[Anonymous]

Right now, with the bad economy, my lack of work experience and not having passed all 4 parts of the CPA exam, I’m unable to get a good job. I’m currently working in a low level position at a non-profit organization in the Accounts Receivables dept. I mainly do bank reconciliations and adjusting journal entries. It’s pitiful, I know. But that’s not what’s bothering me. The people at my company drive me crazy. I get an average of 50 emails a day from people who don’t know what they’re doing, meaning they’re emails from people who want to be spoon fed. I have to always stop what I’m doing to cater to these people. Then on top of that, my boss gives me a ton of responsibilities that need to be completed in a short amount of time. And if that isn’t enough, I make only $36,000 with no overtime pay because I’m in an exempt position. And not to mention that the organization is just a complete mess. They’re so disorganized. Sometimes, I just feel like just dumping all my work and leaving and saying, the heck with this!!

The only thing that’s keeping me from doing such a thing is the hope that my life will get better once I pass my last section of the CPA exam. I imagine that it might be easier to get a job in a nice accounting firm and in a year, I’ll be a CPA. I’ll be making over $40,000 and that job won’t be as crazy as my current, low-level A/R job that I have now.

So, tell me. Will passing the CPA exam help get me a better career that’s less stressful and disorganized?

[valueofnothing]

creating something that's going to get audited. pressure

REG - 81
BEC - 88
AUD - 85
FAR - 81

[Anonymous]

ROACH, you need more time to experience all possible scenarios at your current job. Of course, you'll ask when you have a question or need help.

[Yvonne570]

Hey Roach, none of us are naturally knowledgeable. Experience is how we learn. Everyone experiences failure before they succeed. Learning is a part of life. It's how you react to your mistakes – which can be seen as an opportunity to learn and add to your wisdom.

I'm really good with bank reconciliations – only because of experience, which is helpful. You have the opportunity to gain experience in this area; however, you may struggle at first. Very normal.

From the new employee who is inexperienced with general accounting (back in the 90s), certainly, I had a lot to learn. Especially in the insurance industry. It felt intimidating and embarrassing to make mistakes because I was fully unaware of the benefits I was going to encounter – the tools of experience and rewards of failing to make me a stronger employee/future CPA.

At this point, understand that you are still in the get to know trust building phase at your company. Initially, they will be leery and apprehensive. Often new hires take time – up to a year to fully train. It's not you so don't take it personal. Eventually, after time and experience as you apply what you learn through this CPA process, you will gain respect and more wisdom.

Just be patient Roach – you are capable of succeeding.

AUD - Passed:)
FAR - Passed:)
REG - Retake TBD
BEC - Missed by 3 points Retake TBD

[ROACH]

Alright I feel better about my situation. I appreciate the feedback. I think I'm being a little hard on myself… I just wanna be the man.. and I don't wanna wait.

BTW, I'm in the import/export business.. its actually good money business. But a lot of the operations side is very time sensitive which means its stressful. I think I understand the operations side more than the accounting side haha.

Oh and here's a quick story.. one time, this was during my first 3 months of work, one of the managers kept asking accounting questions.. not because he didn't know the answer to them but he wanted to gauge my knowledge.

So I gave him a list of journal entries to approve (we have to get managements approval before we change anything in the system.. not sure if this is common in other offices) and he asked me what accounts are the entries going to affect. I said I'm not sure. He asked if they will affect the BS account. I asked.. what does BS stand for… and he got angry lol.

Right there and then is when I knew in my heart I needed to quickly hurry up and pass these exams so I'll have more opportunities at my door. Btw, I'm learning a lot by studying BEC and AUD. I'm doing flashcards to try to retain all the info.. I really wanna be known as the financial dude of my company.. even if I only know the book stuff… and only for the time being until I get myself back into grad school.

@Yvonne, I've been doing our bank recs only for a short period (4-5 months).. I hate this thing. The accounting system kinda blows and the filing here sucks. I can't figure things out sometimes. I know my attitude stinks but there is nobody here trying to help me (only the account manager can help but shes always busy). I have to reconcile 6 different accounts… its not fun. I'm actually behind in all my work.. they always want me to come into work on the weekends but I'll rather study.

BEC: 66 | 69 | 7/23/2013
AUD: 8/28/2013
REG:
FAR:

[Mom2two]

@Roach…here is my take for what it is worth. I have 7 years of experience, Big 4 and industry (large, public companies), Bachelor's in Accounting and Finance and my MBA but no CPA. I tried the CPA when I was in Big 4, failed miserably, quit, and went for the MBA. Even after I had my MBA I could tell I needed my CPA as well to advance. I have always worked in the accounting department in industry (Financial Reporting, FP&A, or General Accounting). My current role is a manager role of reporting and budgeting and I was only able to obtain that with my MBA since I did not have my CPA. I was also only able to advance at each company due to my work ethic, not giving up, seeking out the knowledge on my own, etc. I think it is natural to get stuck on reconciliations, even the easy one's so don't be too hard on yourself. I always hate it when people say that reconciliation is supposed to be easy but can't offer any guidance on how to resolve it…really just their way of covering up their own lack of knowledge. Again just my experience from what I have seen the last 7 years. Have you looked at previous rec's to see what sort of support was there to offer any guidance on resolving your current issue? Also is there any written procedures on anything you do? If not, write them yourself. You'll be surprised by what you will learn when you have to document how to do a process.

Also as far as training, Big 4 did a lot of hand holding. At least that was my experience…formal training, this is how you do this, this how you do that type stuff. NO TRAINING in industry…ever…I have yet to work or know anyone that works in industry that has had any sort of formal training. I still network with quite a few former managers/senior managers from Big 4 that have gone industry in the last few years and they are all struggling because of the lack of training. It is all figure it out on your own. Don't let it get you down if there is no training. Just be confident and know you can do this. Take notes, organize them, when you do something wrong or learn something new for the day, add it to your notes and take that knowledge with you to the next place. Usually when people are discouraging or offer no insight to how to resolve anything it is not attempt to “stop hand holding” but an attempt to put you down and cover up for their own lack of accomplishments. I have worked with a few AR/AP departments and they are all clerk level and very stand offish against anyone with a bachelor's or trying to achieve more, ex. going for their CPA. No offense to any true AR/AP people on here, just my experience. So I wouldn't take any of it personal. Learn as much as you can there, finish your CPA, and move on. Life is too short to have a really stressful job and only you can decide how you want to react to a situation. Either let it stress you out or be confident, know you can do this, accomplish that task for the day, be proud of what you have accomplished and go home with peace in your heart.

Good luck with your exam!! Here's to hoping we both pass this year and take our careers to the next level we are hoping for!

B: 81 (3X) May 2012
A: 76 (1X) Nov 2011
R: 86 (2X) Feb 2012
F: 64, April 2011, retake 10.01.12 - 75!!!!!!!!!!

[Author]

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