[RHNotts]

In audit the answer seems to be yes because you might go to some big name client. Is big 4 a major benefit in tax if you want to stay in public accounting? Do you automatically go on a path to partner if you go to a smaller firm?

[Anonymous]

Do you know absolutely anything about big4 tax or public accounting tax in general?

[RHNotts]

Not really that is why I'm asking. My school encourages everyone to go big 4 and I wonder if it is really all that. There are a bunch of midtier and smaller firms with positions as well and the starting pay is similar. The way the big 4 recruit reminds me of when I assisted in military recruiting. We played up all the positives and said nothing negative.

[Anonymous]

What exactly are you asking then? You were specifically asking about tax but now you went into the famous to big 4 or not to big 4 debate which there are countless posts on in this and other forums (actually the tax topic too). Maybe do some light reading every day on the topic and ask your professors/contacts, then, when you do know a bit about this field, you can ask the right questions.

The reason I asked whether you knew anything about the field is because there's a big difference answering your question if you actually know what these careers entail or if you have no clue what you're even getting into.

[Anonymous]

Um… Let's cool it down a little…

OP, could you tell us what your career objectives/goals are (e.g. do you want to stay in or out of public accounting down the road, do you want to maximize your earnings or have better work/life balance, etc) and the options you are considering (Big 4, non-Big 4 public accounting, private, etc).

If we know what your goals are and what options you're willing to consider, it's all a matter of finding the option that best accomplishes your goals.

[RHNotts]

I want to be a CPA and work in the tax field. I am willing to give up work/life balance for now if there is a major ROI in the future. That's why I wanted to know what the main benefits were of starting in tax at a large firm. My other options at the moment are in government. I haven't looked at private industry much.

[Anonymous]

What is bigfourexpert's problem?

I think what the posters above are saying is there are a lot of different paths you can take with tax. Big 4 can help you go in one direction, a regional firm can help you go in another. Same with if you went to the IRS…just depends on what kind of tax work you want to do.

[Anonymous]

Well I'm not an expert in the Big 4, but I'm pretty sure if you want to maximize how much cash you have in the end, Big 4 is probably a better chance than government.

The big X factor is what you think you're capable of. But really, I think you should narrow your options by not just thinking about maximizing “ROI”, but also thinking about what sort of work in what kind of area you want to do in the future.

I would research and think about this rather than researching the Big 4. Once you get a better idea of what you want to do in the future, then you can evaluate if the Big 4 is the best way of achieving that goal.

The “tax field” is very large.

Then again, if you're unsure of specifics about where you want to be in the future, then Big 4 sounds good because that probably would give you more flexibility than other options. But I think you'll struggle with interviews if you just say you want to maximize “ROI”.

People want to hire humans, not investments.

[Anonymous]

Akvod, is English your first language? I think you're misreading a lot of these convos. Stop telling people to “go easy” or “cool down.” I'm imagining in your head you read every thread as people yelling at each other or something.

[RHNotts]

Excellent viewpoint on focusing in on an area. I'm going to approach it that way now and pursue firms that align with an interest.

[Anonymous]

RHNotts do you know anybody who works in tax? You should reach out to as many as you can. You should also try to reach out to recruiters or career advisers if you're still in college and ask for a big picture career path.

I wouldn't focus on nitty gritty details. Life's too unpredictable for that. Think more about topics you're interested in and about things you definitely will never want to do (e.g. do you want to work with individual clients or family businesses vs. large corporations/companies)?

Once you have a general idea of the things that you're interested in, then you should translate that into potential job positions and company types (e.g. are you going to be working as a consultant, in a law firm, at a public accounting firm, etc).

Then the last step is figuring out how the Big 4 might be able to help you get to that position (e.g. help out a client as a Big 4 employee with tax planning, impress them, and then join them when they have a vacant spot, IDK if that's realistic or not).

Figuring those 3 things out 1) general goals 2) specific goals 3) how the Big 4 can help you achieve your goals will really help you in an interview, since you'll be able to show genuine interest in the work you'll be doing.

Are you still in school right now? What tax classes have you taken, and makes you interested in tax (e.g. what was the most interesting topic in tax class)?

Are you choosing tax because you just see it as being a matter of audit vs. tax, and you don't want to go into audit? If so, I think you should take a bigger step back and think about what makes you interested in accounting.

[Anonymous]

RHNotts-

Tax season is rough no matter where you go. I work at a smaller firm. Our tax people bill 80 hrs per week at least once or twice during the two busy seasons.

My old department starts bitching when they have to bill 50 hrs per week.

[MydnightDarkfyre]

To be honest, I am a native English speaker and some of your posts are coming off as harsh, @bigfourexpert. I am certain you do not mean them to sound that way, and I know one of the limitations of the internet is not being able to hear the tone of voice…but taken as written text, they seem a bit rough. Just my 0.02

FAR: 82 (Becker) 07/09/2014
AUD: 80 (Becker) 10/01/2014
BEC: 76 (Becker) 11/26/2014
REG: 82 (Becker) 02/16/2015

GA Licensed CPA 8/7/2015

CISA: 564 (PASSED) 6/11/2016 - Certification pending

[RHNotts]

I am in my first semester in a Macc program. Tax sounds better to me because I prefer to have my own spot to work and the timing of the busy seasons I hear is more predictable. I also prefer seeing something until the end like completing tax returns. Another thing is the individual nature of it. I hear you get your own returns to do and I know I won't be dropping the ball with my responsibilities.

I enjoyed financial accounting so staff accountant positions are fine. At the moment though it is between government and public accounting. I'll find out from the government in a few months so I'll be done with all my firm second round interviews by then. If I miss out on offers and I land a position with the feds I think I'll just stay there. One of these is a GAO internship for graduate students. The other is a full time accounting position in a major east coast city which starts at $77k. I make note of that because I'd be taking a major pay cut by foregoing this and pursuing a public accounting position next fall should I miss out on an internship this year. That's partly why I asked earlier about the ROI of starting at a large firm.

[RHNotts]

Other information on the full time position: it is in the range of 60k+ – 120 something (the job posting isn't up anymore). I believe that is where you top out. I was able to apply for a higher pay grade based on having a bachelors and some accounting experience. The veteran preference points I think helped put me in the top tier category of candidates. The pay I mentioned is based on a rough estimate from people I know already working for the feds.

If I do get an internship offer I would take it and not pursue this anymore because I know almost everyone that interns gets a full time offer. My concern regarding this has a lot to do with the uncertainty of next year if I get no offers this year. My professors highly recommend everyone in the masters program go into public and the few students I mentioned this to think I'd be stupid to go government when I am at respected program that firms recruit from.

[Anonymous]

So just to confirm, you don't have any job offers from the government, right? Right now you're debating about whether to go into public accounting or not because you see there's a position with a high salary, right?

I think you should first share us more info. about this other position you're eyeing. Are you really sure that you're a viable candidate for a high salary position right out of school?

[Author]

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