[jjm1181]

I tell my friends that the CPA will guarantee I’ll never make below a certain salary in accounting. My quesiton is what do you think that minimum is for the rest of my life? 60k? 55k?

B 79
A 75
R 78
F 85

[sacredtheory]

Reality…the reality is these figures are skewed due to location and the OP better take them with a grain of salt. I chuckle to myself every time one of these threads pops up, and the numbers thrown out there typically range from $35k – 100+. Is 100k feasible? Sure, in a big city…right time, right place. It's all relative, cost of living will be significantly higher too. In a rural setting, entry level will net you 35-45k, in 5 years…60-70k.

BEC: Passed
AUD: Passed
REG: Passed
FAR: Passed

Jared

[Anonymous]

https://www.rhi.com/SalaryGuides

100k is feasible if you're working as a senior financial analyst for a big company or a controller for a small company, for instance.

35k is too low. This is AP/AR salary.

[kandisjoy]

It SHOULD be AP/AR salary… but I'm from a small town with very little job opportunity, and I was offered 35k from the first firm that I worked for. Granted, I only worked there for 3 months until I got an offer from a bigger, better firm that offered me 48k. I was a fresh college grad at the time. Also, I graduated right after the economy collapsed so… bad timing.

FAR: 71, 77
BEC: 70, 82
AUD: 62, 78
REG: 71, 68, 85

CA Licensed 11/2011

[Anonymous]

But you weren't a CPA back then, were you ;P

[kandisjoy]

Ah yeah, good point. 🙂

And the AP/AR people at my company make around 50k… but imho they are overpaid.

FAR: 71, 77
BEC: 70, 82
AUD: 62, 78
REG: 71, 68, 85

CA Licensed 11/2011

[Anonymous]

If it's a big company, they may be treated as Staff Accountants and then 50k is alright.

[kandisjoy]

Nah it's a small closely held corp. They are definitely overpaid, especially since they don't work 80% of the time that they are here. No accounting education. They really don't understand accounting; they just go through the motions and if anything is out of balance, they call for help. It's a little frustrating but I am comforted by the fact that they will both be retiring in a couple years.

FAR: 71, 77
BEC: 70, 82
AUD: 62, 78
REG: 71, 68, 85

CA Licensed 11/2011

[Anonymous]

The CPA license might make a difference, but the key if hanging out with the right dudes..lol..

[jelly]

Also remember what you can really cost, cash-wise, as an employee to a business. I'm in the tri-state Northeast, where it's pricey, but this what I budget-approximate for new hires for 1 year, for a small place (less than 10 people):

$40,000 = Salary

4,000 = approx cost of employer's federal FICA, and other state taxes like Unemployment Insurance, commuter taxes

7,500 = if all healthcare premiums are covered for a single (this is a bare-bones policy)

200 = Workers Comp

100 = short-term and long-term disability coverages, if state required, and can vary significantly

300 = business & professional liability insurances

500 = estimate of future liability for unemployment claims, state's share of interest cost to FUTA

So you can cost from at least $45k to at least $52k to an employer on a $40k salary.

Couldn't pass again!

[See Pee A]

@Kandis: These AP managers may make 50k now, but they will be making 60k in 12 years. You will move much more quickly in public. While I interned at Big 4 I had the (dis)pleasure of auditing salary expense at a client and those people's salaries blew my mind. AP accountant made 70k! wtf?! Then again she had to be at least in her mid-30s and I doubt she had a CPA. Companies have to offer strong comp otherwise the spread between public and private would narrow and it would be even more difficult for them to get decent talent.

BEC 86 (08/30/11)
FAR 84 (10/13/11)
REG 88 (11/08/11)
AUD 86 (11/29/11)

Exam prep - Becker self-study

[Anonymous]

@See Pee A

At the previous company there was an AR “manager” in her early 30s with associates degree in business and close to 60k salary.

She's been doing the same job for 10 years and I doubt it, she'd ever find another job that pays that well. She knew very little accounting and was a horrendous manager, especially when it came to communications within the department.

I don't see progress for such people at all.

[kandisjoy]

@See Pee A – I wasn't talking about managers. These are just accounting clerks. They are at the top of their pay scales (we have a public pay scale document at my company). These accountants don't even have associate degrees. They have a manager and are never going to move up – they are all going to retire within 10 years. All three of them make around $50k.

I started at around $50k, but as a staff accountant, I have a different boss than them (my boss is the Controller, their boss is the accounting operations manager who also doesn't have a degree in accounting.. she does have a general business degree though). I am okay with making the same amount as them for now… just because I know that I'm starting where they had to work 20 years to get. My boss has made it clear to me that I am on a totally different career path that is unrelated to accounting operations. He has mentioned that he is going to have me move from Fed Reserve/FDIC reporting to being more involved in SEC reporting.

As for pay, I know I could probably make more in public eventually, if I survived long enough. However I'd rather make $20k less in industry with better hours and a better work environment. I was very depressed when I worked in public, and I hated travel and politics. I could go on and on about why I hate public accounting. I know some people thrive in that kind of environment, and more power to 'em… but I'll stay in my “cushy” job, thanks! Well, it's not really a cushy job… but it's a hell of a lot less stressful than public was.

Right now I'm working in an office that is 100% decorated for Christmas. I even has a 6 foot Christmas tree next to my office that my boss picked up and our department decorated, and it has our secret Santa presents under it. Tomorrow morning the company is throwing a giant breakfast for all of the employees, in which the officers serve us. We can also make requests for certain items that we like to eat/drink, like apple juice and quiche. We will have a drawing for prizes, singing, and an ornament exchange… I don't know about other CPA firms, but the two that I worked at would never have treated me this well.

FAR: 71, 77
BEC: 70, 82
AUD: 62, 78
REG: 71, 68, 85

CA Licensed 11/2011

[Anonymous]

I guess Houston is just a different…in a good way. I work in industry making good money with no CPA and only 4 1/2 years of experience. While my friend has been in public accounting for 5 1/2 yrs acting as a supervisor for 2 1/2 years, with a CPA making significantly less than me. We use to work together and she is amazing at her job but I just don't see public accounting firms beating out the large corporations. I say if you have your CPA and have at least 2 years of experience you should be making no less than $60k a year.

[Anonymous]

@akb9874

I agree. There's only one problem — finding a job at a big corporation that offers all the benefits we want.

[Anonymous]

@75

Are you in Houston?

[Author]

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