[Anonymous]

I am going to graduate very soon and i never had to take a non profit accounting course. I’ve been looking and interviewing for jobs and recently I interviewed with a firm that strictly caters to the non profit industry. Its not an auditing position but all the staff there have to go to clients offices as a team and work there instead of having a desk at a permanent office. Now, is it the norm in the non profit accounting industry to travelling all the time?

What are pros and cons of working in the non profit accounting other than not having a permanent office?
Is it a good place to gain experience for a recent graduate?
If i end up getting the job, is it going to hurt my chances in the future to move to a position with a firm that deals with for profit clients?
Lastly I hear people saying nfp is boring, can you tell what they mean by that?

I would really appreciate your insights. Thanks in advance for your input.

[Anonymous]

I have over 5 years of audit/tax experience working with clients in several industries. I list about 4-5 different industries on my resume/cover letter and even though NFP is just one of them, it has come up more often than not with recruiters/potential employers like I wouldn't be good enough for a commercial audit position.

Which is ridiculous in my opinion. There are many transferrable skills you can gain from working with NFP. And it would take a special kind of person not to be able to become proficient in more than one industry.

With that said, if you want to pursue a future in the NFP world, or even a mid-market CPA firm that has a lot of NFP clients, it can work to your benefit. But if you apply to Big 4 or other commercial and industry positions, regardless of how much experience you have on your resume, if you have NFP on your resume they will question you about your ability to perform in a commercial position.

It's dumb, but what can ya do.

[Anonymous]

@BrickellCPA @BrickellCPA Thanks a ton. Yeah its unfortunate for long term career since this looks like the only offer i might get. However, do you think NFP experience can help getting into accounting for local/state/fed government agencies in any way or do they also look down on NFP?

[Missy]

Thing is when it comes to job searching it's about where you rank against a few dozen other candidates. Just because you're qualified to do a job doesn't mean you're the MOST qualified candidate they have. So if you're applying to a FP job with NFP experience, but they've got a dozen other resumes with experience in their industry they're likely to lean towards candidates from their industry. I've literally been told that even though I have manufacturing experience it wasn't for a company that manufactured a similar enough product.

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

[Anonymous]

If you are a first or second year accountant, it wouldn't hurt to get the experience if it's the best opportunity you have at the moment. NFP and government accounting are both career paths that are said to have little growth opportunity. The standards are different, but CPA firms that do government engagements usually do a lot of NFPs as well.

You can definitely have a successful, rewarding career pursuing these industries if that's where your interest/passion is, but there is far greater earning potential in commercial opportunities.

If you start out in NFP and change your mind, you can always switch later on. Possibly go to a Big 4 Experienced role, as long as you have CPA and good references. But you'll be paid less and working under people younger than you. Not a big deal in my opinion, but some people wouldn't like that.

[Ivy]

Just browsed through some of the big 4 and public companies recruitment ads.

A lot public companies listed big 4 experience a plus, even the big 4 prefer a previous big 4 experience. Now I see why so many accountants want get into the big 4.

What is the chance one able to use the big 4 work experience in a different situation for a different business and in a different stage? The volume, depth, or just more zeros for the same field?
Don’t we all have the same accounting standard and ethic requirement to follow?

Then the other requirement: excellent verbal, written and presentation skill.

I know those skills are really important for entertainment industry, or for selling publications.
Accounting is in service industry. All the procedures, reports are predefined, even most sales talk are pre scripted. What to communicate with the boss or the client besides get it done as what I say or else?

I know I am just really jealous of those with a Big 4 experience and those who talks and writes well!

[Anonymous]

When you work for the Big 4 there are a variety of benefits, experiences, and opportunities that you would get compared to any other firm. First is the people. You would be working with highly driven and career-oriented professionals (both your co-workers, managers, and clients, etc.)

Also the nature of the accounting work will tend to be more complex. Instead of just smaller engagements where you might see SOME interesting things and complex transactions, it's nowhere near the exposure you would get compared to the Big 4.

Particularly, if you work for the Big 4, chances are you will have the opportunity to work on SEC clients which is really the experience and goal of obtaining this type of position. Many public companies that have SEC filing requirements tend to engage the Big 4 companies rather than the smaller ones. By working on these engagements, you get to a better idea of how internal controls effect the financial reporting process because of SOX and compliance reporting, etc. You get to learn more about other audit committee communications and reports that are required to be filed compared to smaller companies that might not be required to file certain reports.

Also if you want to become an executive/director, having the experience of working on SEC clients is important because you get a better understanding of the organizational structure and filing requirements necessary to contribute in the position and lead the company up to quality standards.

As for communication, this basically means they want people who are well socialized. Meaning they want you to be able to deal with stress, criticism, working in teams, managing employees, and having emotional intelligence. This is considered important because they are leadership qualities. Anyone can go into work and DO their job, but the idea is that high level positions do their best to seek and promote quality leaders.

[Author]

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