[Parthamis]

Some Background…
I’ve made posts here about my struggles about trying to get back into public accounting. It started out when I was let go in December 2016 from my first out of college public accounting job.

Since then I have taken time off the focus on the CPA exam: completed in 2017.

I still struggled to get back on my feet in public as firms did not want to interview with me for a reason I cannot truly determine. In August 2018, I went into political consulting for some time and moved up a to Regional Field Director pretty quickly and helped my company complete a successful campaign project come November.

After the project ended, I scored an interview with a small firm near my home, nailed the interview, and received the offer the next day to start the week after.

PRESENT:
when I first started, I noticed there was an alarming high turnover rate, even for public accounting.
– of the 10+ staff members that are working, or have been with the firm before I joined, only 3 have been there more than 6 months. 2 of which have been there for 1 year.
– the company takes PRIDE in the fact that everyone quit because they couldn’t handle the fact that ‘a firm of this size takes on 2200 tax returns.’
– there is terrible mismanagement. of the 150-160 books for bookkeeping, 80% of them haven’t even been touched, and management is scrambling us to get them done for the corporate returns.
– The partner and manager (sisters) do not want to in actuality train staff. We were given 1 tax return to do as a practice run. They simply tell us do look into the forms and learn the new basics of the tax law and forms during our own time. Understandable to some extent…
– No body in the office except for 1 accountant is allowed to touch corporate returns due to lack of experience. Apparently we need to go through 2 busy seasons with the firm to be allowed to work corporate clients.
– The pay is subpar. No accountant in the firm is on salary… hourly with no benefits.

I feel like I won’t even make through this busy season because the manager has actually been picking on me, specifically because they feel like I have not been using the “system.” The “system” which in fact I did use. I sent the manager an email telling her about a client issue, and she misinterpreted the email as an even bigger issue… and the worst part about this is if I speak up to clarify, she will once again complain that I am arguing.

Is there something I can do to get out of this rat hole? like OMG. I’ll be lucky if I make it to the end of busy season just so that I can have one busy season under my belt.

[Jimmy Dugan]

Hate to hear you are in a situation like that. It's a tough call but I would try to stay around and fight through it for at least a year. Even as sh*tty as the place is, it is still some public experience to help you move on to a more desirable position elsewhere. Plus, it will only get harder to explain the employment history if you leave so soon after starting, much less if you don't have something else lined up when you do leave. I was unemployed for a spell myself and it is terribly unfair, but employers have a very real stigma about gaps in employment and short stints in jobs on a resume. Whatever you decide, good luck.

[B4BeanCounter]

Honestly, if I were in your situation I would start looking elsewhere.. an employer that does not appreciate its employees and does not take the time and effort to train them is the worst one.

[Adam]

My assumption is this in a non cpa firm..avoid them like the plague.

[Parthamis]

I've had thoughts of going back to my political consulting firm while going back looking for public jobs.

If this job lasts through tax season, I would leave it on my resume. If not, I would omit it from the resume.

@adam, correct they are not a CPA firm. They have one CPA, who is most likely not going to sign off on our experience.

[Adam]

I wrote a long response thats waiting moderation still for some reason..hopefully itll help you keep your head up..I went through the same thing as you..keep all the experience on your resume..even if its only 4 months..firms understand these places exist..itll show you have practical experience..just explain how the firm operates..and they wont hold it against you.

When My initial post clears moderation..itll help explain my expereince in Public..which sounds like your current situation is where I was at 2 years ago..

Keep your head up..itll get better..dont quit without something else lines up

[Author]

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