[hp32]

When to expect that a small CPA firm will lay people off after busy season? Especially new hires?

Reviews of the firm on glassdoor are horrible about organizational culture and overall work environment. I recently accepted an offer from and don’t want to regret that after 5-6 months.

[monikernc]

it is always easier to find a job while you have a job so keep looking. this may turn out or will lead to something better. and remember most people who post online have an ax to grind. good luck.

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Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[FIFOisbetterthanLIFO]

I had a few offers from small firms and ended up not taking them because I felt like I was going to get my ass dumped after busy season. I would be careful with the small firms…

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AICPA Ethics

Licensed CPA

[Panda Love]

I am in the same exect position as you @hp32 i recently started working for a small firm and i was ok until i started there and notice i barely have anything to do. I have been there less than a month and i was busy the first week the second week i have done nothing but stydying for the CPA. Luckily, i'm still studying for this but what if i wasn't?? What the heck would i do for 8 hours?? This is seriously a big red flag but then again i have read in many posts here that this is pretty common in CPA firms where they let you study in your down-time i was just not expecting it to be this early given that i just started less than a month ago. I wish you the best and hopefully we survive and not get dumped after busy season, good luck!

[Anonymous]

Why does everyone think that small firms automatically means layoffs? 😐 Some firms I'm sure aren't good at workforce management and intentionally overhire and then layoff, but others hire who they need and keep who they get (and then replace those who leave to go elsewhere). A good way to know which one you're in would be by finding out what they've done historically. Do you hear about mass layoffs after busy season previously? If so, then after busy season, you may be in trouble. If not, then you're probably fine.

This time of year there's not too much work to be doing, so could be that everyone else is working on things like organizing records from last year and sorting out their email inbox, which of course you don't have since you weren't there last year. So, I wouldn't take downtime in your first month of being hired as a bad sign – they wouldn't have hired you 2 weeks ago if they were going to not need you 2 weeks later. However, if you've got downtime in May and they have a history of layoffs after busy season, then maybe worry.

The other thing to keep in mind is that people are always more hesitant to lay off good employees than bad ones. That's not to say that good employees don't get laid off, cause the practicalities of financial situations at times require the layoffs of even the best employees. However, if they hire 50 new employees and after busy season can only keep 2 of those, you can rest assured they'll keep the 2 best. Or if after busy season they didn't plan to keep any, but you were a really really good employee, they'll try to see if there's a way they can keep you on before letting you go. So, if the firm's having financial troubles they'll let you go before they cut their own salaries, cause that's just the way life is most of the time. However, if they're able to keep anyone, you can do a lot to make it more likely that you're one of the ones they keep.

And…there's a decent chance that they'll be keeping most if not all of you anyway. My prior paragraph was just a “worse case scenario” type thing. 🙂

[Missy]

Just remember one thing about glassdoor, people who disliked something are much more likely to provide feedback than those who had a positive experience. Also some people are going to complain about anything and everything because they think a job should be 9-5 with all smiles and coffee breaks. If your expectations are realistic and your performance is good I wouldn't automatically assume you'll be laid off.

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

[Steve Brule]

I'm working full-time for a small firm with about 20 employees, and in over four years, there haven't been any layoffs. I was hired during slow season four years ago and didn't have anything to do for several months. I was also worried that I might be sent home, but it never happened and I got busy during tax season after that, and stayed busy until now. Just because it's a small firm doesn't mean you'll get laid off. It just depends on the firm.

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For your health!

[Track55]

I disagree. I've found Glassdoor to be truthful, at least here in CA. If they say it sucks, it sucks. If they say it rocks, it rocks.

It's like ratemyprofessor. Professors complain that only bad students leave posts, but I left posts every semester. What the others said was almost always the truth.

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Studying for Ethics exam

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Business and Industry

[Author]

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