[Small4]

Imma start off by saying, yes, glassdoor or salary.com has statistics on these and it depends on cost of living by city. However, stats usually don’t elaborate a person’s views and perspective. So I’m curious how many of you here have somewhat experienced thinking about this…and if you or anyone you know have valued ones worth given X amount of experience and license etc… I realize this forum has a mixture of young folks but I also see those who take the exam as somewhat veterans of the workforce (per Jeff, ave CPA exam taker age is actually 29)…so I’m curious you have some perspective over this.

– How do YOU look at a 100k flat salary? Is this considered a lot for tax and/or accounting? Say w/ 6-10 yrs experience.
– How much does a typical accounting mgr/assistant controller and up make?
– How did the CPA help you push forward in your career

BEC - 68,70,72,75 5/15
AUD - 78(expired), 77 8/15
REG - 29,58,65,77 1/16
FAR - 56,68,73 - retake October hopefully (last shot)

Been doing this since 2007 on and off...

[Anonymous]

Yes that is a good amount of money for a managerial position in a larger firm or partner in a smaller firm.

It all depends on the size and location of the firm.

I would in general expect estimated 60+ hour work weeks if in public. And 50+ hour work weeks in private.

[Missy]

Depends on location to a large extent. In NYC that's just barely enough to live on, in Oklahoma it's a fabulous salary but much less likely.

I'm in industry, and a manager and make just about that. I work for a very small company 20 miles outside a major city. If I worked for a similar sized company in the city I'd probably make 10-20k more. If I was qualified (I'm not) to have the same position in a large company in the city I'd probably be pushing 200k.

To me, because I wasn't looking to work for a publicly traded company the CPA is basically marketing materials. Made me look good on paper compared to other candidates for the job who didn't have their licenses. I'm much further into my career than most. 25 years accounting experience but got my bachelor's nine years ago and cpa license five years ago.

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

[RE2PECT]

100k is nothing if you live in NYC or in parts of Westchester or Long Island. I'm not in the field yet so I can't throw out any numbers, but I'd hope that a NYC Big 4 position would pay well over 100k to managers or else there would be no reason to stay. I know someone who left public and works for an investment company. She moved up the ranks and now is the controller making 400k a year. That's probably an extreme case, but those kind of opportunities are available if you're fortunate enough. The controller at my job makes 100k and only works 4 days a week and 35 hours. Not a bad gig for the time he puts in. Btw neither one of them are CPA's.

FAR: 75 Roger & Ninja (notes/flashcards/audio/MCQ)
AUD: 73, 81
BEC: 71, retake 8/29
REG:

[JustAnotherWannabe]

Yes, of course the responses you're going to get are going to vary A LOT depending on where the user lives. I live in a small city (almost 200,000 residents) with a fairly low COL so $100,000 is considered a great salary and much higher than most make. I started my job at a local firm 4 years ago at $41,000 (although I was not a CPA at the time) and have received raises for experience and passing the exam but am still far from 100k.

AUD- 98 2/24/16
FAR-
REG-
BEC-

Self Study CPAExcel

[djhagerm]

staff – 50-65k
senior – 65-80k
manager – 85-120k
senior manager – 115k-?? (this depends on how long you're at this level before making partner/director)

this is typical for much of public accounting. 100k is good for a manager in much of the country. but it all depends.

R - 86
B - 79
A - retake 7/7/16
F - 76

[Anonymous]

I live in the Bay Area, Senior accountant here with $100K base, and 15% bonus. About 8 years accounting experience with CPA. I'm not shooting for a manager role, as I have multiple investment properties and spend a lot of my time managing that. Don't need the added stress of managing people. I just need a steady flow of income at a 9-5 job. Looking to retire young and live off my rentals.

However, I was making 90K base with another 50K in equity (per year) and 15% cash bonus. The company I was working for was insanely successful and still continues to be. Although I left due to stress and hours worked. Controller and assistant controller there were making a good $250K+ with equity and bonus. Base was between 150-170K. Managers made at least $110K while senior managers were between $120-140, base.

Average salary for G&A folk was around 95-100K. Which was the first thing I poured over when I was calculating the ESPP expense. (I had to request payroll data as one of the assumptions for calculating ESPP contribution.)

[Anonymous]

I seriously question the choice of becoming an accountant in the first place. It doesn't seem nearly as rewarding or stable of a career as they said it would be. I have been meeting several people who own online businesses and bloggers who earn over six figures writing/providing content and living a much more enjoyable fulfulling lifestyle. If I put in as much time into any other field as I have into accounting, I would probably be a millionaire by now.

Also @Club300 I am looking to move to the Bay area within the next year. 6+ years of public and private accounting experience. Would be cool to meet someone who has connections to possible job opportunities.

[SallyCPA]

@RE2PECT Neither are CPAs? I feel like CPA is usually necessary for controller positions

[cpa1982]

BrickellCPA,

Sometimes I feel the same way. Some of the stories on this forum scare the hell out of me. After tax season they let many people go. I have been told many times that if you become a CPA you will never be out of work since tax and audit demands won't go away. Many on here are in their 30s and 40s, passing CPA and still struggle to find a full-time work. Many people on amazon/ebay selling stuff and make six figures income. Maybe I need to try that lol

[Anonymous]

A lot of the occasional success stories (eBay sellers, etc) took a lot of risk and were in the right place at the right time. In other words, they were extremely lucky and entered the market at an opportunistic time. But, of course there are a few individuals who are very, very smart and saw the opportunity and took it. Some of these examples are Entrepreneurs who landed on Shark Tank. Sure, they worked really hard, but were also very lucky to have the opportunity to receive investments from the Sharks and to have their product marketed on a Friday night to the entire USA!

I agree that I wonder if all the stress and bullsh*t we are going through to become a CPA is worth it. But, we signed up for this ride and there is no turning back now!

Honestly, if u have passed the CPA exam and even better are certified and you cannot find a decent job, then something is wrong. Are u in a decent marketplace? Did u go back to your school and attend recruiting events or job fairs? I live in the Sacramento (California area) and almost every student (ages 20's – 30's) who has a decent GPA or networked can find a decent job after graduating. Sure, the starting salaries typically ranged from low 40's to $60k, but should sbstabtially increase after a few years and especially if u knock out this exam and become certified.

I hope my optimistic views do not offend anyone, but there should be a decent accounting job out there for you if you really apply yourself (hopefully). At least that is how it currently is in the Sacramento/Bay Area…

Goodluck and let's keep Grinding away!

And, $100k is a solid salary. Of course COLA plays a big role!

[Missy]

Here's the thing about a CPA License, it's a tool. Doesn't guarantee a thing and you can do just fine professionally without it. I think many younger professionals hear “you can make six figures” and assume that means the day they pass their last exam their life will change overnight. That's not the way it works for most, the six figures comes after years of experience as well in most locations. I've read “I have my license and three years of public experience think I'll go be a controller now”. That may work IF you're the most qualified person applying for that particular job but you may also be up against someone with controller experience who the employer feels can hit the ground running faster with or without their cpa license. Being qualified is rarely enough anymore, it's that competitive in the field.

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

[M123]

I think Club300 wins this round. People who speak of building wealth frequently use multiple streams of income as a key.

$100k is a good salary if it provides one's needs, and the person is happy with that mode of living.

I recall back when I lived in a smaller house and far smaller income, my brother in law told me I lived like a millionaire. I asked why – he said because I can do what I want, when I want. Then I decided to buy up in house and try to increase “lifestyle” to that level.

Then comes more stress, more responsibility, more volatility and more expectations. Some people thrive in that.

In the Big4 – as you move up – more travel, more expectation to bring in the big deals, more being “on” 24 hours a day. Be careful what one wishes for.

I think the main thing is – set a goal for what you want to actually do, then do it uncommonly well – the money will come.

[krstnam]

In tax I made about 65k to start in Seattle. Small firm nearly 10 years ago. Off season I worked maybe 20 hours a week or less. The schedule was awesome and if I didn't hate tax, I would probably stay with the low salary just for the flexibility in hours.

Now I work for the government under our CFO. The job is a little more demanding, not due to accounting but more personnel type stuff. I've been At my job for about 6 years I would say both in tax and government 100k would be a reasonable wage for 6-10 years experience and a CPA license or CGFM with a caveat.

@mla I agree…I think that's where a lot of people go wrong, they think they've worked at a place for xx years and think things are owed to them. It's this really bad sense of entitlement. We've been through several CFOs since I've been at my job, I think they don't last because they can't handle the office culture. The ones who get promoted are hard working and have a lot of integrity…promotions don't happen to people who are out acting the fool all the time 🙂 even the superficial ones who get promoted early on don't end up lasting long, sucking up only gets a person so far.

[Anonymous]

I passed on offers from Public because I did not want to travel and work the crazy hours.

Now I'm at a startup, midsize manufacturing company ($100MM) – I'm 28 and the controller and I make 100K with 20% bonus. As an accountant, it can be done relatively young if you want it bad enough and you aren't always an introvert. Key is not to wait around and be told what to do. Make things better and for goodness sake please learn Excel. Also, take an interest in the finance side of the business when you can. Makes you a better accountant and more valuable to your company if you understand the past, present and future.

[alha724]

I earned my CPA early in 2016 and am a Senior Accountant in Nashville, TN. I am 26 and make $68,000/year, plus earned a 4+% bonus for 2016. I work for a publicly traded company in the accounting department. I have four years of full-time work experience (one as an analyst, three in accounting) plus a couple of prior internships, all for publicly traded companies. I cannot attest to salaries for public accounting firms. I'm not familiar with higher level positions in my region, but I know staff accounting positions for publicly traded companies often start at $40-50k/year in this region. The pay for Senior Accounting positions in this region can range from 50-75k).

A $100,000 salary would be considered a good salary in Nashville, and it is not a salary that would be obtained immediately upon beginning your accounting career in this city. However, it could be easily obtained with a few years of experience, and probably obtained more quickly if in public accounting. I imagine there are accounting managers, directors, VPS, etc. who are making much more than $100k a year in Nashville.

[Author]

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