[Anonymous]

Hey There

I would like to know, if you had the opportunity to choose between audit or tax, What would you choose and why? Can you switch between the two in the the Big 4 or in regional firm? For those that work in the big 4 or regional please share your experiences. Thank You.

[Ntw6817]

@mena je twa I noticed that you say you work like a dog but is that only during regular business hours or do you put in extra time too?

[mena je twa]

Well, to explain what dog means …….

Some weeks, i will put in 45-50 hrs, but the work will be real stressful. manager will be on my ass all the time, is this done, is that done, whats the status on this, that and all those questions.

Some weeks, it will be 55-60 hrs, but less intense work, so i have some breather. It also depends on deadlines and who your client is and whats their filing dates for 10k, etc.

But from Jan- June, is the season when our firm requires us to do mandatory hours, so you have to go on saturdays as well for little bit and also put in 12 hrs a day….

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[mena je twa]

Well, to explain what dog means …….

Some weeks, i will put in 45-50 hrs, but the work will be real stressful. manager will be on my ass all the time, is this done, is that done, whats the status on this, that and all those questions.

Some weeks, it will be 55-60 hrs, but less intense work, so i have some breather. It also depends on deadlines and who your client is and whats their filing dates for 10k, etc.

But from Jan- June, is the season when our firm requires us to do mandatory hours, so you have to go on saturdays as well for little bit and also put in 12 hrs a day….

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[Ntw6817]

@mena That's pretty intense. Is that typical for an auditor? I was considering making the switch but now maybe I won't.

[Ntw6817]

@mena That's pretty intense. Is that typical for an auditor? I was considering making the switch but now maybe I won't.

[MintsRGood]

Tax, Tax, and….TAX. I despise audit, as you can see by my signature! 😉

The hours are insane during tax season, so anyone thinking it's nice now better hold on to their hat once January hits! In January/February I work 55-60 hours per week and once it gets to March I work 75+ per week until 4/16. When it's not tax season I usually work 50-55 hours per week and 60-65 around the 9/15 and 10/15. I'm the senior tax accountant on staff and on parter track, so the longer hours are expected from me. The staff accountants stay around 55 hours (including Saturdays) until 4/16, and then we scale them back to 40-50 depending on work flow.

Yes, I do work like a dog the first part of the year but my fat tax season bonus always cheers me up on 4/16! 😉

REG: 75 DONE 🙂
AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
-Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
-The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
-You better work, b***h!
-Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

[MintsRGood]

Tax, Tax, and….TAX. I despise audit, as you can see by my signature! 😉

The hours are insane during tax season, so anyone thinking it's nice now better hold on to their hat once January hits! In January/February I work 55-60 hours per week and once it gets to March I work 75+ per week until 4/16. When it's not tax season I usually work 50-55 hours per week and 60-65 around the 9/15 and 10/15. I'm the senior tax accountant on staff and on parter track, so the longer hours are expected from me. The staff accountants stay around 55 hours (including Saturdays) until 4/16, and then we scale them back to 40-50 depending on work flow.

Yes, I do work like a dog the first part of the year but my fat tax season bonus always cheers me up on 4/16! 😉

REG: 75 DONE 🙂
AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
-Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
-The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
-You better work, b***h!
-Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

[tough_kitty]

@mena je twa: “to explain what dog means…” LOL – as terrible as your schedule sounds, the reference to a dog was super funny…but hey, no way dogs work THAT hard?!? 😉

To OP: tax or audit? Well, based on previous answers, I'd say – neither if it's in public accounting! Lol. Well, I'm sure it's great experience for a few years but then you gotta think – what's next? In which case I think either tax or audit would be great experience along with the CPA license.

I personally enjoy auditing (state job) but I'd also like to get tax experience… Also, a lot depends on your location. I'm in CA where there are a lot of auditor positions available at state agencies so my choice was sort of made for me…

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

@mena je twa: “to explain what dog means…” LOL – as terrible as your schedule sounds, the reference to a dog was super funny…but hey, no way dogs work THAT hard?!? 😉

To OP: tax or audit? Well, based on previous answers, I'd say – neither if it's in public accounting! Lol. Well, I'm sure it's great experience for a few years but then you gotta think – what's next? In which case I think either tax or audit would be great experience along with the CPA license.

I personally enjoy auditing (state job) but I'd also like to get tax experience… Also, a lot depends on your location. I'm in CA where there are a lot of auditor positions available at state agencies so my choice was sort of made for me…

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[MintsRGood]

@tough_kitty Good point! My dog, a 6lb yorkie-poo, literally sleeps IN our bed all day while we are at work. He is so ridiculously spoiled that he refuses to eat his dog kibble unless we put wet dog food+chicken/pork/steak/ from our dinner table on it, has more toys that we know what to do with, and receives constant attention when we are home. It's a good thing he's cute. We take him on trips, I run errands with him, and because he is very reliant (no accidents in years) he has free reign of our home all day. No crate for him!

Come to think of it…I'd much rather “work” like our dog does! 😉

REG: 75 DONE 🙂
AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
-Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
-The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
-You better work, b***h!
-Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

[MintsRGood]

@tough_kitty Good point! My dog, a 6lb yorkie-poo, literally sleeps IN our bed all day while we are at work. He is so ridiculously spoiled that he refuses to eat his dog kibble unless we put wet dog food+chicken/pork/steak/ from our dinner table on it, has more toys that we know what to do with, and receives constant attention when we are home. It's a good thing he's cute. We take him on trips, I run errands with him, and because he is very reliant (no accidents in years) he has free reign of our home all day. No crate for him!

Come to think of it…I'd much rather “work” like our dog does! 😉

REG: 75 DONE 🙂
AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
-Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
-The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
-You better work, b***h!
-Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

[nbad311]

Do you like to party? = audit

Do you dislike partying? = tax

REG - 65, 70, 80!
BEC - 35, 62, 79!
AUD - 73, 75!
FAR - 65, 73, 70, 75! DONE.

[nbad311]

Do you like to party? = audit

Do you dislike partying? = tax

REG - 65, 70, 80!
BEC - 35, 62, 79!
AUD - 73, 75!
FAR - 65, 73, 70, 75! DONE.

[MintsRGood]

@nbad Hahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

We like to party in tax land too, but only when all the returns are done! 😉

REG: 75 DONE 🙂
AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
-Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
-The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
-You better work, b***h!
-Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

[MintsRGood]

@nbad Hahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

We like to party in tax land too, but only when all the returns are done! 😉

REG: 75 DONE 🙂
AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
-Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
-The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
-You better work, b***h!
-Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

[Author]

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