Job Switch?

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #3094457
    bmj2s
    Participant

    So while I’m waiting on my license to be issued (still looking at 2-8 weeks ugh), I’ve been browsing jobs internally within my company.

    There was a thread I made a ways back about how my current role has no need for a CPA, I’m just a Staff II currently. I’m in line for a promotion for a III role, which is the same workload plus reviewing other level I/II’s. But for some reason I’m questioning if that’s what I want to follow. This III role is a step towards Senior, which will mainly be only reviewing. However I see there’s a lot of stress on the seniors I know during close and personally I think I’m kind of making excuses to look elsewhere because I am kind of a work horse so I pull my team out of the ditch monthly. That being said, I don’t see (at this moment) how my role impacts the company other than proper presentation of a very small set of things, and even moving up I’m not sure that as an Accounting Manager (which would be years off since they’re all relatively young) would be as rewarding.

    So I looked at this Budget Analyst job yesterday and thought it may have been kind of interesting, and maybe I need some insight or validation of some kind?

Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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  • #3094487
    monikernc
    Participant

    Just reading your post it is obvious you have some thinking to do. There is no harm in trying the Budget Analyst position. The nice thing about working for a bigger company is you get to try different jobs while staying in one place. You don’t sound challenged where you are and looking ahead it sounds like the only challenge will be stress. The budget job will give you a different perspective and that might be nice. Have you considered internal audit or tax?
    Search for the job you would like to have in 5 years and read what qualifications and experience they want for those then set a path in that direction.
    Good luck. Keep us posted on your license.

    FAR 7/25/15 76!
    AUD 10/30/15 93
    BEC 2/27/16 82
    REG 5/23/16 88!
    Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
    and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
    if you want things to change, you have to do something different

    #3094586
    bmj2s
    Participant

    So there isn't really much challenge in this role, no. Basically accruing estimates, and re-classing expenses and revenue errors. General bookkeeping. Moving up only means I'd be reviewing it more to determine if it just needs to fall under a different category.

    I used to do Sales Tax and Property taxes, but I didn't want to not try financial accounting before staying there. Income tax has been an interest but I'm getting too old to start at the bottom all the time, with no experience. Currently there aren't internal audit positions open, just FA spots (which in the group it's posted for these are just report runners who project next month's costs) and this budget analyst job. Which would sound interesting and sound more like having an impact on the company. Job description is planning and performing budgets while also negotiating increases or decreases to them and cutting costs based on clinical trial research.

    5 years has a lot that can happen, 5 years ago I didn't imagine taking the CPA exam lol. I'm not entirely sure the career path of a budget analyst (and google wasn't very helpful just yet). I just don't see me moving up to a 3 and really enjoying anything more than the extra pay for the workload I'm already pretty much doing for cheaper, and then senior until something opens up. Not the life I really think I want for myself since they all stay up late on close nights trying to review.

    #3094667
    monikernc
    Participant

    You don't sound like you have a clear direction other than staying with this company. I get your point about starting at the bottom, I have struggled with that since switching to accounting and it sucks. You need a goal, first and foremost. I don't think taking the budget analyst job is a bad thing while you work through your existential angst. What do you want to be when you grow up?

    FAR 7/25/15 76!
    AUD 10/30/15 93
    BEC 2/27/16 82
    REG 5/23/16 88!
    Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
    and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
    if you want things to change, you have to do something different

    #3094892
    bmj2s
    Participant

    It doesn't show that I posted this but it also won't let me post it again:

    So there isn't really much challenge in this role, no. Basically accruing estimates, and re-classing expenses and revenue errors. General bookkeeping. Moving up only means I'd be reviewing it more to determine if it just needs to fall under a different category.

    I used to do Sales Tax and Property taxes, but I didn't want to not try financial accounting before staying there. Income tax has been an interest but I'm getting too old to start at the bottom all the time, with no experience. Currently there aren't internal audit positions open, just FA spots (which in the group it's posted for these are just report runners who project next month's costs) and this budget analyst job. Which would sound interesting and sound more like having an impact on the company. Job description is planning and performing budgets while also negotiating increases or decreases to them and cutting costs based on clinical trial research.

    5 years has a lot that can happen, 5 years ago I didn't imagine taking the CPA exam lol. I'm not entirely sure the career path of a budget analyst (and google wasn't very helpful just yet). I just don't see me moving up to a 3 and really enjoying anything more than the extra pay for the workload I'm already pretty much doing for cheaper, and then senior until something opens up. Not the life I really think I want for myself since they all stay up late on close nights trying to review.

    #3100721
    AGI
    Participant

    Ask yourself the question – Did you really need that promotion money? Yes / No

    If salary is not your urgent, then sometimes you should use money to buy happiness (or even a simple change).

    I get what you mean on the 5 years, I spent 7 years finally quit after I completely stressed out during a busy season.

    If you switch over, you might find another world. Even if you didn't find another world, you got nothing to lose other than the potential promotion. So ask yourself “how much” did you really want from that raise, and if there's any urgent need (financial ly). If it's not that urgent, you could buy yourself a chance.

    New York - NYC
    Passed CPA Exam (11/2014)
    In search for a position in NYC that will fulfills the license requirement.

    #3118167
    IcantpasstheCPA
    Participant

    Big money is in tech. As an accountant, we stand to help these companies get up to speed and become IPO ready. Get some shares vested and leave to the next one.

    Biggest money I made are always from equity appreciation. Learn tech trends and which startup stands to grow. Who are the bigg name VCs and who are they backing. Go to the interview and listen to their struggles and go to market plan.

    The need is always the same. They need people to prep support for private audits to get more funding, build internal systems/process, address compliance things. The pay is normally good somewhere in the 100-300K range depending on the role. Equity appreciating can 2-5X that if you get lucky.

    Since we are accountant, we can see the writings on the wall quick and know when to job to the next.

    #3164088
    bmj2s
    Participant

    So as an update, I have my license as of October and I'm still in the Staff 2 role.

    @JFKGY – The promotion money would make me feel better about all the time I've been spending on trying to training new staff, answering senior level questions as a staff 2, and possibly subdue the burnout I feel for working higher than my position. I've been informed that the process is still 6 months long and my manager is being a stickler about it since she's trying to make me better than the two seniors we currently have. I do feel like at that point I'll just be over qualified for the role and handling more than I should for the workload and the spiral begins anew. lol. It's only urgent because I'm seeing myself left behind by peers who aren't having the same extreme stickler approach applied. In the last meeting she mentioned she was worried about promoting me to a 3 and then me potentially failing as a senior.

    I've noticed that my CPA is not going to actually mean anything until I get to management or above, but there's something about this tediously menial work that leaves me just unfulfilled. Having to make a novel of why I moved $12.00 from one account to the other and then simplifying it to a children's story so “some passerby looking at the financial info can understand why” is part of my problem. Could very well be a personal problem, but it's a problem I'm not sure how to solve yet. It just seems simple to say “belonged to person x and put in person y's account, need to re-class” but that's not enough information for some reason. I feel happy with some parts of accounting, but not so much with other parts. That's why I'm questioning leaving Staff Accountant and doing something like Financial Analysis and seeing if operations management would be more interesting for me or not.

    #3165828
    AGI
    Participant

    Did you tell your boss that you got a CPA? Why do I have a gut feeling that you boss is no longer interested in promoting you at all…And is basically trying to hint you if you will be leaving after getting your CPA?

    As you also mentioned … CPA is not required and is not useful in your position. So… When you tell your boss you got a CPA. It's a hint to them that you are planning on something. Don't get me wrong, but if you were on the potential lvl up list and all of a sudden she said she is worried about promoting you to a 3 and then a senior… I think she might be thinking of something.

    —-
    Going back on your lv 3 and senior problem, the stress, was it because of the company (not doing so well), or maybe the senior doesn't know how to handle it properly? That's something to figure. My 7 years of failed experience told me sometime you need to treat your staff with coffee and donut to make them work better, and always praise and say how appreciate you are… But then if the company is not doing so well, it will also be difficult. Stress from the top of the pyramid.

    —-
    Since it's COVID, I will also say that it's the time of the period where companies reconsider their structure, cut down jobs and promotion. So you want to make sure they are considering adding a manager (even if someone is leaving).

    —-

    I should also say in case you will to quit game and go for analysis, you can always make your way back to AP/AR job, however, it will likely take some years until another promotion (start all over again), unless you can demonstrate that overlapped.

    I must also say CPA is not required for budget analysis, only public accounting and the auditor needs a CPA. You don't need a CPA to be an accountant manager, or the CFO or the controller. It just add points. What you truly need to be at management level —- is people skill. You need to figure out how to make 5,7,30,50 people listen and work for you. You can always hire 30 CPAs to work for you. LOL.

    New York - NYC
    Passed CPA Exam (11/2014)
    In search for a position in NYC that will fulfills the license requirement.

    #3166125
    bmj2s
    Participant

    I was half-way through with the exams when I was hired on. My boss is just one of those nosy people that feels the need to be in people's personal lives and enjoys it. I don't think she was very keen on promoting me this early (I say early because her excuse several times is that I have not been there very long) and is trying to really drag this process out. She is afraid I'd fail as a senior before I even get to that role so she's trying to train me to be overqualified for the next role I could be promoted to. My senior actually had to fight her to start the process this early since I was already doing all the responsibilities of the role.

    She has definitely told me finish my CPA when I was still testing, and that the company looks at it with the view of me being a disciplined and determined employee. Not that I'd get to “use” it. She doesn't want me to leave because we have had a lot of turnover in our group and I have been her strongest member, carrying the heavier workloads as month end cycle comes to a head.

    The stress part is that it's an unfair distribution of responsibility. One senior was hired in back when standards weren't exactly great and she was only an AP Specialist. So after 8 years she still doesn't know how to get the results she expects so she cannot train. So that leaves the other senior and myself with the harder facilities to close books for, train the staff, the only thing I can't officially do is review work. So I see this unfair distribution and the compassionate side of me wants to help take that stress off but the logical side of me says I don't wanna break my back for low balling pay/not having the title. Probably sounds a little shady but I already am doing 3 work for 2 pay.

    My company didn't lay anyone off during COVID, instead we all took a temporary pay cut so that wouldn't happen. Our group does need a 3 and we are definitely under budget but the ‘politics' of the issue is where it stands. There's some unspoken invisible time frame you have to be there for before they are comfortable with you moving up, regardless of knowledge or skill.

    Honestly, I've been asking myself if I'm even happy as a staff accountant, and I can't find an answer. I really don't care for remedial recording of the same entries every month. There's nothing new, no accounting challenges, no satisfaction in doing any of this work. The CPA isn't required for either role, and at this rate it'd be a decade before I could sink my teeth into something fun. I just wanted to do a job utilizing my CPA and that knowledge with it. But our biggest items are revenue (saved for management and above), and accrued AP (which is all we do other than sorting moneys into accounts). I thought being an FA would give me some creative freedom and let me ask “why?” instead of “what?” because accounting isn't concerned with “why's” here; it happened, record it. Maybe I've had some delusion of grandeur about the CPA and what I could do with it?

    I did apply to the financial analyst job, I'm waiting to hear back about it but I always got management accountant on those “what kind of accountant are you?” quizzes. Operations management/cost accounting were always where recruiters tried to point me towards. I've been trying to see if there were any good tips on making accounting fun again but most of these videos are people doing things that we don't do, everything is so automated there's nothing left to really build, it's just did this pay? Accrue or not. lol

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