[Sticky Nicky]

What do you guys think is better in the long run? I know that audit gets paid less initially and requires more travel.. Tax you can actually be with your family especially these days where remote work is growing more popular. However, ive also heard that there are more opportunities in Audit if you decide to leave public. Tax your stuck with tax forever and lets face it..you probably wont become a CFO if your a tax accountant…but you could do better if you decide to start your own practice with tax knowledge.. what do you guys think and what are you long term goals?

[hasy]

I've done a tax and audit busy season before. For me personally, I did not find tax as engaging as I wanted it to be. It's very individual work. As for audit, you normally work in conference rooms and you're almost always with your team. Also, there's more client interaction, as well.

Tax tends to be a very specialized skills base, which is why you might be doing tax for most of your career or something related to it.

I think for audit, you can channel it to other various areas, in terms of soft or professional skills. Soft – talking and interacting with clients, professional – various industries that you audit. I have seen more individuals use their audit background to be various positions.

It depends on the person. You can try a position that has both before you decide.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved - Helen Keller

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BEC 80 (10/23/15)
FAR 72 (4/2/15); 83 (7/11/16)
REG 52 (4/28/15)
AUD (9/9/16)

Roger + NINJA MCQ + WTB

[tkstcs]

I find Audit extremely boring. I do not agree that it opens doors more than any other area – I specialize in tax and franchise reporting and I spend more time with clients than probably anyone in the firm and I have to talk to people in the corporate franchise offices fairly often as well, so I don't think being on an audit gives you any more face time.

[pharaoh]

Depends, I personally don't like taxes and I like audit. With Audit, you can get exposure to different types of businesses and will give you lots of knowledge and good base for you to jump on a good position in a company as accounting manager or controller. My advice if you do audit, don't leave too soon (Like me) and get stuck in senior accountant positions.

With audit, I have knowledge about oil & Gas services, piping, technology, manufacturing, Hotels, Metal recycling, Concrete recycling (didn't even know that type of business exists until I got assigned 🙂 ) Trucking, Hospitals, Government grants (Single audits), Hotels, Chemicals, joint venture. You see different parts of the financials and all the financials
As an accountant, I am focused on inventory analysis and I want to shoot myself, it can be interesting and exciting in the first 3-6 months and then it becomes routine, extremely boring, no challenge and after a while brain is dead.

I can feel the difference between my knowledge and others' who were not in public accounting. Their scope is very limited because this is the only thing they know.
Bad thing I noticed in industry, in my experience, especially if people only worked in the same company for 20+ years, they have no idea what controls are or segregation of duties and are ok with weird JV's that you can see and say HOW COULD YOU DO THAAAAAT?? WHICH ACCOUNTING BOOK DID YOU LEARN FROM TO MAKE SURE NOT TO BUY IT!!! lol!! seriouslt I said that once before.
I am studying Audit now and causing me Public Accounting fever, even though the hours sucks, I feel it is more enjoyable, smarter, challenging and can open the door for Controller, CFO, internal audit manager/lead

What might help is to get exposure to corporate tax in addition to audit experience and you will be unstoppable 🙂 I missed a good oppotunity because I didn't have that tax experience/knowledge

FAR 8/2016
AUD 1/2017
REG TBD
BEC TBD

[Reid]

AYE

[Author]

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