[eMeRGeD]

Some backstory… graduated in 2017, been in public for a little over 2 years now. Got my CPA back in December of 2018. I don’t what’s happened but I’m incredibly bored with my job. Not only that but I keep making lots of dumb little mistakes. I’m not sure what to do but I feel like this repeatedly gets brought up with conversations with my manager. I don’t know what the issue is. Is accounting just a bad fit? Is the work just easy/boring? I feel discouraged but I don’t know what to do and I feel like whenever I make improvements I find out I’ve made the same mistakes again…

Any advice?

[ahugemistake]

Not to project my situation onto yours, but I can relate to ‘dumb mistakes' and ‘bored'. These problems have stuck with me my entire career and I'm only starting to shake them off now. I was diagnosed with ADHD and have been taking medication that helps me focus.

My issue was that I didn't always double check everything after finishing a workpaper because it was ‘boring' and I didn't really feel like it. I just wanted to move on to the next thing. People like me need some new and exciting to not get in the slumps about the cyclical nature of our career.

If you relate to this, it wouldn't hurt to talk to a doctor before you go switching jobs/career. Make sure you're drinking water, exercising, and getting enough sleep. I know that isn't always possible but you have to make it a priority. Your mental health needs to be in good shape when you're working as much as you do in public accounting.

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[eMeRGeD]

I can definitely relate to that.. I struggle with depression and addiction and am aware how that can influence my outlook on my career. I 100% enjoy moving on to the next thing. It makes me think of college.. I took roughly 27 credits a semester and my quality of work was about the same as if I took 12. I didn't know what to do so I just tried to add more on. It's been suggested I look at a larger firm where the path to growth may be a bit more defined and I can be pushed with more challenging work. Like you said though, I get concerned a new job will just reflect the same issues, at which point it isn't the job it's just me.

I really appreciate the response though, I can very much relate.

[AusNat]

I don't know if anyone else can really answer whether accounting is a bad fit for you. What type of work are you doing? Is any of it interesting? Or are there growth opportunities there that provide for tasks & learning opportunities that do interest you? Are you actively trying to find these opportunities? What steps have you taken to break the pattern of mistakes so far?

Some people get stuck in a sort of loop, where they're bored with their work or it feels too easy, so they don't pay close enough attention to what they're doing or bother to excel at it. But then why would a manager or other more senior person give that employee more difficult work or extra responsibility if they're not handling the basics really well? So the employee essentially gets held at their current level (or sometimes shunted off to the side in the flow and overlooked) and keeps getting the same negative or neutral feedback, and the employee just gets more and more bored and disengaged.

[eMeRGeD]

How do you break that loop?

[AGI]

Hi, this is common. You just need to find your life. Basically, you are bored out because you have easily achieved everything that your professor had taught you to go after – public, CPA, big money, etc. New things become “common” slowly after 6 months and then it will just continued. You should really ask yourself – are you still interested in your current job duties? If the answer is no, then you should ask yourself what are some of the new goals you want to establish – promotion (managerial), or a different field of accounting? I don't think you should draw yourself a conclusion so quick as to “accounting is not for me”. Everyone get tired of their job after working 40 years, okay? If you are really stuck in that position and no way out, go get merry and find a family (life!)
———–
As far as correcting the problem, why don't you spend 5 minutes to create a check list on “small mistakes that you've did before” and make 100 copies. Check off each box before submitting your work to your boss and this will clear you out of 95% of the problems. If you are already in a bad relationship with your boss due to bad work quality, talk to your boss on Monday and tell him/her that you've think about it over the weekend and this is what you are going to do. In fact, as for their help, share the list with them in an e-mail or a private meeting, and ask them to add-on things that they want to see. Do a 30-days review then follow by a 60 days review. I know this sounded stupid, but this is one day to show your commitment and your willingness to correct. It will also cover up any rumor that your boss might think you want to leave the firm, and you will be remain on the potential promotion list. If this worked out your boss might even ask you to start promoting the checklist around other staff members. No one is perfect and we all make mistakes. A check list does works and that generally solved 90% of mistake problems done by my staff members.

New York - NYC
Passed CPA Exam (11/2014)
In search for a position in NYC that will fulfills the license requirement.

[AusNat]

You break that loop by deciding you're going to take the work seriously, demonstrate that you're ready for more difficult and engaging work, and actively pursue that work.

Checklists & procedures for yourself are a good idea – incorporate the mistakes you find yourself making and the critiques you get. Take it a step further once you've refine one for yourself and make it one that junior employees use (i.e. show initiative). Do you have professional goals laid out for yourself, with action plans and checkpoints? If not, do so. And create a learning/growth plan for yourself and discuss it with your manager or a mentor. This is going to be part of excelling long-term in just about any field (in the long run, people don't repeatedly hand new, interesting opportunities to employees who seem lax about quality and don't seem to be actively working to improve and grow), so even if you do all this and still find that your current position isn't the right one, you can take the lessons & habits you've learned and use them elsewhere.

[monikernc]

Have you taken a real vacation? Do you have a life outside of work? Ask for more challenging tasks when you get back from vacation.

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[cantpassagain1]

I find that I make more mistakes when I do tasks that are not interesting to me or otherwise think are negligible. With that said, try to think about how pervasive your mistakes are to the few things you think are enjoyable or interesting to you. Also think about if the mistakes that are being pointed out to you by your manager are actually legit; meaning, are they mistakes that could alter the outcome of an audit procedure, or are they formatting, documentation, ect. If they are legit mistakes, happen frequently, and on takes that you find interesting, then maybe consider honestly if you have been actually trying to correct them or if you take the feedback and move on. To say that accounting is not a right fit is probably drastic since you've passed the exam and have been with a firm for 2 years – at some level (and probably a sufficient one) it obviously clicks with you. Alternatively, if you don't find anything in what you are doing, or could be doing (think about what your senior and manager do, i.e. what you will be doing in 2-5 years), to be interesting, then consider the alternatives once you've given yourself a little vacation.

[Author]

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