[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]

that seems ok with no experience but still one week off is crap and no bonus…..

I would pass on that….all that school it should be 2 weeks off, 401k, bonus and about 45K………for no experience……..if you have a yr or two I say 50K min

[Will_it_ever_end]

Add this to the list for 1 year experience in Texas:

– 15 days vacation plus 3 personal days plus 4 day 4th of July and Labor Day weekends

– No set sick days

– Firm pays directly for Becker and reimburses for other study materials plus pays for exam fees.

– 401(k) – don't remember the %

– Good health, dental, disability, and life insurance.

– $51,000 a year salary + $5,000 signing bonus (hired year in advance)

– 40-45 hour a normal week / 60-70 during busy season (tax)

REG 97, FAR 69,82, AUD 80, BEC 71, 81 - It finally ended!!

[Anonymous]

Excellent Post….. I work in Private Industry and have no public accounting experience. Once I pass these last two (hopefully one if I pass FAR) I will have to make a decision. I can not get my work experience at my current employer so I will either need to go into public or internal audit somewhere. Your repsonses are very helpful to me in my planning, just knowing the pay ranges for public accounting helps alot.

[weed74]

@GMB – and I thought I had it bad…that is a terrible compensation package. A/R and A/P clerks make that much at some of my clients, and they often don't even have a 4 year degree.

when I started fresh out of college with my company (2005) with just a bachelors degree, I started at 38,400 w/ 2 wks, 401k, etc (you can see all my benefits in the first post of this thread – i won't relist them). My firm is on the small side with 25 people or so. I have talked to college friends that work for other firms in the area and we are definitely on the low side of the pay scale here. After 4 years, I am still at 52k (plus bonus of 3-4k in the summer). I feel it is on the low end, but I am not going to complain too much in the current economy.

I lobbied as hard as I could to get reimbursed for CPA expenses but they just wont do it. No study material, no bonus for passing. They used to give us a whole day off for taking the exam, but apparently they didn't like it when 4 of us were taking it at the same time, so they have basically required us to come in before or after the exam, even though they concede to the fact that no one that has to take a CPA exam will be productive at work on the same day.

The moral of my story is (I guess), to start looking for a different job, because with all that education, and in the near future a CPA, you will be bitter and unhappy at that pay rate and with that vacation package. Go be a controller somewhere and make 60k-70k.

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

[Anonymous]

I just started in a Public Accounting midsize firm (200 people), with bachelor degree and NO experience – my starting salary is 53K plus overtime paid, 18 paid days off, full package… also listed on previous page.

Maybe it depends on location? I'm in NYC.

[strider4216]

I thought I'd throw in a consulting job in here as well, sorry if it's irrelevant.

My status when applying:

1/4 CPA tests passed (Told them I'd be done with all 4 by my start date which is Feb 22nd 2010)

B.A. in economics 3.2 GPA

The job is located in northern california and here is what I get:

50k starting salary

4k signing bonus

2k employer contribution to my 401k (4% of salary)

full medical/dental/vision for about 30/month, can be free if I choose the non-max plan

life insurance/disability free

3 weeks paid vacation (add 1 day for every year there)

9 days paid holidays

5 personal/sick days paid

40-50 hrs a week is what I hear from other consultants, with optional weekend work for extra pay or extra vacation time

free lunch at work plus kitchen stocked with drinks/snacks/fruits/food etc. throughout the day

CFA support and bonus's of 2500-10k for each level passed (alas no CPA support)

there are some other little things like gym memberships/maternity leave etc.

It seems like this is a bad year to start working though…starting salaries all around a few years ago were exactly what they are now, which shouldn't be the case especially in such high inflationary times.

[Anonymous]

A couple people asked about Part Timers so I thought I'd add my situation:

I'm in western PA in a small town. I actually took a pay cut 14 months ago to work at this job but I LOVE it. First of all, I drive 2 miles to work, instead of 35 mile commute each way. This has been great with the price of gas – but also I am close by so when one of my 3 kids needs me, I'm there! But I digress….

I make $18 an hour (took a cut from $24 to come here), however I get bonuses with almost every paycheck based on specific jobs, and in the last year the bonuses brought me up above the $24 an hour! I have a very flexible schedule and work approx. 20 hours a week. During Feb – April I'll work an additional 8 hours.

No additional tangible benefits – but the intangibles are great for my situation. I truly enjoy working with the owner. They feel that family comes first.

He and his wife have encouraged me to get my CPA – because he “doesn't want to work forever”. So in a few years I may be buying him out.

My qualifications: BS in Accounting, MBA and 20 years experience (10 in private industry, last 10 in public)

[Anonymous]

connieCPAin2010, why with 20 years of experience and only $18

per hour? I am sorry, but I think you deserve much more

[Anonymous]

Anita,

Thanks. I expect that I will get a nice jump in my pay after I pass the exams. Like I said, the bonuses help bring that hourly rate up quite a bit. I am satisfied with it for now because the “benefits” make it worthwhile to me. Remember this is smalltown USA (LOL). If I were to commute to the city (Pittsburgh) I could make much more.

Also, I do QuickBooks consulting sometimes on the side and charge $50 an hour for it locally. People don't mind paying that…I should probably bump it up a bit.

[Anonymous]

Experience coming out of College:

Three month Tax Internship

Three month Internship at small, local CPA firm

14 months as part time book keeper for local firms

Bachelors and Masters degrees in Accounting

Position #1 (Des Moines, IA):

-Assurance associate at a large national (but not big 4) accounting firm

-46k per year (probably higher than it should have been, was granted at the conclusion of my internship before the economy started tanking)

-Good benefits (Health, Dental, Vision, Life, etc.)

-3% employer 401k match after the first year with the firm

-3,000 bonus for passing CPA exam within first 18 months with firm

-Direct Bill arrangement with Becker Review ($ came out of your bonus pool though)

-Reimbursement for Exam fees

-14 days PTO (not sick time)

-When sick stay home, doesn't affect PTO (as if you could ever afford to stay home sick during busy season anyways)

-Expected to work 60+ hours during busy season, sometimes more than 70. 35-50 hours during non-busy times.

I was laid off from this job 6 months after starting because my firm said they just didn't have enough work coming through the pipeline for the spring and summer after busy season.

Position #2:

-Staff Accountant at small CPA firm

-46k per year

-Less desirable benefits (still lots of options, just more expensive for the employees)

-3% employer 401k match after the first year with the firm

-2,000 bonus for passing CPA exam within first 24 months with firm

-Direct Bill arrangement with Becker Review

-Reimbursement for Exam fees

-12 days/yr PTO

-6 days/yr sick time

-2 floating holidays, 10 paid holidays

-Work 40 hours per week, with flexibility to work anywhere from 35-45 week to week.

I would advise CPAs to look beyond jobs with the big 4 accounting firms. At my college everyone desired these jobs, but in my experience working for a large CPA firm simply means more hours to work, less ability to use vacation when you want to, and a highly competitive environment with your fellow CPAs. The pay and benefits are usually slightly better, but not always and not by as much as you might think.

[LionGrad2001]

Just to add to this from a “long-timer” in the profession, if almost 9 years qualifies…

Started out at a medium to large firm when I graduated from Penn State in 2001. Marriage took me to the left coast, and a smaller firm which were i am at 8 years later. Here is the skinny:

Small CPA firm (20 employees) in NorCal

-audit manager is my position.

-Over $80k a year.

-Busy season for me (my speciality is school district and local Bond audits) runs between 65 and 75 hours a week (September – December 15). tax season is right around 45 – 50 hours.

-I get 20 vacation and 6 sick days per year.

-Good 401(k) benefits and employer match.

-Dental and Health paid by firm.

-$50k of additional life insurance pd by firm

-$5k + bonus at yr end

-30% cut of any clients (excluding schools) i bring in

$500 bonus for CPA (small compared to most, but our other perks are great)

Not shabby for a 30 yr old. I have outstanding bosses and a great bunch of staff I work with and supervise (most of the time…)

[Anonymous]

FYI inflation is not high. SS payments, IRA and 401k limits just came out as being the same as 2009 which means inflation is very low.

[Anonymous]

Just to add to this from a governmental perspective. I am Retired U.S. Army so this is like a second career. I work for the government (Department of Defense Federal Employee) for 4+ years and as an accountant for 1+ yrs in Indianapolis, IN. Received my Batchelors (1990) and Masters (2009) from University of Maryland. Government paid all tuition and books for Masters program.

Large Department of Defense Government Agency.

-Accountant is my position (Account Receivable Branch).

-Over $80k a year.

-I have no busy season. Work 40 hours anything over has to be approved OT in advance.

-I get 19.5 vacation and 13 sick days per year.

-401(k) benefits and employer match first 5%.

-Health supplemented by government, vision and dental through government.

-There are some life, insurance, disability and death benefits, Not sure exact amount, based on salary.

-Can recieve performance bonuses throughout year and at rating time.

-No bonus for passing CPA but, Government paid for review course and training time for Becker review classes on site and reimbursed all exams fees after passing each section.

-Job security is not to bad, it really is pretty hard to get fired or laid off as a federal employee.

I have an outstanding boss who is a CPA and two co-workers who are also CPAs and actually love what I do. My Government Agency is pushing the CPA and PMP certifications. There is very high visibility with offices within Department of Defense to include Office of the Under Secretary of Defense and with each Military Services (Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps). There is some travel to other work sites throughout the U.S. and world to include Iraq and Afghanistan.

[jmjones4]

Straight out of college no work experience. Birmingham, AL – 10 person firm, 3 partners

$40,000 salary

$1,000 bonus

8 vacation days

6 sick days

7 paid holidays

Fully paid health/dental insurance

Match 3% 401K

No reimbursment for CPA exam or fees

60-75 hours busy season (small firm, busy season is September-April), with no reimbursment

40 per week non busy season

I recently started working as a medicare government contractor after a year and a half at previous and here is where I am:

$40,377 salary

Up to $8,036 bonus

20 days PTO

Health/Dental/Vision

$5,000 tuition reimbursment per year

5% match on 401K

12 paid holidays

Paid Life insurance

40 hours per week, except the week after quarter end when I MAY work 50, but I get a bonus check for this.

I prefer industry to public mainly for the work life balance.

I am waiting on audit and financial scores, have passed BEC, and sit for REG at the end of Feb.

BEC - 79; FAR-79, AUD-80, REG-80

HOLY CRAP I DID IT!!!!

[PursuitCPA]

I dont think public accounting will be on a hiring binge for a couple years…

CPA EXAM - Passed

[Author]

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