[palmtop_taiga]

Hi all,

I am a second year at Big 4 going into a senior role in July. I have decided that I am not going to stay the course with Big 4 and my industry (financial services) has 0 appeal to me. I have already asked (numerous times) to be transferred to another industry with no luck at all.

I am not looking to leave immediately – I would probably be willing to go another busy season or two, but I am curious what my exit strategy might look like.

Anyone here been stuck in a similar rut before?

AUD 74, 82 (11/29/15)
FAR 68, 79 (11/9/15)
REG 75 (6/21/16)
BEC 75 (1/18/16)

[thebigguy1992]

its usually people either leave after their 3rd year, so one year or senior busy season and then you leave. or people leave after a year of being a manager. anything after that is people usually stay until they get partner (only about 10% or so make it), or they just are a senior manager forever.

I've heard its best to leave after your 5th year because then you can be a controller or some type of similar role and make 120k+. in your situation, you can easily get a senior accountant job at a private company and work 40 hours a week and make 80K. thats the life if you move into private. less hours and higher pay.

[palmtop_taiga]

Thanks for the insight, I appreciate it.

Would you happen to know if I could find something outside of the financial services industry if I am unable to explore other opportunities with my firm?

I plan to stay a while longer, just trying to feel out what sort of opportunities I have to look forward to.

Thanks!

AUD 74, 82 (11/29/15)
FAR 68, 79 (11/9/15)
REG 75 (6/21/16)
BEC 75 (1/18/16)

[Missy]

I think its very important to start with the big rocks (Franklin Covey seminar term).

Make a list of your career goals and if you're not even sure at this point what those are, just start with whats important to you (work-life balance, travel, etc.) When you have some idea of where you're going the answers to how to get there start to become more apparent, or at least the questions you ask are more pinpointed.

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

[SeattleCPA]

Two comments… one, I'd be really surprised if 10% of the people at a B4 firm are partners. And even if that's true, that doesn't mean you have a 10% chance of becoming a partner because there is so much turnover at the staff and senior level and manager level. I'd guess 5% or 1%…

Two, that B4 experience and your CPA open doors to all sorts of other, fun, lucrative opportunities. After I left Arthur Andersen (1986), I worked first as controller and later the CFO of a VC funded startup… then went back and did the solo CPA thing specializing in real estate developers… then started writing books like “Quicken for Dummies” and “QuickBooks for Dummies”…and then came back to public accounting to restart my CPA firm and ramp up a niche-y subchapter s tax practice.

In all of those activities, the CPA credential was key. And except right after the Enron debacle, the AA thing was beneficial too.

[SeattleCPA]

Ok, finally found the stats on employees and partners at a big four firm…

The data I see for KPMG says 9000 partners and nearly 180,000 employees, so if you have only 5% partners and the partner turnover is lower than staff accountant, senior accountant, etc., you're talking less than 5% making it to partner.

I would guess number is closer to 1%…

[palmtop_taiga]

Thanks for the responses!

SeattleCPA, would you be able to tell me what industries are prominent in your area? I am currently in NY but looking to move out to the west coast in a few years (that will likely be when I change jobs as well).

I'm hoping I can change industries with my firm soon while I'm in the city so I don't become too specialized in the wrong industry. I'm worried that staying in asset management will land me a job as controller for a financial services company of some sort. I don't plan to make it to partner, in all honesty.

AUD 74, 82 (11/29/15)
FAR 68, 79 (11/9/15)
REG 75 (6/21/16)
BEC 75 (1/18/16)

[ruggercpa2b]

You have to stop limiting yourself to just the industry you are working in. Sure you have 2 years of experience in financial services, however, the accounting knowledge you have learned can also be applied to other industries. You can learn about the next industry and the company but still add value because of your knowledge of GAAP. I did healthcare when I worked in public accounting but ended up with a job in private at a utility company.

AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
BEC - 8/20/2016
REG - TBD
FAR - TBD

I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

[palmtop_taiga]

Thanks ruggercpa!

Question for you: did you find it more difficult when interviewing to land a job in a different industry than healthcare? I have heard that some people leaving public struggle to enter any industry that they have not audited once they hit the 5 year mark at Big 4 and want to leave.

AUD 74, 82 (11/29/15)
FAR 68, 79 (11/9/15)
REG 75 (6/21/16)
BEC 75 (1/18/16)

[ruggercpa2b]

I actually applied and interviewed in a handful of other industries. It was hard to find a job but to be honest I think it was also the timing. Almost everyone I worked with was interviewing somewhere.

On my resume, unless I was applying to a healthcare company then I did not point out that I worked on healthcare clients. I focused more on the experience and tried to align that with what they were looking for. Some places they would ask if I had any experience working on clients in their industry and I would say no but made sure I followed up that no with letting them know that I was a quick learner and based on my time in public accounting I can utilize what I learned to learn more about their industry.

Some places they didnt really care on your industry experience as much. They just cared that I had Big 4 experience.

AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
BEC - 8/20/2016
REG - TBD
FAR - TBD

I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

[SeattleCPA]

Palmtop_taiga,

Seattle is very “digital economy”-y. You know the big tech companies, but there are hundreds (thousands?) of smaller firms too.

We're right in Redmond (home to MSFT) and so not surprisingly have lots of digital economy clients. E.g., firms selling digital goods, digital services, professionals serving those firms, etc.

[palmtop_taiga]

Ruggercpa, thank you, this is a question that has plagued my mind for quite some time. One of my biggest fears is becoming too specialized and not being able to find a job outside public that I would enjoy.

Seattlecpa, thank you so much, you've been a huge help.

Some additional questions, should you choose to indulge me:

How much experience in public would you say one would need to feel confident enough to run your own business?

Would it add any value if I were to seek additional credentials, in particular a CFE?

I appreciate everyone's advice.

AUD 74, 82 (11/29/15)
FAR 68, 79 (11/9/15)
REG 75 (6/21/16)
BEC 75 (1/18/16)

[Author]

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