[DZagt]

Started my new job at a firm in NYC last month. I must say this shit blows, lol. I work in the accounting services department and you just get thrown client after client and their nuances and whatnot. If I ask questions I get vaguee answers. The only training I get is when someone wants to dump something of their plates because they hate doing it.

My supervisor is pretty young he’s 31 and I’m 27 and you can kind of tell he’s trying to figure his role out. He constantly contradicts himself and can be super critical or really nice he’s so bipolar lol.

I’m not complaining just giving my opinion. I def think I made a mistake taking those exams just to deal with all this shit. I definitely think I made a mistake turning down another offer in private to go into public. I feel like I’m a financial waiter to the clients lol where you just have to put up with their shit. I think I’ll just stay until I fulfill my experience requirement and gtfo lol.

[Anonymous]

Interesting I am seeing a lot of these posts lately. I made a similar post about public accounting that was a bit more detailed a while ago and all the robot accountants had me crucified for sharing my opinion.

[NeedsA75]

Yea, I'll never mess with public. I have family that's worked in public (tax) for 30+ years and am not gonna subject myself to it. May not make as much money or have as good experience but I'm OK with that. Private all the way

[Ken]

Thanks for sharing, sounds like I will steer clear of that field all together. I don't like traveling, so auditing is out of the question and I don't enjoy REG or tax accounting, so I wonder if this CPA thing is for me. I want to go to work with the same hours, no crazy overtime, and not work with passive-aggressive corporate types.

To me it seems like the more education and certifications we earn, the more stress and aggravation we inherit. We try to block that stress and aggravation out of our minds with the dreams of more money and when that money comes I think to myself, what bad news at the office is coming my way with this extra money. More money does not come without more stress and responsibility, I think we can mostly agree on that one. However, I wonder if anyone reading this post reached a point where that job promotion or increase in pay was not worth it and you actually wanted to go back to your old job making $40,000 or $50,000 grand instead of the endless stress and overtime you might be swimming in now?

[Knight Rider]

Maybe there is just something in the air this busy season, that is pissing everyone off…It's nice to know Audit is not the only line getting $hit! I hate Audit so bad, I've been applying for jobs that only require a HS diploma. LOL!…I am trying not to throw the baby out w/the bath water, and conclude that public accounting sucks. I am thinking Audit just isn't for me. Maybe a different practice line would work for you. I feel your pain, though.

[rb2017]

I worked 4 tax seasons and the seasoned accountants would say, every single year, “this is the worst tax season to date. It's gotta be better next year.”
A couple years ago, a partner had a baby during busy season and was responding to emails an hour after giving birth. That's when I started thinking about where the firm's priorities were. I finally left public last year and took a decent pay cut and do not regret it at all.

[Anonymous]

I know a top ten firm that let an employee go due to a family emergency with a baby/pregnancy. He was with the firm at least 4-5 years too. Some companies and locations are much more cutthroat apparently compared to others. It's very interesting to read people's experiences that have it so easy. I'm convinced it has very little to do with competence or their ability to perform, but most likely they just got lucky to get a position at an easy-going location.

[Ken]

@brickell cpa I agree. It seems like a person can do all the research and investigation into what it's like working for a company and still feel like they're taking a big chance in accepting a job with them. I feel like I'm just taking a leap of faith that everything will work out and then after a few months I realize that this job is nothing like I thought it was going to be (usually worse than expected). Then it's too late b/c you just started at the job. I've met some of the most toxic, neurotic, and bullying type of people (both men & women) I've ever met once starting a new job. I didn't think co-workers in a single office can vary so much in mean-spiritedness or bullying versus completely kind and sympathetic.

Also, it's very common for a job description in a job classified advertisement to not be what you actually are doing once in established in the job. Employers like to sugar-coat what the job description is like just like potential job applicants like to sugar-coat their job qualifications and experiences when being interviewed or making a resume for that job. I guess the one good thing about having a CPA is that you're always demand somewhere and shouldn't be too hard to job-hop if you really don't enjoy the environment and people. That's why I'm getting a CPA, so I have the clout and knowledge to get hired fast somewhere else if I ever get caught in a super toxic company or office again.

[Ryan – Just Another Dollar]

It's true that many people don't consider what the firm culture is like before the interview stage. I knew what I was looking for and only applied to firms and positions I actually wanted to work for. I'll say I'm fortunate to work for a firm that doesn't want to ruin it's employees' lives. This is my first busy season in Tax, but I've only had a couple 60-hour weeks and the overall morale is still very high all around. The managers delegate work fairly and set realistic expectations for turnaround. I also try to remind myself how hard I worked to pass the CPA exam and to get this job. It's really all about the attitude you carry into everything you do.

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]

@mobfn

Agree 100%.

Once upon a time I had two parts of the CPA exam passed, but the firm I was with at the time had me working extra hours even though they knew I was in the middle of the exam. I stayed with the company and those two parts ended up expiring.

Fast forward a few years later at another company. They had me and another employee who was sitting for the exam write in our examination dates on a calendar in the office. The week of my exam, they gave me additional work and tried having me stay extra hours even knowing that the CPA exam was priority. Just last December I decided to just completely stop working and focus on the CPA exam to get it out the way once and for all.

At all the firms I've been with, I've always worked on the best clients and completed my work very efficiently, but it seems many firms have the mentality that if you pass the exam then you will just leave for a better position elsewhere (even after mentioning in the interviews my intention was to obtain a long-term role with them).

So it really is interesting when others share stories that they are working full time and pass the exam and even have the opportunity to study at the office. It seems these easy-going firms tend to be the exception rather than the norm, but whenever I have made a post about it, the majority of people seem to disagree.

[DZagt]

Honestly I don't want it to sound like I'm complaining. I expected it to be challenging due to the clients/complexity of the work, not because others would rather you spin your wheels for hours rather than help for ten mins. I understand it's busy season but honestly if this is the approach it's better to just not hire staff at all and bring in an admin.

My supervisor assures me I'm excelling but it sure as hell doesn't feel like it. I also know that at my old job when I trained staff I made sure they asked me questions because I'd rather teach now as opposed to them messing up and me having to fix AND have to teach them anyway.

Makes no sense. In the long term it hurts the firm..one of my colleagues said she'd leave tomorrow if she could but she feared she was too old.

My mistake was going into public just for the sake of having it on my resume. I should have done more research and really out more thought into my decision. That being said, I still plan to kick ass and tough it out.

PS excuse the structure of my sentence lol…My brain is fried right now.

[CPA CMA]

I thought you get paid better in private than public? I hear stories of people got out of public with 2-5 years of experience get big pay bump all the time… What's up with those comments that you get paid better in public?

Master of Professional Accountancy (MPA) 12/17/2014

BEC 76 (10/3/14)
FAR 75 (10/24/14)
REG 83 (4/6/15)
AUD 75 (4/20/15)
Anticipated Licensure: August 2016

CMA part 1 passed (6/15/15)
CMA part 2 Passed (9/4/15)
Anticipated Licensure: August 2017

[Namstut]

I agree, there has been many posts about public accounting, but if you stick around for a year or two and then look for a job in the private sector and you will have a leading advantage over candidates who do not have any public experience. Go to LinkedIn and look through some job postings that are relevant to your experience level. You will see that most of them will say that a certain number of years in public accounting is preferred.

AUD 7/6/16 Passed
BEC 9/3/16
FAR TBD
REG TBD

[Anonymous]

One thing that one of my friends told me, who worked for EY or maybe it was KPMG was that he got a lot of condescending/disrespectful/rude “coaching notes” on his working papers which really pissed him off. Now, while I'm totally open to constructive criticism, I would have a hard time handling something like that. Leave that stuff for education, not the workplace. I'll gladly take red pen on an exam or a paper in school. But at work? No. R*E*S*P*E*C*T, P*L*E*A*S*E.

[Anonymous]

The thing with public accounting is that as an auditor you are expected to be “independent and objective”.

So it has crossed my mind that some firms will be condescending and even bully the lower level employees as a training technique so they can develop certain traits and become more independent and objective. It's a tactic used in high discipline areas such as the military. A hybrid of hazing/training technique.

I don't think that's a far fetched idea, seems very possible to me.

[livealittle]

interesting. I've only worked at 2 public accounting firms. the one while I was still in college and the one now. the one now is leap years better than the one then.

yes, there's a lot of work, yes, there's a lot of clients, yes, it can be stressful. But, at the firm I'm at, management has been very supportive of CPA candidates and family emergency situations.

when my son got really sick and was hospitalized for 2 days, I sent a text to my manager. she answered back with concern about him, did we need anything? and then asked about my workload. Then it was, don't worry about work we got this. let us know if you need anything. Then the firm sent a gift card for dinner at our favorite restaurant so we didn't have to cook when my son got out of the hospital.

I really think the culture is a big thing and the partners set the tone for how all of management behaves.

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

[Author]

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