[Anonymous]

Hello Ninjas,

Here is my situation:

I was employed as a senior accountant by a mid-size company . Three months ago, I accepted a job opportunity as a Staff Accountant at a LARGE and well-known corporation. Technically, it is a demotion for me. The pay is the same pay, but better commute, benefits, growth opportunities, VERY generous PTOs plus 10%-20% bonus, which is part of many reasons I took the job. Another reason is I’ve wanted to work for a big corp. However, since I don’t have big four experience, it is so hard to apply for a senior accountant position in a big corp; I’ve tried so many times. Also, I thought a senior accountant position at mid-size company will be somewhat equivalent to accountant position in a larger corporation. However, after three months of working here, it is definitely not the case. In addition, there are about 7 other accountants at my level that are not CPAs, except me who have both CPA/MBA with 4 year experience, but not from a big four. All CPAs in my company are senior accountants and higher with big four experience. My co-worker also kept asking me why I took this job since I have both CPA and MBA…etc. I sometimes feel humiliated. In terms of performance, I’d say I am way smarter than many of them. I know what I am doing. I am definitely outperforming and continuously impressing my boss and business partners (executive levels). I am so confident that I am able to do a senior accountant job at my current company,

Since I am not that happy, I went for couple interviews with mid-size companies for a senior accountant position and received two offers with 20% raise in salary. I don’t seem to have problem getting a job at a med-size companies. Do you think I should accept the offer and work myself up to an accounting manager position then go back and apply for big corporation in couple years, if I still want it? Or hang in my current company with a hope to get promoted to a senior accountant in a year or two.

Please advise since I have to make decision by NEXT WEEK….

Thanks all Ninjas …!!!

[fuzyfro89]

^Agreed. People are asking about what you (CPA888) get paid now, because 20% doesn't tell us much.

If you are at $45k now, a potential bump to ~$54k may not be significant enough to warrant switching companies so soon. However, if you're at $80k (guessing not, I don't know any staff that get paid this much) and comparing it to $96k, that's a nice chunk.

You are more than welcome to take the raise and jump.

As far as whether to go back to a smaller company? Depends on how small. Big companies need people who understand controls, complex GL systems (Oracle, SAP, etc), and rigorous review processes. If the “medium size” company is large enough to have this stuff, then it's not going to be hard to get back in.

A key problem if you're an accounting manager at a small/midsize corporation vs a large corporation is the similarity of your work… of course industry, public vs private, etc, also makes a difference.

As far as $$, I wouldn't even consider it if the dollar difference is <$10k (referring to total comp=salary+bonus+401k match+etc). If I was doing great, and knew my supervisor(s) recognized me, I wouldn't want to leave and risk having a shitty manager/company for a few dollars…

[How many letters do you need]

Well the downside to larger companies is that it can take longer to be promoted, as there are plenty of other equally talented people in the company you have to compete with. Personally I am not a fan of the slow moving, red tape type of company, my skillset lends itself more toward fast growing smaller companies. This varies from person to person however, a friend of mine stays firmly planted somewhere in the Fortune 25 and loves it.

To be honest I didn't read your entire post but If you haven't already, dissect your current role and try to get at the true root of your unhappiness (I've found that often it's not what I think it is when I first look at it). If it's the size of the company than look to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond. If it's something like your boss or coworkers then I would say take advantage of one of the best benefits a large company has to offer and look to transfer to another area (if possible).

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[How many letters do you need]

Well the downside to larger companies is that it can take longer to be promoted, as there are plenty of other equally talented people in the company you have to compete with. Personally I am not a fan of the slow moving, red tape type of company, my skillset lends itself more toward fast growing smaller companies. This varies from person to person however, a friend of mine stays firmly planted somewhere in the Fortune 25 and loves it.

To be honest I didn't read your entire post but If you haven't already, dissect your current role and try to get at the true root of your unhappiness (I've found that often it's not what I think it is when I first look at it). If it's the size of the company than look to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond. If it's something like your boss or coworkers then I would say take advantage of one of the best benefits a large company has to offer and look to transfer to another area (if possible).

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[Anonymous]

Mayo,

You got a good point. Thanks for suggesting the learning of Macros in VBA, I will definitely look into it. Most of my tasks are dealing with large spreadsheet.

Fuzyfro89,

One of the companies that I got an offer is about $100M+ in revenue, just to keep you an idea of the size. They are using JD Edwards. A friend of my friend knows someone that used to work there. Per her feedback, she said the company is professionally run and very nice environment/people to work with. There are a lot of smart people there and they don’t keep up with anyone that does not know what he/she is doing (which I have no problem with that). Many people working are within 5-10 year duration, if not more. The interviewer said this role will be in a management role in couple years depending on the performance. There are a lot of subsidiaries under the parent company and there will be plenty for me to explore after I master one.

How many letter do you need,

What I found out about the big corp is I don’t see a big picture for the current level that I am at. Unlike the prior company. I did high level work including financial statements…etc.

[Anonymous]

Mayo,

You got a good point. Thanks for suggesting the learning of Macros in VBA, I will definitely look into it. Most of my tasks are dealing with large spreadsheet.

Fuzyfro89,

One of the companies that I got an offer is about $100M+ in revenue, just to keep you an idea of the size. They are using JD Edwards. A friend of my friend knows someone that used to work there. Per her feedback, she said the company is professionally run and very nice environment/people to work with. There are a lot of smart people there and they don’t keep up with anyone that does not know what he/she is doing (which I have no problem with that). Many people working are within 5-10 year duration, if not more. The interviewer said this role will be in a management role in couple years depending on the performance. There are a lot of subsidiaries under the parent company and there will be plenty for me to explore after I master one.

How many letter do you need,

What I found out about the big corp is I don’t see a big picture for the current level that I am at. Unlike the prior company. I did high level work including financial statements…etc.

[Author]

Replies