[Anonymous]

I’ve had a lot of down time since busy season wrapped up (I’m in audit)-even during busy season I wasn’t as busy as my peers. I started about 8 months ago- the few people that did start with me are staffed on jobs yet I sit here with nothing to do. This is my first job in public accounting and my first job in the field since I finished school. Is this a sign that I’m not performing as well as my peers and I’m getting weeded out?

[Vanessachy]

Depends on the firms, I don't think big four or big regional firms get much down time as smaller firms. I wasn't used to it last year and I used to compare my workload with my peers. It is the natural of the business, so don't stress out about it. Now I am kind of happy, I can use it to study.

Far 10/26/2015, 64, 1/4/2016, 82
Reg 7/10/2015, 60, 2/27/2016, 86
Aud, 5/9/2016, 74 (ouch), 7/26/2016, I cannot wait to take this test again
Bec, 6/10/2016, 70,9/8 retake

[Anonymous]

It's a mid-size firm and I know this time of year it starts to slow down. But it's hard not to compare yourself to your peers especially when you started at the same time as a few of them. We have mid-year reviews coming up soon so I'll be curious to see what others have to say about my performance this is just an internal feeling.

[Vanessachy]

@cpa8488, you finished your exams, how about ask your managers for work? I just ask managers or partners for work, if they tell me to study, I go study. After I finish the CPA exam, I will spend some time to learn excel or QB or something else.

Far 10/26/2015, 64, 1/4/2016, 82
Reg 7/10/2015, 60, 2/27/2016, 86
Aud, 5/9/2016, 74 (ouch), 7/26/2016, I cannot wait to take this test again
Bec, 6/10/2016, 70,9/8 retake

[Anonymous]

I just started studying for another exam which is good for down time. My excel skills aren't the greatest so I can definitely use training and I have never used QB. Where can I learn excel or QB?

[Vanessachy]

@cpa8488, use youtube. Are you going to study CMA? I am thinking about it.

Far 10/26/2015, 64, 1/4/2016, 82
Reg 7/10/2015, 60, 2/27/2016, 86
Aud, 5/9/2016, 74 (ouch), 7/26/2016, I cannot wait to take this test again
Bec, 6/10/2016, 70,9/8 retake

[Anonymous]

thanks! no the CFE

[Anonymous]

If you have down time , take advantage of it. Volunteer as an accountant for a local non profit. Go to networking events or create your own. Take a class to learn something new.

[Anonymous]

Thanks 6silver that's great advice!

[livealittle]

I am a Diamond level QB ProAdvisor.

Intuit is pushing everyone toward QB Online. I really don't like QBO. it is clunky and doesn't have nearly the usability of QB Desktop. In my world, about 80% of our clients use QB. knowing QB is a great skill set and looks good on your resume.

If you don't mind paying a little, you can pay to become a QB ProAdvisor. This gets you downloads of each of the platforms – QB Desktop, QB Enterprise Solutions, QB for Mac and access to QB Online. You can access about 20 hours of CPE and really learn and understand QB.

At my firm, we have about 50 staff and 13 are ProAdvisors. me and 1 other are Diamond level – that means we have at least the last 3 years of QB Desktop certification, QB Enterprise solutions certification and have taken the Advanced Certification. I also have QBO and POS certification.

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

[Mayo]

“Is this a sign that I'm not performing as well as my peers and I'm getting weeded out?”

It depends on how busy the rest of the office is. If everyone else you know is up to their eyeballs in work, then it may be an indication. But like you said, right now it's a typical down time for audit, so I wouldn't worry about “being weeded out” just yet.

However, I do think it's an indication that your network might not be that strong or that you're not considered a top performer (only a handful are, so no worries there either). What it means is that you might be a pretty good performer, but you don't have the network to have people actually requesting you. I'd reach out to Seniors Or Managers you have worked with and ask if they need an extra staff.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the advice!

[Author]

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