[Sophie712]

Hi

I am a big 4 tax manager.
I have worked for a big 4 accounting firm for 7 years and this big 4 has been all my career. After having conflicts with people, I decided to move to another big 4 firm. The reason why I chose another big 4 is because I didn’t have enough time to search for a job and I couldn’t see myself do another busy season with this big 4. Long story short, it has been 5days working at this new big 4 firm. I got an increase plus sign on bonus.

I had lunch with my client yesterday that I work with at the previous big 4 firm and he was shocked that I left and also wanted to offer me a job at his private equity firm. He said he will match my salary/bonus and both him and his CFO whom I’m also close to really want to hire me. The interview is set next week.

If I don’t blow this interview, I think I’m getting this job… I really want to try out the private sector but I’m so afraid that I will burn bridges with the current big 4. They will hate me for me leaving after 2 weeks of employment. (It will be 4weeks after giving them 2 weeks notice) 🙁

At the same time, I don’t want to pass up on this good opportunity either. I really like a controller and cfo.

What would you do? What’s the best way to go about it? Anyone has a similar experience?

[Missy]

There's lots of ways to do this without burning bridges. You can give 30 days notice which is generally much appreciated unless it's a deal breaker for your new job. But since your hiring was so recent they likely already have a short list of people who also applied to your position when they made you the offer to choose from.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[livealittle]

sounds like if this controller had known you were looking he/she would have offered earlier.

only you can decide what is best for you. since you are going from big 4 to private industry, I don't think it will be a problem. Be honest, offer as much of a notice as you feasibly can.

BEC - 8/8/16
REG - 66, 77
AUD - 81
FAR - 9/8/16

[Ryan – Just Another Dollar]

My bit of advice is always to look out for yourself first. You will always be more loyal to your company than they are to you, and to pass up an opportunity just because you feel guilty would be a mistake IMO. In the end, your relationship with the firm may or may not be harmed; it depends if they can understand that it's business, not personal.

B - 88 (2/16)
A - 84 (4/16)
R - 73 (6/16), 82(7/16)
F - 67 (1/16), 84(4/16)

Ethics - 93

Roger course & Ninja MCQ - HiYa!

[Anonymous]

It is great that you such a nice person who actually gives a hoot about others. However in this case you simply must go with the private equity client. They know you , you know them. You probably know their books and operation already. The money is the same ….and NO TAX SEASON!!??
Explain to the new Big 4 Firm what happened, it was just bad timing that found you in this position.
April 15 is only two months away though. If you are really worried about burning bridges, can you make a deal with the private equity employer to have him wait until April 20 ? That way you can finish your last tax season then leave totally clean.

[Anonymous]

I would explain to my client that leaving in the middle of busy season would generally be considered unethical because it can put the firm in a tough position. But, I would offer to discuss it with the firm to see if they would be able to accept a few weeks notice, especially since they just interviewed a pool of candidates. I think my client would respect the fact that I wanted to be ethical and not go back on my word. You might not want to give the impression that you will easily jump ship if another employer waves a good offer at you…

I would discuss it with my firm and see what their needs actually are. They might be fine with a couple weeks, or they might need someone to stay until April or May. Be honest and communicate with both parties. If the client really wants you and has known you for a long time, they probably won't care if you have to spend a few months finishing up your commitment to the firm.

Yes, you have to look out for yourself, but looking out for yourself includes keeping your integrity in tact.

[ruggercpa2b]

I totally disagree that leaving during busy season is considered unethical. People leave at all times of the year. Big 4 expects people to leave and they actually include that in their head count when they are hiring new staff. They always expect a certain percentage of people to leave each year.

To be honest, I highly doubt they will even let you stay if you put in your two weeks or offer 30 days' notice. They will probably tell you to go ahead leave since you are so new. Its not like you have been there for years and in staying you would help transition your replacement into that role.

I say put in your notice and be professional about it. And then ask them what you can do to help make the transition easier. As long as you are professional in handling your resignation I do not think you would be burning any bridges.

AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
BEC - 8/20/2016
REG - TBD
FAR - TBD

I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

[parvaluemethod]

OP, what was the nature of the “conflicts with people”? Always curious to know about workplace conflicts that become so irreconcilable that you feel you must leave.

[Anonymous]

To clarify, leaving during busy season is not unethical. Leaving during busy season without first discussing it with the firm, could be considered unethical. It depends on how you handle it.

Maybe this is old-school thinking, since I learned this from people who have been in public and recruiting for 15-30 years or more. I mean, a big portion of their experience was pre-internet, so times have changed. One person cautioned us in school that both leaving during busy season and accepting a job and then changing your mind for another offer were generally considered unethical and to be very careful how you handle it if you find yourself in this position. He was giving us advice as students but also giving a lecture on professional behavior and ethics. He was a PhD, a Big 4 partner, then partner at Grant Thornton, and he was a writer on some of COSO's publications. One of his focus areas was ethics and behavior, so he might have been more nit picky on ethics than what is necessary for most people.

I don't think he was the only person who had a problem with it though, because while I was working in public we had a few people who quit during busy season and some people called it a “slap in the face” or a “dick move” to do so. Alternatively, we had one audit supervisor quit during busy season after only a few weeks of being hired to accept a better offer; she discussed it with the partners and no one trashed her when she left. None of these people were allowed to work a 2 weeks notice, some offered and some didn't, but the partners said no, you can leave today.

My career services people always told us that recruiters do look at your dates of employment on your resume, and they do flag people that leave public during busy season – this was recruiting for staff to senior level positions in public. I've been on HR engagements to assist private companies in hiring for controller positions where I was instructed to immediately trash any resume that had someone leaving public during busy season. They also did not want to see a resume where the person changed jobs every year or two.

I'm sure the Big 4 is well equipped to move on with no problem, but I felt like it was worth mentioning what I've witnessed.

[Amortized and Energized]

If you hate industry are you really going to go back to Big4? My guess is you are going to enjoy industry way more than public, but obviously people always have different opinions. There are still 2 more Big4's if you decide to go back and honestly, I think you'll be astonished at how much more you learn and develop overall as you move to industry, because you are now involved on a transactional level instead of big picture only. My asst. controller and controller that I work with both came from Big4 and have both said it's such a different world on the other side of the audit wall and how much different it was being in industry compared to public. I myself never worked in public so I can't comment from firsthand experience. The point of that wasn't to say one side is better than the other rather, by spending time in industry and getting a base in the day to day, month to month operations, if you decide you want to go back to Big4 or just public in general, I think you will be a stronger and more qualified employee overall rather than if you never took the leap.

You may hate industry or you may love it. But in the end you will know how both sides of the accounting world operate and overall you will be ready for anything in the future. I wish I had started in public so I could say the same but I think it's a bit past that point for me as it'd be a huge paycut to bail and start at square 1 in public for me. Plus, I do enjoy the industry side of things.

FAR - Aug 2015 (58), Feb 2016 (81)
u
BEC - May 2016 (79)
AUD - Jul 2016
REG - Aug 2016

[Author]

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