[WinningCPA]

In your accounting career, what are some of the biggest challenges you are facing? Is it an issue with your clients? Company culture? Software? Maybe we can work out some of these.

In my case, I work at a medium sized public firm as a staff accountant. One of the problems I am working on is communicating more clearly to my supervisors. I think I have issues verbalizing my questions, suggestions, and concerns. I think that this has improved over the last couple of tax seasons, but I still see room for improvement.

Please be as specific as possible! I’m interested to hear what you guys have to say and also suggestions for me.

[nicole2035]

@determined that happened in our department and it's def making me want to jump ship

I think i picked the wrong company to work for out college. I don't think it's young enough, and I feel everyone looks down on me because i am significantly younger. They don't hire a ton of new graduates, no particular reason, i think just because everyone is older. Def a love/hate relationship. I get a promotion soon and it makes me roll my eyes so hard because my boss talks about it like it's an ‘if' all the time. They hired me to promote me, and won't rehire for the position i have now. They're assuming i want to be salaried, when i actually don't want that till i'm a CPA. The way my boss has been talking about it she makes it seem like i don't have an option.I did pick the company because i wanted something at a slower pace for a while, to take a break for my own sanity. Everyone feels as a younger person and in accounting that i should be breaking my back working 60 hrs a week. that's not what I want in my personal life right now. I had interview requests from local CPA firms but i didn't want that, People at my job talk to me as if I can't do better than the position i'm in, or that i'll be in that position forever. The way one of the accountant managers introduces me to new hires just makes my blood boil every time. She literally describes me as someone who works for someone else, however she doesn't introduce anyone else like that. That's true of every employee in that company except the CEO.. I'm just over it. Location, pay, way i'm treated…i'm more pumped to get a better job, hopefully around younger people and i won't mind working long hours as long as i feel the tradeoff is good. This job was perfect because of free time, however that benefit is fading.

ugh so long, i know, glad to get that off my chest.

[Anonymous]

@nicole2035

Sorry to hear about your situation. I definitely understand how you feel. I think it is important to listen to your gut instincts. On the first day at my job, I instinctively knew something was not right. Now, about a year and a month later, 12 people have left (there were about 30 people in our department when I started). Things smell fishy around here. I'm waiting until REG score release on 5-23-14. Then, regardless of my score, it's time to make a move.

[Anonymous]

@nicole2035

Sorry to hear about your situation. I definitely understand how you feel. I think it is important to listen to your gut instincts. On the first day at my job, I instinctively knew something was not right. Now, about a year and a month later, 12 people have left (there were about 30 people in our department when I started). Things smell fishy around here. I'm waiting until REG score release on 5-23-14. Then, regardless of my score, it's time to make a move.

[NYCaccountant]

@Determined_To_Succeed Are there any options for Management to improve? Or is it a lost cause at this point? By improving, I mean that maybe a CEO comes onboard, or something drastically changes.

FAR - 93
REG - 87
BEC - 84!!!!
AUD - 99!!!!!! CPA exam complete.

[NYCaccountant]

@Determined_To_Succeed Are there any options for Management to improve? Or is it a lost cause at this point? By improving, I mean that maybe a CEO comes onboard, or something drastically changes.

FAR - 93
REG - 87
BEC - 84!!!!
AUD - 99!!!!!! CPA exam complete.

[Anonymous]

This is not a company problem. This is a problem within our particular department. Honestly, it is pretty much a lost cause. Based on a conversation between a supervisor who recently left, to my understanding, management is not willing to change. This company, unlike our corproate office and many of its other divisions, is a contractor. If this company loses its contract, it will be because of this department, more specifically, management. Mark my words, if this happens it will be their own undoing. But regardless, it is time to make a move soon. I have a plan, but I will need a little bit of luck to make it happen.

[Anonymous]

This is not a company problem. This is a problem within our particular department. Honestly, it is pretty much a lost cause. Based on a conversation between a supervisor who recently left, to my understanding, management is not willing to change. This company, unlike our corproate office and many of its other divisions, is a contractor. If this company loses its contract, it will be because of this department, more specifically, management. Mark my words, if this happens it will be their own undoing. But regardless, it is time to make a move soon. I have a plan, but I will need a little bit of luck to make it happen.

[How many letters do you need]

You know those bad apples that we all experience growing up? Well they grow up too and many end up somewhere in middle management (sometimes they grow into exec management). They usually get into middle management by backstabbing, grenade throwing and kissing ass. They may or may not be smart but even if they are they usually don't use their intelligence much for their job, they are too busy making others look bad. These apples make terrible coworkers and horrendous, usually abusive, bosses. Senior management will tend to put up with them because they make their bosses look good with…yup you guessed it…backstabbing, grenade throwing and kissing ass. Usually the only thing that takes down a bad apple is extreme turnover. Companies know that turnover is disruptive and costly, so most track it down to the department level on some scorecard or another. When they see extended extreme turnover HR usually steps in and puts pressure on Sr management to do something about it. Usually because turnover is one of the main measures of am HR department.

Anyway, learn to recognize these bad apples, they arent too hard to figure out during the interview process. Be very reluctant to work with them (at least until you are on the middle management level yourself) and for gods sake never work for them.

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[How many letters do you need]

You know those bad apples that we all experience growing up? Well they grow up too and many end up somewhere in middle management (sometimes they grow into exec management). They usually get into middle management by backstabbing, grenade throwing and kissing ass. They may or may not be smart but even if they are they usually don't use their intelligence much for their job, they are too busy making others look bad. These apples make terrible coworkers and horrendous, usually abusive, bosses. Senior management will tend to put up with them because they make their bosses look good with…yup you guessed it…backstabbing, grenade throwing and kissing ass. Usually the only thing that takes down a bad apple is extreme turnover. Companies know that turnover is disruptive and costly, so most track it down to the department level on some scorecard or another. When they see extended extreme turnover HR usually steps in and puts pressure on Sr management to do something about it. Usually because turnover is one of the main measures of am HR department.

Anyway, learn to recognize these bad apples, they arent too hard to figure out during the interview process. Be very reluctant to work with them (at least until you are on the middle management level yourself) and for gods sake never work for them.

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[Anonymous]

@How many letters – Spot on! Couldn't have said it any better.

[Anonymous]

@How many letters – Spot on! Couldn't have said it any better.

[Anonymous]

@howmany–That was a perfect synopsis of what I'm going through, except the bad apple actually reports to me. Unfortunately she has buddied up to the right people and is basically not fireable. She has pissed off my entire team at one point or another and it's a situation I would rather not be a part of, but I like a lot about the company and I really like my boss and the rest of my team. So in answer to the original poster's question–Being in management has been hard because I don't like office politics so unless I'm willing to kiss ass or back stab people I have to deal with keeping employees against my better judgement and basically am overruled as a manager when it comes to this one employee.

[Anonymous]

@howmany–That was a perfect synopsis of what I'm going through, except the bad apple actually reports to me. Unfortunately she has buddied up to the right people and is basically not fireable. She has pissed off my entire team at one point or another and it's a situation I would rather not be a part of, but I like a lot about the company and I really like my boss and the rest of my team. So in answer to the original poster's question–Being in management has been hard because I don't like office politics so unless I'm willing to kiss ass or back stab people I have to deal with keeping employees against my better judgement and basically am overruled as a manager when it comes to this one employee.

[CPAfit]

@mommy nice to see you, it's been a while. I can imagine you must be pretty busy with REG for july. sorry to post in this thread as it's not for FAR but I need some advice. I've got 7 days to my exam and off from work. i've started doing non-stop mcqs but i get really burnt out by the end of the day also I cannot squeeze more than two topics per day, It's really frustrating. What do you suggest I should do when my mind stops processing the MCQs, read NINJA notes, listen to audio? I mean what was the main thing that you feel got you your passing score and with my timeline what's the best strategy

[CPAfit]

@mommy nice to see you, it's been a while. I can imagine you must be pretty busy with REG for july. sorry to post in this thread as it's not for FAR but I need some advice. I've got 7 days to my exam and off from work. i've started doing non-stop mcqs but i get really burnt out by the end of the day also I cannot squeeze more than two topics per day, It's really frustrating. What do you suggest I should do when my mind stops processing the MCQs, read NINJA notes, listen to audio? I mean what was the main thing that you feel got you your passing score and with my timeline what's the best strategy

[Author]

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