[Elaine]

Hi everyone!

I graduated university with an Econ degree last June and currently enrolled in an accounting certificate program to be a CPA candidate — I plan to start a review in July and take FAR at the end of August. I have been going to Big 4 and Midtier recruiting events and I’ve had great interaction with the recruiters. When I sent them a thank you email a few days later, they remembered me and told me to keep in touch until fall when the recruiting starts. A E&Y recruiter even said she would “find a way to get me in.” Also I got an interview from Rothstein Kass for an audit full-time staff.

I need lots of advice and information along my soon-embarking CPA journey and wanted to ask your opinion about my career path. My plan is to pass all four exams by early next year and during/after the exams, I want to get hired at a respected accounting company and be happy. I have been reading reviews and blogs about Big 4 auditing and the job sounds stressful and unfair. My friend, who worked at 2 of Big 4 firms, depicted his experience very negatively and said leaving his job was the best decision of his life. On the other hand, midtier jobs sound more satisfying and pleasant. I know it’s not so black and white, but it just got me thinking, “Do I want to be unhappy with what I do for 3-4 years in my mid 20’s where I could also be doing things in my youth?” “But I do want that Big 4 brandmark on my resume,” “The richer, the better,” etc.

I don’t exactly know what I want to be doing in 30-40 years, but I think choosing Big 4 or Midtier can possibly influence it in a major way. I want a happy, simple, affluent life (as all of you guys do!) and I do have ambition to work hard.

If I get an offer from Rothstein Kass, should I accept it, or wait until fall when bigger companies start recruiting? I also live at home and it’s not the best circumstance for me, so “get a job and move out asap” attitude could be weighing in my future decision too, but I think Rothstein Kass is a well-respected company with good company culture where I can be happy.

Just wanted to ask what you think, because you guys have more experience and knowledge you can maybe share? 🙂 Have a great day!!

[Anonymous]

Once you start talking about large regional, national, or global firms the differences become fairly minimal, particularly at the entry level. E&Y, Grant Thornton, Rothstein Kass, BKD, etc will all offer similar training and resources and have similar budget and time pressures. Whether a firm has 100 partners or 10,000 partners, at the end of the day, partner profit is the primary motivator. Either way, you will be working a ton of overtime as a staff auditor at any large firm and don't let recruiters lie about how their firm is different because they value and respect their employees or whatever nonsense they're selling now. If firms are talking about ice cream socials or free massages during busy seasons, that's because busy season is that horrible.

Your overall experience will be shaped more by the specific people in your office and the staffing levels and types of clients that office deals with than the firm itself. There is value in the prestige of Big 4 experience even if your actual experience isn't much different. Big4 will have more public clients, which introduce additional deadlines and reporting issues that you would deal with much less frequently, if at all, at a regional firm.

Honestly, take a Big 4 job if you can get one because if you're already worried about quality of life in public accounting, you're not going to last very long. You might as well put a couple hard years in and walk away with a brand name on your resume. It's going to be easier to get a job at Rothstein Kass after working at E&Y than vice versa.

[Elaine]

Thank you for your reply, drg. I'd like to start with Big 4 myself too, and I am wondering what you think about the recruiter's comment “I will find a way to get you in!” We had a great connection, and I am going to keep in touch with her until fall. I had similar interactions with PwC and KPMG.

[Anonymous]

Ultimately the recruiter's job is to get people that fall within the firm's recruiting guidelines in front of interviewers that actually make the hiring decision. If the recruiter really likes you, they might put your resume on top with a little handwritten note about how great you are so that the person pre-screening resumes for interview slots may be more likely to pick you. I wouldn't read much into what recruiters say since they generally have absolutely no say in the final hiring decisions.

[Elaine]

I see… okay. Thank you for your input, drg! I appreciate it!

[Author]

Replies