[12tang]

I’m continually finding myself lost between the two. I initially wanted to go public since my school was pushing it so hard. The career path they speak of when going public sounded nice.

Now I have received an offer from a construction company as an assistant controller. The company brings in about $65 million in sales. One controller, one assistant.

I haven’t received an offer from a public firm but I just found out that a really close friend’s father, who owns his own construction company, can get me in some interviews at several public firms. He is really close to the partners at both. Everyone he’s ever recommended got the job…

Would I be crazy to let this A. Controller position go? The construction company will be paying more than I can get starting out in public and they also do a defined benefit pension plan and pay bonuses. Hours per week will be around 40 which I definitely won’t find at a public firm. If things go sour in the construction industry, am I limiting myself by learning one industry, or will that not matter too much since A. Controller is valuable experience?

Using Becker self-study
FAR: (82) 175 hours - 1st attempt
BEC: (XX)
AUD: (69) 45hrs of study - 1st attempt
REG: (XX)

[Mayo]

Wait…are you coming to that position right out of school? Confused.

What's your professional background?

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Anonymous]

Most people will tell you go to public. Myself, I prefer private, and my career hasn't been hampered by lack of auditing experience. (I was in public technically for a year, but it was tax at a micro-firm, so doesn't count as the public that is supposedly required.)

Be prepared for the Asst Controller job to be a combination of Clerk, Accountant, Controller, and Misc-Do-Everything. Given they're offering it to you straight out of school (from the sounds of it), I'm guessing it's somewhere that has very few accounting staff overall, which means that all of them do everything. Where I work now, I am the Controller, we have an Assistant Controller, a Coordinator of AP, and that's about it for accounting. We do have 2 people who work with student accounts, which you could consider A/R accounting employees, but given that we're a college, working with the receivables accounts is more like being half-counselor to all the kids. So, in my mind, we have 3 people in accounting: me and 2 others. That means that we all do a bunch of different things. Don't take this Asst Controller job thinking it's going to be a world of roses doing “important” stuff all day long. You'll do some filing, you'll do some reconciliations, you'll do some data entry. You'll also do some exciting important stuff. It'll be a balance. Just don't get the idea that it's all sitting in conference rooms debating what big move to make next.

With that understanding under your belt…I'd take an offer in hand over the possibility of an offer, and industry really isn't that bad. 😛 Consider the long-term cost of one income vs the other, too. Let's say you're offered $15k more in industry than public, and it'll take 5 years to meet that in public. (Just throwing numbers out there.) If you were to save and invest that, how long would it take before the public job had you at the same net worth as the industry job?

[Missy]

If you have only one offer on the table, it's wise to take it. As others have said, don't get hooked on the title. Your resume is beefed up by what you do day to day and not on the title you hold. Be clear on what your job duties are before accepting. And be willing to do the grunt work if it's a very small admin staff. I am a finance manager but because we are a very small staff I do my own filing, data entry, run to Costco for supplies, and do all the financial reporting to our parent company.

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

[12tang]

Yes, right out of college. I used to be in the service so I think that's why they like me.

Here are some of the duties: Audit Prep, Sales income/Tax reporting, equipment costing, job costing, project billing/coordinating, working with project managers and other accounting tasks. It is like you described, Lilla. The basic accounting is done by a small team.

I'm a little older so working around 40 hours sounds nice to me. I could slave in public for a while for that defined career path over the long-term but I also wouldn't mind coming down off the grind. As my brother told me, “You have been busting your ass your whole young adult life and you'll be 30 soon, you may want to consider starting a family soon..”

I just feel hesitant I suppose because of the fear of the unknown… I could be stuck in this A. Controller position for 10-15 years.. Not sure if that's bad or good, depending on how raises go and what not.

Using Becker self-study
FAR: (82) 175 hours - 1st attempt
BEC: (XX)
AUD: (69) 45hrs of study - 1st attempt
REG: (XX)

[Anonymous]

@12tang I understand the conflict of “This job is better hours, but do I want to be here forever?” My advice would be to realize that the future is a very big unknown regardless of which option you pick. I find that my (quite similar) Controller position is, for me, the right amount of challenge to keep me from being bored, but the hours (when I get to actually work closer to scheduled hours… 🙂 ) are better to maintain my health and relationships. If you really think that the Asst Controller job sounds better for right now, don't turn it aside because it could be boring in 10 years. It could be a spring-board to something else in 3 years, or it could work out great for 30 years, time alone will tell. If it seems like a good plan, go for it. It's got every bit as good of a chance of giving you a successful career as going B4/public route would.

[Author]

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