[Swatee]

Hi I am a licensed CPA but I recently lost my job because of performance issues.I was working as a Senior Accountant and in my terms I was working hard and doing well.My manager told me that I lack problem solving and analytical skills so he asked me to leave.This has happened to me the second time when I lost my jobs b because of performance reasons.At each just b my tenure was one year.Does that mean accounting is not for me, how can I help myself?.

[ellejay]

I know it's hard not to, but try not to beat yourself up. Like you said – you would have never passed the CPA exams if you didn't have the ability.

I lost a job before over culture, and before they let me go they sat down and told me what an awful person I was and how terrible I was at my job. This was all after a month before, my boss gave me glowing reviews and I'd been promoted several times. It turns out, my boss hired her best friend to replace me. No big surprise – that's why I was “fired.” They claimed it was my fault to protect them from unemployment claims. Like you I was shocked when I was fired, I didn't expect it at all. I was torn for a month afterwards but once I started my new job I was really happy that it happened. If I hadn't gotten fired I would have wasted more of my time.

[Pete]

I've had 2 CPA firms do the exact same thing. I was utilized for tax season both times, then the firms got rid of me, right at the end of busy season. I was kept just before the point in time, when the firms would be forced to pay unemployment taxes; it's so ironic that they happened to keep me just before the point, when their taxes would have gone up, isn't it?

Granted, one of these was an internship; it would have still been nice to receive a full-time offer. Guess who ended getting the full-time positions? Both people were the partner's sons. I was even told they would go in (people who got full-time) and sign every work-paper, without even looking at/understanding/asking about the documents. Further, everyone had told me the internship had gone great and I got positive feedback.

An unrelated contract job comes to mind as well. They wanted me to perform bank reconciliations, which I understand how to do generally. The problem was that they grouped multiple checks together on the software. Instead of segregating checks 221, 222, 223, and 224, the company would cluster all those checks as one item to speed things up. Then if one check were to clear, they would carry the balance of the other 3; not a very clean way of doing things. At one point, I asked the CFO, who strangely did the same work as us, why the reconciliation I was working on wouldn't balance. She stated “I don't know.” That was my last day, after having worked there 1 WEEK. Day before this, they told the recruitment agency what “a hard worker I was.”

You just gotta deal with how things aren't fair, I guess…

B=84 This exam was such a b**** that I thought I failed-don't know how these things work
A=76 Slacker I am, I'll happily take it
R=81 I LOVE taxes
F=80 I don't wanna get banned for an expletive I'm thinking with "yea" proceeding it

[Trele6]

@Swatee,

Based on your grammar I take it English isn't your first language? How is your spoken English? While things like this shouldn't matter in today's workforce, it doesn't mean people don't judge others because of it. I wonder if this is being held against you?

First go at the CPA! Only using Becker
Reg / Nov 2015 - 87
Far / Apr 2016 - 79
Bec / May 2016 - 80
Aud / Aug 2016

[Swatee]

Trele6 you are right English is not my first language.I was fired because they felt I do not have the right analytical/problem solving skills and not because I make grammatical mistakes in writing.

In my opinion I did my job well and the problem in bank rec happened in the month of April which was resolved.I reconciled all the months afterwards but they fired me because of something that happened in the past.

[Trele6]

I'm just alluding to the fact they might of fired you for something that is “legal” while really doing it for something that would be considered discrimination.

First go at the CPA! Only using Becker
Reg / Nov 2015 - 87
Far / Apr 2016 - 79
Bec / May 2016 - 80
Aud / Aug 2016

[OTK1995]

I'm sorry that you lost your job. As a manager myself, I expect my senior accountant to pretty much take over all aspects of financial statement preparation from the bank reconciliations to the end of period analytics. This person is expected to work independently as as well assist in other aspects of the accounting department. I would recommend you take a look at your skills sets, write them down. Determine what you are good at, what you need to work on and compare them to other persons at your same level. When you start looking for your new position, rely on your strengths and use your weaknesses to relay to your potential boss that these are things you would like to excel at.

Even if English is not your first language, do not let that be a barrier especially if you're looking for staff/senior positions. I work for a Fortune 10 company and I am more in awe with my foreign counterparts who speak not only English but Japanese, Spanish, German, etc and they blow me away with their technical and analytical skills.

Good luck.

[Swatee]

Onetoughkitty thanks for your advice but I performed my job with minimal miskates and worked independently.I took my supervisor's help only once because I couldn't solve it completely by myself.I knew my job well and understood all parts of it but they still told me that they expected more and let me go.

It's very shocking for me because all along I was thinking that I am doing good.

[OTK1995]

“This has happened to me the second time when I lost my jobs b because of performance reasons.At each just b my tenure was one year.”

Well, there is certainly a disconnect between how you think you are performing vs what your two employers thought. Each employer had a whole year to evaluate you and both still chose to let you go. Are you telling me that at both places of employment, you could find no team members who enjoyed working with you?

[jules_cpa]

Reading your replies it seems as you don't take feedback very well. Do you think that may play a part in why you've been fired? Yes, we all make mistakes. The key is to apply feedback and grow from those mistakes. Not make multiple excuses for why the mistake happened.

[Swatee]

May be I lack the degree of an experience that is required for the jobs I took.

[Trele6]

If you took a job you weren't qualified for and were fired from it, that to me is your fault, not the employers. You gambled and it didn't payoff it sounds like.

First go at the CPA! Only using Becker
Reg / Nov 2015 - 87
Far / Apr 2016 - 79
Bec / May 2016 - 80
Aud / Aug 2016

[Lauren]

I guess what concerns me is that your response to criticism is to decide to never ask questions again. That shows a lack of flexibility and lack of a willingness to grow that's concerning. There is some kind of disconnect here. I'm not trying to be rude, but whenever I hear that someone was let go for “not being liked,” that's a red flag…especially if that's happened more than once.

Can you evaluate the cultures of the offices where you have worked and have had issues, and try to find a place that is more in line with your skills and personality?

[Swatee]

I can't say anything about cultures but my coworker in my most recent job had less work load as compared to me.She had enough time to gossip around and make friends and go home early and she is a Sr Accountant too.While I had a lot of work which kept me busy after going home and even during the weekends but I never complained about it.They just pulled out a mistake that I did several months ago of asking a bank rec question and then let me go.

[Anonymous]

You guys I already explained it. If you are not a “likable” employee for whatever reason, especially at a smaller firm where the Owner/Partner is basically the KING, then they can and will fire you at basically anything if they wanted, regardless how good of an accountant you are.

Staff and Senior level accountants are highly expendable and can be replaced. A big part of job security at smaller firms is not just technical ability, but also how well you fit in with the office culture and also your NETWORK. If you are able to attract clients or make the Owner/Partner look good (other than just basic accounting work) then you are more valuable than the drone accountants who only focus on their work.

Think about it, if you make a small mistake once or twice, but you are overall noticeably a good employee compared to others, yet you are reprimanded for those mistakes…it should be a red flag that you are on the chopping block. By asking a question to a manager or partner, it only takes them a few minutes out of their day to take care of it. Those few extra minutes can easily be written off and not lose any money at all for the firm.

These firms will TRICK you. They tell you to ask any questions and don't be afraid to ask for help. Then they will throw a bunch of random work at you without any adequate training. They document all your “poor work” for legal and insurance purposes, then after the busy season they will tell you that you made too many mistakes and that you are losing the firm money so they have to let you go. It's a bull shit practice but many CPA firms do this.

Like I said, if you are at a firm like this, you have to be likable (kiss the partner's ass, not get in anyone's way) and have a marketable personality so that the clients will love you and want to work with you again the following year. From the Partner's perspective, they want you to be able to deal with clients and get them to like you so the firm can retain their business and hope that you start bringing in your own clients eventually.

[Swatee]

I was working for a private company not a CPA firm but yes the revenue of that company is around 400 million.

[Author]

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