax lawyers is that the CPA is way worse than the bar exam. That being said, you can take it in parts which makes things significantly easier. You young whippersnappers have it easy. Back in my day, you had to take it all at once! Over two days! And write essays!
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Oct 28, 2010 16:57
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waar posted:how can I find out if that can count toward my experience requirement to become a CPA? Check with your state board of accountancy. Here in OR, you need to work under direct supervision of a CPA with five years' experience and get them to sign off.
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Nov 3, 2010 16:49
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alfaholic posted:
Wuss. 90-100 hours a week from 2/1 - 4/15.
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Nov 8, 2010 18:55
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scribe jones posted:3. hit Abbi with a brick and steal his practice. Sorry, I got enough staff as it is. I've been hit up twice this year by friends that were begging me to "go shopping" on their staff and take them off their hands before they did layoffs. Had to turn them down.
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Nov 10, 2010 17:39
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pocket pool posted:No I don't think she's really all that sure what she wants to do. If she likes the work but hates the travel, she could look at working for a local CPA firm. Now's the time to switch, since the audit schedule is starting to fill up.
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Nov 16, 2010 22:39
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Missing Donut posted:Rib, IIRC, there was an article about how the IRS has 24 databases to track PTINs and none of them tie together. They audited a bunch of the PTINs, and found the majority of tax preparers were using multiple PTINs to dodge computer tracking. The IRS is doing a good thing getting this done, however, making preparers will not increase the ethical preparation of tax returns. As a CPA, I need to attend a 4 hour ethics class every two years, but I don't leave there feeling like I'm a better tax preparer.
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Dec 1, 2010 17:55
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Missing Donut posted:I would have never thought about getting a second PTIN just to foil computer tracking. Then again, I would have thought that they did social security number linking on the old PTIN system... Come on, don't tell me you don't read accounting today. http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/IRS-Trouble-Tracking-Paid-Tax-Preparers-51089-1.html
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Dec 1, 2010 23:22
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Missing Donut posted:I read Accounting Today, I just have forgotten Accounting 500 Days Ago Mind like a steel trap, baby.
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Dec 2, 2010 18:22
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Viriatha posted:I've read the entire thread and given the OP's original question the focus for accounting seems to be on having it as your main career and working for yourself or a firm of some sort. I have a related question. What are your options if you want to do this part time? There's always demand for "part time tax season temps," but these tend to be people that are already experienced in doing this. Not sure anyone would want to bother training you for this to be honest.
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Dec 10, 2010 19:02
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himurak posted:I'm finishing up with my BS in Accounting in a non-major school next year and that means it's time to start looking at the Grad school's available. I'm not concerned with the Big 4 nor with a top school and have already had internships on the Audit side of things, which I despised. CPA here - I'd steer towards the JD. A masters in tax isn't really all that helpful, and with a JD you have a lot more options available to you (either CPA firms or law firms). Masters in accounting locks you into a CPA firm.
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Feb 17, 2013 22:23
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ThirdPartyView posted:Yeah, I think this thread would probably disagree with that assessment. Unless you're doing pretty well at a T-14 law program, your odds of getting a solid job at a Big Law or even solid second tier firm goes down the shitter and if you end up going to a CPA firm with a JD, you might as well just bypass spending 3-4 years (depends if you do the LL.M. as well), ~$200,000 (or getting into that much debt, less maybe a paltry scholarship) and then having to spend another year passing the state bar by just doing an MS in Taxation (and saving a boatload of money). The average NPV of such a proposition simply doesn't make sense the vast majority of the time, IMO. I was considering him working at a business law firm, not at a CPA firm as a first choice. CPA first year pay sucks. If you don't want to attempt the law firm route, the masters would be a better option. I got the impression OP wanted more options.
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Feb 24, 2013 01:29
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Harry posted:Go to a bunch of firms and say "I have passed the CPA exam and am now looking for a job." This time of year you're going to be shown the door since we're all swamped. Try in the fall, or find firms that do a lot of muni audit work and ask in the summer.
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Feb 24, 2013 01:30
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SirPhoebos posted:I just started job hunting, so I'm far from discouraged yet. And yeah passing the exam felt like getting my wisdom teeth pulled at times, but it's done Trying to find a CPA firm job now in the middle of busy season with no experience will be an exercise in futility. Busy season is halfway done anyways. Don't get discouraged but recognize most firms won't do any hiring until the fall.
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Feb 26, 2013 17:03
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n4 posted:I have a BS in accounting and I've been out of school for about 7 years. I've been working a back office support accounting role (my title is Capital Markets Accountant) providing accounting support to the FX traders in a financial institution. I make a decent living and work slightly less than 40 hours a week. Running my own tax practice I'm not in the office 9-5, it's 7:00 am to 8:30 pm every day. You sure you want to get into this field?
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Mar 11, 2014 19:29
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n4 posted:I'm guessing that's not year round, but if it were my own practice, I'd be happy with longer hours. But since you have your own practice, do you need to work those hours? I assume you're not just scraping by and that you make good money with your own practice, but hypothetically couldn't you take on less clients and work less hours? Assume for this hypothetical you would be ok with making less money of course. It's my own practice, and financially I do fine. It's stressful though - you don't realize how much the partner "buffers" the client crap until you become the partner. During the summer it's pretty casual, we close at 4:00 and all day on fridays. But the OP was mentioning he didn't want to be tied to a desk, and as a tax CPA, you don't wander into the field much.
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Mar 12, 2014 00:24
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fuseshock posted:Cry in front of the partner, like me! (Because I took things out of context, well I'm not sure, but I couldn't hold back considering all the stuff I was doing) There's no crying in the office.
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Mar 13, 2014 18:22
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Michael Corleone posted:Hey guys, Call your board of accountancy and simply ask. Should be fine.
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Mar 19, 2014 15:57
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Harry posted:I believe all of them do. I've never heard of one caring unless you've been convicted of a financial crime or have a felony. It's the "ethics and integrity" part of the CPA license. "Conduct unbecoming a professional." Should be fine, otherwise you'd lose half the profession.
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Mar 20, 2014 02:40
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Democratic Pirate posted:Take extra time to double-check anything you are turning in for review for spelling errors and professionalism. It makes life easier for everyone. And never editorialize in your workpapers or notes. Assume an opposing lawyer will dig through your work at some point.
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Mar 30, 2014 22:35
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Mush Mushi posted:Would all of you working in public accounting agree that taking 4-6 months off between graduating and starting at my firm to pass the CPA exam and maybe even have some fun is a good thing? As a boss, this would not show a lot of ambition towards your career. But it might be a generational thing - I had a job lined up for graduation the year before.
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Apr 3, 2014 03:05
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Democratic Pirate posted:I can't imagine taking the CPA while working full time. I know people do it, but man that must suck. Take the time to get it done with no other distractions and then hopefully take a vacation or do nothing for a few weeks to recharge and get ready to start working. If you already have the option through HR you're good to go, plus you'll come in being able to bill CPA hours from the get go. Pansies. I had to sit through the old paper exams, all four sections at once.
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Apr 3, 2014 18:23
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Bloody Queef posted:Yeah, yeah. No shoes. Uphill both ways. It was nuts. It was one of the last years here in Oregon where you only needed 4 years of college, not 5, but you were grandfathered in under the old 4 year rules if you sat for the exam every year. So you had all the people that had been trying to pass for years (one guy was there for his 12th try) sitting at once. They held it at the Salem fairgrounds in one of the huge barns they used for the state fair. Something like 700 people all at once, and the building was all concrete so any noise just echoed throughout the entire place.
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Apr 3, 2014 19:21
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Mandalay posted:I'm guessing his hours are pretty high. Yeah, but junior staff aren't very productive anyways (no offense). It takes a couple years for the light bulb to turn on and then they get promoted up the food chain or they leave and you're stuck starting over.
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May 6, 2014 00:11
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rentilius posted:Audit is the terribly boring part of accounting. True. Coming from a guy who started out wanting to just audit and now runs a tax practice, the audit part of the job makes you a better tax preparer.
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May 21, 2014 19:36
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