[Anonymous]

i am starting to feel that diversity is not appreciated in the world of accounting, aside from the big 4, i don’t think smaller firms even care. from what i’ve seen, probably 95% of firms i’ve interviewed with (probably about 20 different firms large and small) all promote a homogenous culture. every firm i see the same kind of half dead, robotic, soulless eyes and fragile, unathletic, unhealthy groups of accountants and i wonder what the hell. accounting is not an industry to be proud working in.

they hire people who they think they can manipulate into working longer hours and performing more work for less pay. they hire people who aren’t necessarily the best, but people they think they can use up and spit out if they feel like it. people who are friends of the current employees to promote yet an even further office of second-hand individuals who think they are special in life just because they can come to work and perform the work of a highly trained monkey.

accountants are not much but tools, implemented to carry out mechanical, lower-level tasks, and may receive a promotion in the future if they are well behaved. i am close to my boiling point, luckily i still plan on finishing this exam and more actively pursue my dreams of entrepreneurship which is already underway. this is exactly why the accounting industry flies under the radar and is not in the public spotlight, because they have unorthodox hiring practices and are unethical in nature.

sorry but as an active cpa candidate who has a substantial amount of relevant experience as well as operative business experience and a number of other accomplishments socially, academically, and professionally, i have seen much behind the scenes of a lot of firms to put the pieces together myself and expose what i’ve described here. i am not arrogant nor am i stressed out, accounting is and always will be a field for second hand individuals who are extremely sheltered and never could make much out of life except reading books and pursuing a career that would earn a higher average salary than others and in turn give the false impression that they are elite and a better human being.

of course there are a few exceptions to the norm, but very few. no need to counter my arguments here, more than likely if you feel the need, you probably have been offended that you fall into this category which has already been thoroughly verified by my own firsthand scientific reasoning and observations.

/end truth

[mla1169]

Yup I likes me the pretty ones!

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Mrs 300]

Drama ninja definitely has the day off.

REG - 80 (Becker only)
BEC - 76 (Becker only)
AUD - 71, 76 (Becker only)
FAR - 65, 74, 81! (Becker, Wiley Test Bank, Ninja notes & Audio)

CPA Class of 2012 🙂

[Anonymous]

Well then, I was a bit bored so reading this was a nice way to burn some time while I have the TV on in the background. A few thoughts:

1. Dum(b)guy_cpa – I certainly understand where you are coming from but there are certain ways of articulating yourself that will make people analyze your points instead of your delivery. Before you counter this by saying “this is exactly the type of fluffy politically correct bs that I'm talking about.” This is simply having the proper social intelligence to understand how to communicate with people. If you're condescending, you lose your point as soon as people start to annoyed. If you're empathetic, however, your points come across a lot better and people actually listen to what you're saying. You might want to work on that.

2. While I agree that sometimes accounting professionals make themselves out to be more than they are, I do have a problem with your generalization about the entire profession. The way you speak makes you seem like you're a newly retired 62+ professional who is providing advice at a college forum. The fact that you've only been in the professional workforce for < 1 year renders what you say unrealistic. You can try to sound like you're in a position to give advice but simply looking at your experience allows anyone with any type of cognitive reasoning to see that you're full of shit.

3. To Mrs300, mla1169, Kricket, etc. – Please don't judge us younger “kids” by this guy. I can tell from all of your posts that you have more common sense than sweeping generalizations so I'm not too worried. I'm 22 and about to start working full time at a Big 4 firm in September after interning there as well as having other various accounting type jobs. I understand that things aren't always going to be perfect and I also understand the importance of what can be learned by those with experience. It only drives me forward to make a great impact while I'm there. I can assure you that there are lots of others like me and our generation is certainly willing to work, especially in this economy. There's a reason this guy's username is what it is.

[tbstew]

The funny thing about this post is that when it dies off or is locked and the OP crawls back into his self-made gutter, we'll all continue to lead happy, productive lives.

AUD - 79
BEC - 88
REG - 87
FAR - 86 - Woot, all done!
Ethics - 100

[jeff]

Drama NINJA has been summoned.

[Anonymous]

lmao i read all of pg 1 of this thread and still have no clue what is going on, but dumbguy is hilarious.

– he said “null”

– random katy perry video (she's hot but no talent, like lots of stars on tv! omg don't even get me started on jessica alba…one of the prettiest face on tv but zero talent and zero personality)

– meowwww!!!

[mla1169]

Entourage no sweeping generalizations from me 🙂 I know people of ALL ages who are mature and people of all ages who are not. With that I will take my walker and go to bed.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[jeff]

I forget who the “rocket ship” poster is … Always timely though.

[Anonymous]

Entourage post >*

Oh, and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSb7mlz7Hag

[Elaine]

dumguy, if I were next to you I would give you a big hug. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with your first job but you are generalizing the whole profession and people in it with not-so-pretty words, and that's got to upset some of us! I'm 22 and just starting my accounting career so I'm not one to advise you on “the real world,” but I will just carefully say that your such attitude might not help with your future career. You do sound like a strong-willed entrepreneur though, so I wish you best of luck with that!

[Marivy22]

@dumguy,

3 things:

1. Remove that job from your resume and start from scratch. Bringing drama to the interviews will not help you at all.

2. Some times you have to suck it up – you might not agree with your teammates, with you manager, etc. but in the end you need $$$ to live.

3. Keep looking – once you remove that first job from your resume, and erase the whole drama from your brain (or at least do not bring it to your interviews) you will find a great opportunity. Positive energy brings positive things.

As I said on my previous post, you are going to find robots everywhere just move forward and keep doing your job with excellence and integrity. It will pay off.

Done 😉
Class of 2012!!!!
Lots of prayers and hard work....

[Anonymous]

Entourage –

“1. Dum(b)guy_cpa – This is simply having the proper social intelligence to understand how to communicate with people. If you're condescending, you lose your point as soon as people start to annoyed. If you're empathetic, however, your points come across a lot better and people actually listen to what you're saying. You might want to work on that.”

—This is a lie. For one thing, there is proper social intelligence in how to communicate with people, and then there is proper social intelligence in how to communicate with other accountants. Very much two separate things. Also, please feel free to look at my post history. On and off for probably a few months now, I've posted several positive and helpful pieces of advice, and rarely does it ever go acknowledged. Lol face it, some people just want a reason to point their finger at a bad guy because it makes them feel better.

Theres something seriously wrong if people only connect with other people because they are fun or nice to be around, disregarding any other factual/constructive information. It's the same thing if you are out with a group of friends and are pressured “here, have another shot!” and you say “sure why not, i'm having a good time!” when in reality you should probably get home and study. It's called social engineering, and the majority of people don't know how to rationalize without getting their irrational emotions involved. People need to stop relying so much on other people and find an even balance between work and play, and its a shame that I remember a few BAP members during my undergrad always cheating on exams that it became regular. They should all have been expelled, but they are now working for some large companies including the Big 4. I don't doubt that this happens at other schools as well. Sorry am I rambling?…lol

“2. While I agree that sometimes accounting professionals make themselves out to be more than they are, I do have a problem with your generalization about the entire profession. The way you speak makes you seem like you're a newly retired 62+ professional who is providing advice at a college forum.”

—I am trying hard not to think of the entire profession as such but in reality, from my undergrad experience, working at three different CPA firms, attending meetings, traveling to other states for training, and seeing pictures of other groups of accountants on facebook, I don't think I'm far off base. If you refer back to the original post, you can see that I “qualified my opinion” (<~~buzz word!) stating that there are a few exceptions to the norm.

Also it was my mistake to claim that I have such great accounting experience making it appear that I think I'm better than others. What I meant was that relatively speaking in regards to other recent college graduates, I do have a lot more experience, implying that I shouldn't have a problem finding a position elsewhere.

“3. Please don't judge us younger “kids” by this guy. I can assure you that there are lots of others like me and our generation is certainly willing to work, especially in this economy.”

—Lots of others like you, as in the same homogenous stereotypical accounting undergraduate, socially engineered in such a fashion with probably very little to no real world experience so you can be taken advantage of and manipulated in the workplace? Yea, you'll do just fine.

Lol again no need to take offense if it doesn't pertain to you, you can be perfectly happy and content working as an accountant, maybe these are the type of people you are accustomed to. Maybe you are just good at it and its what you want to do for the rest of your life. Good for you, I was suckered throughout the process of my undergraduate (and even interviewing with my previous firm) to have higher expectations working for an international public accounting firm. Why do you think they wine and dine you during an office visit? Have attractive HR personnel? Select certain staff to attend recruiting events? Show fake model accountants on their websites and advertisements? Go green? Endorse corporate responsibility and community involvement? While there may be some good intention and it gives employees the opportunity to help and participate, its all to promote a certain image to the outsider. And again that is why the accounting profession flies under the radar, because its fake and a promotional illusion for business purposes.

That is why the accounting field is so conservative. That is why you don't generally find a lot of diversity in the industry. And that is why students are made to believe that a career in accounting was the “right” choice and that they will make a lot of money after graduating. Selective information, they only tell you what they want you want to hear. Hmm, what is the turnover rate in the profession again? How many partners and upper managers are single or can't maintain a happy marriage?

I think for a lot of young people, their optimism and image of what their life would be like as an accountant is greatly changed after spending some time working in the real world. There are a lot of problems that need to be addressed that no one does because they don't want to stand out and lose their jobs. And I attribute it mainly to the fact that accountants are subtly socially engineered that way during school and jobs are given to those select, and not necessarily best qualified, type of candidates.

[Anonymous]

Now my waffles are cold 🙁

thank you Marivy for the feedback.

[jeff]

This thread isn't a discussion…it's a manifesto. I don't see any further purpose for it other than flaming/insulting.

I hope the OP has gathered some positive advice.

[Author]

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