[Anonymous]

About me: Graduated in May 2016. Passed all sections of the CPA. Started public accounting in October 2016 and laid off from firm in April 2017.

My goal was originally to stay in public for 2-3 years and then transfer to private. The public accounting firm I worked for laid off a bunch of employees right after busy season and I was one of them. I absolutely hated public accounting, I could not stand the people and all the politics. Always having to put on a fake smile to clients, the favorites in the office who get all the billable hours, etc.. I thought it may have been good that I got laid off as now I could go straight to private. My only concern now is that im actually a little nervous about going to private. All I have known is audit. Am I limiting myself by going to private so soon? I dont want to get stuck in a staff accountant position who gets a small raise each year. I was thinking about transitioning to a corporate financial analyst role but I don’t really know anything about budgeting/forecasting, etc. Sorry just ranting on. Any feedback is appreciated.

[ultrarunner]

Are you sure you want to move to private? I am working in the industry for a long time. I am so tired of working with many people with no ambition, no credential (e.g., CPA). There is absolutely nothing to learn unless you work for a large public company which requires all staff members to be CPAs. The politics are everywhere. Also, in the industry no matter what you do, you are always a 2nd citizen. Priority goes to the people who make money like sales, marketing etc. I've seen some dumb executives, who absolutely know nothing other than selling. Are you sure you want to do this?

FAR 72,67,79 (Roger+Wiley test bank)11/15
AUD 80 (Roger)10/15
BEC 80 (Roger)4/16
REG 63,78 (Roger+Ninja MCQs)5/16

[Jdn9201]

I've been working for 10 years in industry, and have never worked in public accounting by choice. I thought I'd chime in – every corporate experience is going to be different, but look before you leap. I work in tax, but I've seen multiple people jumping from public flame out and go back. Yes, you probably do get a salary bump and work fewer hours, but there can be a downside. Promotions are harder to get and you likely won't get the same level of training or mentoring that you do in public. Another aspect that throws people for a loop is having to investigate the data you are given. I gather from talking to others that when you work in public (tax, for example) you basically take what the client gives you and run with it. Not so in corporate – I can't tell you how many times I've had to ask accounting questions about entries that were booked wrong, or even put together a whole set of financials myself so I could make adjustments and do a tax returh. Especially if you work in large F500 companies, you have to have a questioning mind, and sometimes half the battle is figuring out who in the organization can help you.

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[Amortized and Energized]

I will say if you are leaving public for private because you are sick of inter office politics, you will be very disappointed. It's like every other jungle, there is a hierarchy and people are always trying to buddy up with the queen bee. Not everybody, but it's there for sure. I've been in private for 10 years and I'm starting to think about finding part time work with a public firm in the future as a way to break up the monotony of another month/quarter/year end close and doing the same thing over and over.

FAR - Aug 2015 (58), Feb 2016 (81)
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BEC - May 2016 (79)
AUD - Jul 2016
REG - Aug 2016

[Anonymous]

It really depends on your current opportunities and what you want to do in the future. I personally don't like public either, but I am able to tolerate it and excel. My issue has always been that I complete my work too quickly and efficiently so I would always have to search for more work. This would lead my utilization rate to be very low and not logging enough billable hours compared to other workers who were not as efficient and made mistakes being able to log plenty of billable hours. This would ultimately result in me getting the short end of the stick by management.

My personal goal is to obtain a position at one of the large tech firms (Google, SpaceX, Samsung, Apple, etc.) and for the best opportunities this likely requires a few years in a related accounting position at a public accounting firm.

[Author]

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