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Hi I'm a undergrad student in accounting and I am really interested in helping small businesses thrive. I'm not exactly sure how to approach this though. Whenever I hear someone give advice on starting a business the person inevitably says "Always talk to good accountant." I want to be that accountant. Is anyone that guy? Can anyone give me advice on reaching that goal?
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Apr 13, 2010 03:21
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abagofcheetos posted:It is ok that I am going to be waiting until my junior year to do the whole recruiting and internship thing, right? I am in what would probably be described as a sophomore year now, but I'm not going to be attending full time until the fall - so my options now are somewhat limited. I know I will be missing out on summer leadership programs, but other than that, internships don't really happen till the summer of junior-senior year anyway, right? NO, check the dates for big4 internships soon because they interview semesters before. There are other accounting internships that you could do every other semester. Start doing them as soon as you can and you will have a much larger salary coming out than your peers. You still have to network. You still have to be involved in student organizations. Don't think your accounting degree is an automatic job. Internship mostly yes, degree no. Turkeybone posted:So I went to an accounting info session today.. the prof basically said that Intermediate I would be ultimately what helps me decided if this is the field for me or not. Thoughts? Intermediate I was basically where they rolled out the complex but logical accounting (lower cost or market, percentage of completion, stuff I've forgotten that wasn't that bad). If you liked accounting so far, this class is fun, but rigorous. Intermediate II was all about looking at bullshit financial engineering like AOCI, operating leases, PBOs [gently caress these], and stuff I've blocked out. If you've liked accounting so far, get prepared for something different. Turkeybone posted:Ok, point taken, but would you agree with the statement, "If I like intermediate i, I'll probably like a career in accounting" No. There is so much specialization in accounting that it doesn't come down to that. Do you like accounting so far? Intermediate one is just a more rigorous version of that. Is accounting about what you like but not exactly? Check out finance then. You probably need to take a course in it anyway. quote:(as much as one can like it, heh).
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Mar 30, 2012 15:41
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Hey what are some of the cheapest/easiest/quickest ways to go for some distance learning upper level accounting courses?
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Apr 2, 2012 13:00
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Gleefully surprised sounds about right. If it happens that just means more time to focus on actual business issues. Maybe accountants who only do tax are worried, but they still have a strong skill set for business, so I would imagine them being able to move into another position without too much issue.
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Apr 24, 2012 21:42
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MiTEG posted:I feel like this might be a dumb question, but can I list my current position as "accountant" on my resume? I'm not a CPA, but I work directly with the company controller and handle most of the accounting side of things. We have a bookkeeper that does almost all of the data entry and the controller spends most of her time determining who we pay, how much, and when. Pretty sure you're a staff accountant.
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May 12, 2012 22:29
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I'm guessing this is still the de facto accountant thread. We just picked up enterprise & advanced inventory yesterday (our inventory is a super bitch) and I am itching to find cool tech to put in place  I've been looking into automating some of our business process(getting hand written information converted then moved into quickbooks & storage, along with some contacting people for routine information) but I don't know where to really dig into some information. Can anyone recommend some good OCR for handwritting, programs that can be used for this, or any sort of guides/resources/experiences and stories that would help a fellow accountant escape some tedium?
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Jun 14, 2012 00:22
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Every time I read comments like this I have to wonder, with the audit industry being jam packed full of young inexperienced people who barely know what they are doing and working unmanageable hours, how much faith do y'all have in publicly traded company's financial statements?
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Oct 21, 2012 19:31
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Lots of points. 28 isn't too old I'd be more likely to go with a 28 versus younger for a low level role, better chance of you sticking around. Non profit bookkeeping (journalkeeping?) is super different than for profit, just as a heads up. Either way, find out what software programs companies in your area are using and train up and get certed, makes a big difference. From my understanding arts & non profits as far as career, generally use part time bookkeepers/ outsource, so you'd need multi clients or work for a firm to have it a career. Hope thats a bit helpful. Oh caveat this is based off American experience. N.N. Ashe fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Jan 4, 2013 |
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Jan 4, 2013 01:35
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KILLALLNERDS.EXE posted:Don't. Agreed. Given your experience, why would you want to go accounting, rather than management? Accounting hours and pay are generally worse than management. I would kill for a full time position with only okay pay where I worked only from 30~ hours. 1. Yeah it's pretty bad idea. Would you rather spend 30 hours working under someone you don't like or 50? 2. What Harry said, with the caveat that you really need to check with your state's licensing board for what exactly you need to sit and certify as a CPA. 3. Definitely given a 30 hour work week, even at a normal 40 its not too bad. 4. I've heard its no problem, though I don't know personally.
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Sep 16, 2014 16:19
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posh spaz posted:I'm trying to figure out which combination of courses I need to take to meet the CPA requirements. Here are Colorado's requirements according to NASBA: Did you go to university in CO? My university publishes a list of all counts that towards our state's req and specifically denotes if a class won't, so you may be able to check there. I mean my Intermediate I and Intermediate II were 3000 level courses and are fine for me, so it stands to reason. You could also find and read the rules to see what the intent was, but it may be better just to ask your university accounting adviser as they should at the very least have that info available for you.
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Sep 28, 2014 02:12
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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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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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Good Citizen posted:With comp sci + a CPA and some decent business writing skills you could probably jump to consulting if you wanted too Is anyone here already have these? It seems like a super great combo, however I've not heard many people actually having it.
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Nov 25, 2014 06:38
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Democratic Pirate posted:I have a MIS Master's degree and a CPA, went into a Big 4 job doing ITGCs and SSAE16 testing. Right now nothing I'm doing is super exciting or needs specific CPA or MIS knowledge, but it should get more interesting as my job responsibilities increase. It's an attractive combo to recruiters, but I haven't sat down and thought out any career options yet. A good amount of people leave to go do internal audit in industry, but that sounds deathly boring. Thanks for the reply! Any reason you went MIS instead of CS? I've been thinking about making the dive into one of those two masters, though I keep wavering on which would be better. Also how are your hours doing that?
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Nov 27, 2014 20:11
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Keisari posted:Hey guys I'm considering an accounting/financial management career and have a question: If you are specifically talking about dealing with the tax authorities, chances are you're talking about the IRS. Our good friends at the income tax thread would be able to give you more detailed info, as they are practicing and nice folk. Criminal penalties generally have to do with fraud, which precludes mistakes. For auditors it's slightly different. When I read about an auditor going to jail it is for insider trading. Did you know that information gathered during an audit is confidential and must not be used for investing decisions? Google any of the big accounting firms plus "insider trading" if you want more info. Yeah like Good Citizen is saying, you will invest about 0% of your thoughts into whether a mistake will land you in jail. Oh I might as well tack on this: If at any point your superiors are making you do something you think is illegal, leave as soon as you can. I mean you could check with legal counsel, but it's almost never worth the effort to stay. Edit: Also, consider careers that have better hours and higher payscales. N.N. Ashe fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Dec 5, 2014 |
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Dec 5, 2014 17:35
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CatfishClyde posted:Apologies if this comes up every few pages but I did not see it asked in the first several of the thread. Bachelors in accounting ain't required, it just helps re: cpa reqs and needed skills. Literally everyone is ill prepared to take the CPA exam, most people get a study course which is many dozens of hours long before taking the test. No clue on the hiring front if you lead with a AA though, seems strange because your masters should trump almost every hiring decision. Be 100% sure of the CPA reqs (as in get actual advising on it). In my state those business and accounting hours must be 3000 level or higher, which would rule out most community college courses. My only advice is to really think hard about this decision. There are fields with better pay and better hours.
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Jan 21, 2015 17:22
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100% Agree
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Jan 21, 2015 17:40
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Also, customer service generally gets overtime pay. Hands up, does anyone get any sort of overtime pay at all and does it get anywhere near time and a half? All I've ever gotten small bonuses and occasional gift cards. In many ways, it could be a step down for many years if you move to accounting.
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Jan 21, 2015 21:19
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Bloody Queef posted:Interesting, didn't know BDO paid OT. It sounds like it's a temporary solution to a staffing issue. Wonder what happens if that goes away. Staffing is an issue the entire industry is having, yet wages don't seem to be rising as quickly in response. Because accounting students will still go into blood pacts for the chance to work at a large accounting firm because of the half dozen reasons the recruiters say. I really wish accounting professors would talk more about the actual hours, lack of overtime pay, and attrition beyond 'public accounting isn't for everyone.' I had one professor that was like 'hey you could be like the whistleblower for enron and make lots of money making speeches.' Completely brushing under the rug all the terrible poo poo she had to go through and how she was a complete wreck for a year.
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Jan 24, 2015 03:55
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Holy f, all the upper level accounting and business courses required for my state's cpa (minus having the bach) can be done at the CC level for so little money. Wish I knew about this years ago.
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Apr 13, 2015 23:32
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Anyone ever think about fed/state? Money has gotta be less, but guarantee of 40 hours, and above at 1.5 has started to sound more appealing to me.
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Apr 30, 2015 22:31
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Internships or perish
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May 31, 2015 01:15
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