[weed74]

Hi Everyone,

I was just wondering, and have found no better area to ask this question, but what sorts of benefits are people receving at their public accounting job? Please include a general location to help apply relevance to the situation for myself and others.

My qualifications:

BS – Accounting and Finance

Masters – Accounting

Passed 2 of 4 parts of CPA so far

4 years experience with one 20-30 person firm, Southern Ohio

Benefits:

2 weeks vacation

No set personal/sick time policy

No Comp Time

No reimbursement for CPA or Schooling

Interest free loans for CPA/School (up to $5k)

1% of salary max match on 401k

4-5% of salary profit sharing employer contribution

salary around $50k, bonus generally between $2500-4000

total hours around 2300-2400 each year, of which about 1400-1500 are chargeable

AUD - 84
BEC - 80
REG - 75
FAR - 80

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies.

[Anonymous]

kgirl – It sounds like you deserve more! If you seriously are looking for another job, let me know!

[Anonymous]

Hi

Qualification:

Bachelor in Accounting

MBA

CPA – just passed 4 Qrt 2012 -waiting to for license

In California: Construction Company

Salary: $63K + Overtime. No bonus, No reimbursement for CPA course 🙁

2 Weeks Vacations

4 days Sick Leave

Age:27

Should I ask for a raise once I become licensed (in 1-2 months time) ?????

[FlipACoin]

CPA8888–It never hurts to ask (so long as you do it respectfully) but personally I don't think the CPA holds the weight in corporate that it does in public so It's really hard to justify asking for a raise in corporate accounting for just being certified. Not that it's any small feat, I just think it's valued differently in the corporate accounting world. What it can do is help you get a promotion and should allow for much more upward mobility down the road which obviously would come with a raise of some sort. We generally get paid based upon a value that we present performing a specific job function, and unless that job function somehow suddenly comes with greater responsibility most companies won't give you a raise outside of the 3-5% max for top performers. Once you are all official I would encourage you to sniff around assuming you have 2+ years at current employer. I am sure there are plenty of opportunities on the manager level that you are qualified for…

[Anonymous]

To me, it just means that you are worth investing more into if he or she has passed the cpa exam. That they're more competent or have at least the potential to understand what is required.

The boss at my current low paying job has even commented on this. She's been burnt so bad by people with just general accounting degrees. If they passed the CPA, then their work isn't usually “crap” as she put it (well duh..but you have to pay for that). But still, 12.50 an hour is just ridiculous. Looking at the list of CPA's filtered by city (at our state board website), there's less than 5 CPA's in my area that aren't obviously tied to their own company or otherwise employed. I'm not sure who she plans on hiring to be honest who will run (and plan) yellow book (some single) audits at 12.50/hr.

[kgirl]

FlipACoin- I'm definitely seeking (almost) anything else! It's a real morale downer and this economy isn't helping much. Hope it improves and fast.

CPA FTW- I'm seriously looking for another job. I'm 50 miles south of Pittsburgh and close to Morgantown, WV. If you'd like you can PM me on here or I'll post an email address. Thanks!

[kgirl]

Cpalou- update your resume and definitely start job searching. That's really low and it sounds like your boss isn't going to change that any time soon.

[Anonymous]

kgirl – Unless I'm missing something, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to PM. Ha! If you post an email address, I'll shoot you a message.

[Anonymous]

[STAT]

Something I've been asking myself lately, in the midst of another horrendous tax season, why do people stay in public for years and years? Obviously, people do, or there wouldn't be a profession. I work at a small firm with little to no growth potential, so maybe that's making me have a more negative opinion. I could easily earn more working in private and have a higher paying job in a few weeks if I wanted one. I'm not a spring chicken either.

[Keely]

@STAT, I just recently started working for a very small public firm and I actually asked my coworkers that very same question. Most of them have been in public for 12+ years, and I was just curious why, if it's so stressful, they stay. They basically told me it was because of the flexibility. One of my coworkers has kids in elementary school, so she goes to part time in the summer. Everyone is in and out during the day to pick up their kids from school, or they will come in early in the morning and leave at 8AM to take them to school or to the doctor when needed.

Everyone is paid pretty well, I think. We only work 55 hours during busy season and even though things can get hectic, everyone is pretty “chill,” for lack of a better word. There are only 10 people in the office and they are all friends outside of work, so I think that has something to do with it.

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[STAT]

Keely, it almost sounds like we work at the same firm! I forgot about the flexibility. I don't have that perk yet, because I've only been here a little longer than a year. But flexibility is definitely something that you can get more of in public.

[kgirl]

My email is kgirlcpa@gmail.com. I can't find the private message option either. Must be thinking of another site.

Stat- some firms may offer an option to work part-time through the summer or flexible hours. This can be an appealing option to a lot of parents with young children involved in sports or activities.

[RonBurgundy]

B4 NYC – Tax with MST (Entry Level)

68k base

5k CPA bonus

Exam material reimbursement

The MST is the way to go over an MSA from a salary and specialization standpoint.

~ You Stay Classy, San Diego

FAR - 77
BEC - 82
REG - 81
AUD - 84

[KFred]

Hello everyone –

Bachelor in Accounting

Passed 2 parts of the CPA exam (Hopefully passed REG on Jan. 28)

Work in Corporate Accounting in Nebraska for a little over 2 and a half years

Started at $49K – Now at $58

Bonus each year: Increases each year (starts around (1500-2000)

They pay for First round of CPA exams and Exam Matrix CPA Study Materials (Not my study style, so I didn't like it)

No bonus for passing (although there is a bonus available for our Internal Auditors when they pass – Don't get me started!)

Start with 2 Weeks vacation, Goes up by a week every 5 years

No limit on sick days

11 Holidays

I work in Financial Reporting (Putting together 10Ks and 10Qs and other Industry reports)

Work 40-45 hours a week except on quarters between the time we close and when we release earnings/file our 10K/Q (then it's usually 70 in the week we close and then down to about 50-55 until we file)

Get minimum of 2 days comp time for overtime worked on quarters, plus the added flexibility to tend to family matters and other personal things when needed.

FAR - 78 Exam Matrix
AUD - (67) - 79 Exam Matrix
REG - (74) (72) - 82 (Exam Matrix for the first 2 times) Roger CPA for the 3rd time
BEC - (72) (73)- Retook 4/29 (Exam Matrix the 1st time) Roger CPA for the 2nd and 3rd

[Author]

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