[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?.

[TommyTheCat]

check you out with your backhanded digs. ive built quite the career for myself my man, im sure plenty of peeps around here will really appreciate your dig on folks that have been doing this for 10 years and aren't certified.

I work in tax, for tax folks being a CPA really isnt a requisite for success ding dong. EA is a great route. I'm only banging out the CPA so that I can make partner at the CPA firm I currently work for. Its the only thing keeping me from equity partner and for me making an extra couple six figures, and that is worth the effort IMO.

The fact that you think good seniors do grunt work shows me that you either a) worked for crappy seniors b) were a crappy senior yourself or c) worked for crappy firms.

You spouting off comments here like you are the source of knowledge is dangerous for those who might not have as much experience, since they might buy into the conspiracy and jaded ramblings you have about how “the man” is out to set you up for failure and all seniors and staff are expendable commodities. Managers directors and partners understand that good talent is immensely hard to come by.

[Missy]

Tommy that's much like industry. Nobody in industry cares if you're likable or play the politics as long as you're the most productive they can get for what they're paying. Don't have to LIKE it but even in overhead departments it's about the bottom line and nothing else. You can be the biggest jerk in the world but if you're getting the job done, you're secure. Make a bunch of what the management perceives as missteps, doesn't matter how much butt you kiss. Networking isn't a “thing” in accounting in industry,that's what sales and marketing people are hired for.

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

[Anonymous]

And once you make it to partner maybe you'll finally understand what it takes to run a business instead of having to bury yourself in completing grunt work to perfection for someone else. I can only imagine what it's like to be a drone accountant who gets all the work piled on their desk and is happy to do all the work because they have nothing else going for them.

You must be a smart person, just a special kind of smart though. The kind that can only see things from a boxed in and limited perspective. But let me ask, do you think if you had a CPA and were the one bringing in business and dealing with all the clients that you would be stuck with all the grunt work?

No, you would be out playing golf with the clients or wining and dining with new prospective clients while your obedient underpaid and overworked servants are back at the office droning away.

[Son]

*grabs popcorn*

Dis gon b gud

AUD - passed
REG - passed
BEC - passed
FAR - passed

[Anonymous]

[Swatee]

I don't know with a six years of an experience and CPA license if I am qualified for a senior accountant job or not.All I know is that I worked very hard and did the best I could and somehow managed the kind of workload they gave me.I literally had no time for my family and life outside the job and it wasn't taking me more time to do things.My work was very tedious, more in volume and stressful.In my opinion what they did to me was unfair and I started this post in order to find out if someone else had a similar situation at job so that I can relate and find my weaknesses .I am unable to decide whether it was a real performance issue and someone else would have done a better job or was it really unfair.

I have lost confidence in myself and my work and feel that this will happen where ever I go..

It's hard to share your let go exp with family and friends as they might make fun of you saying that how can a CPA not perform well.

That's why I posted here to find people with similar experiences.

Not all accounting jobs are same so I guess I will have to figure out how it goes once I start .

When I post my resume out on job boards people automatically call me for a Sr accountant job.I haven't received any call for a staff level because recruiters feel that with that much of an exp and CPA license I am well qualified to be a Sr accountant.

[Swatee]

Missy you sound very reasonable, practical and straightforward.I will surely follow your advice.You have a 26 years of an exp and you cannot be wrong.

Either I need to work hard on developing my analytical skills or take a lower level job.

A question – doesn't CPA test you on analytical and problem solving skills.I think they throw several questions on you during the test to examine that .What could I be doing wrong in my job that I am unable to show them?.

Am I not reviewing my work the way it should be done or just going too fast and missing information.It has to be something with reviewing part because I understand my job conceptually well.

I am just shattered and going crazy thinking about what happened all of the sudden.

[HoldMyBeerCPA]

Scoot over Benj, I'm in for another thread that Brickell manages to derail 🙂

[M123]

“I am just shattered and going crazy thinking about what happened all of the sudden.”

Swatee, this thread has probably gone off the deep end (in an amusing way, at least).

Yes, listen to those with seasoned experience.

May I suggest you give a couple days to process what happened then start thinking about how you're going to address it. Without asking where you are or other personal matters – may I suggest you reach out to one or two other CPAs in your network who you can confide in and get their perspective, maybe work through a really extreme example and how they might do it differently. Try to find one or two really key root causes which you can work on. They're out there. I have many root causes – I have to pick one each day to fight!

Rock it.

[Missy]

People get dismissed ALL the time there's no shame in it. If you feel people will make fun of you for it then don't share it with them, and find the type of friends who will support you when you're down.

Sr accountant is a vast title and no two positions are alike. That said remember on an interview you're interviewing THEM too. Watch for red flags like them saying the bank accounts need to be cleaned up, or speaking poorly of the last person.

Find a position that plays to your strengths instead of focusing on job title. If you're a rock star with fixed assets look for a position that requires a lot of fixed asset accounting. I don't believe you're doing anything “wrong” but it's a matter of experience in what you're tasked with doing. Even with my years of experience I'd be a failure at a job heavy in foreign currency exchange since that's not been part of my experience. But a job heavy in cost analysis is where I excel.

You'll be fine, as I said I've been there and in the long run it's just a blip on the radar and doesn't define you.

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

[Missy]

also if you're not VERY STRONG in using excel, spend some of this time between jobs learning as much as you can about it (you tube is a GREAT resource).

Manually reconciling an account is time consuming and tedious, even if your analytical skills are strong they'll never be as fast as a vlookup.

Also look for ways to streamline and automate any processes. I do bookkeeping on the side, and picked up a client who had a full time 40 hour per week bookkeeper. I do exactly what she did in 2 hours per week. The only difference between us was she was manually entering HUNDREDS of transactions per week into quickbooks. And because of HOW she was doing the job it seemed like a huge workload. I download the bank transactions directly into quickbooks, set up rules (i.e. all McDonalds charges go to meals expense) and spend that 2 hours a week looking for anomalies (i.e. a 1200 transaction to McDonalds plumbing having to be moved from meals to repairs).

At my full time job, I've automated dozens of processes that were done manually and have freed up time to provide other value added projects like going paperless (almost, but about 70% there), and more in depth analysis than was ever done before.

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

[Swatee]

That sounds great Missy.I am good at excel and I know pivot tables and vlookups but I haven't automated any processes so far.I was doing it the way it was done and in the given responsibilities there was no need for an automation .

Like they already used a pivot for one of my analysis and each month you just have to download new data for that pivot .You need to be very very careful with that pivot because of the way it was set up, if your data isn't setup the right way then the pivot won't tell you the right answer.So there was lot of a work required with that data.

In my new job I will go and see to what degree are they manual and how can I automate the process.

Missy do you have any email address that you can share so that I may email you regarding the tips if I need some for my next job?.

It looks like you are skilled and I would like to learn from your experience .

[Missy]

*edited*

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

[rb2017]

lollll this thread. This is what I'm picturing.

[rb2017]

Also, Swatee, I'm sorry about your situation. The best thing to do unfortunately is just move on from this experience. If you truly feel you were let go because of a bank rec, maybe that's not the ideal firm to work for, at least morale-wise, and you should consider it a blessing. However, there very well may have been other reasons they haven't mentioned (I'm assuming). I would talk with a recruiter and see if they can connect you with employers who need the skills that you have.

[Author]

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