Accountants on NT... what dat salary lookin like?

[buc em]

Just know that when you start out for at least the first few years during busy season you’ll be working insane hours. Like 8AM-2AM. No joke.

 

[cruzair13]

what's the requirement for taking the cpa?
out of school for awhile now and had ok greats (not great... 3.0). i assume work experience plays a huge part. would i need to take grad courses prior?

Most states you can sit foe exam with 120 credit hours(36 hours are required accounting classes) so a bachelor's degree. But you cant get the license until you have 150 hours (bs, implemented early2000s) so people usually supplement with a masters or accredited community college hours. You have 18 months to pass all 4 and 3 years after passing your first exam to get the 150.

 

[lazyj10]

Just know that when you start out for at least the first few years during busy season you’ll be working insane hours. Like 8AM-2AM. No joke.

Depending on the firm, that doesn't change in your first few years...it continues...but the trade offs are what keeps most into it.

 

[dakingii]

30 years at a Big 4 is insane. I could never do that.

 

[unkn0wn]

I dont see how its expected

graduated in 2012 and started in audit at a big 4 at $52k, got my cpa in 2013, went to industry in 2015 at $75K, just landed a senior revenue accountant job i start at next month for $125k. btw all in the SF bay area. hope this helps.

Must have been hard to get by with $52-75k in SF

 

[kickn-since89]

graduated 2013, currently a senior at Disney in Burbank, just a little under $80K. No CPA, but I had to put in a lot more work and make connections (my manager now is someone that when she was an sfa saw I put in work). I'm thinking of going to get my CPA or CMA just to have it for the resume. Don't want to work for big 4 or do peoples taxes.

For anyone out there that's still in school I never went the big 4 route or any of those companies and I could never have been happier. At school they pushed for it like it was our only option, its not. But no one was out there to tell me its not the only option. And now I make about the same as a senior with a CPA and I never had to put in crazy hours my whole career been the normal 8hrs except during quarter close. Its just the future positions that are a little weird. I know plenty of managers that don't have a CPA here. I'm sure if you put in the work and bust your *** and get along with people it will happen. I don't have doubts but having it is like a nail in the coffin

 

[kickn-since89]

Anyone here have their CMA?

 

[Chopper]

Sort of - it's partially assuming you're retiring a partner so it's kind of like your buyout. I hadn't heard 75% - i thought it was 100%...The overall comp structure is interesting to say the least. Are you w/ KPMG?

Edit - I thought the pension was only good for 15 years too, didn't hear the rest of your life. I mean either way, if you live your life through 30 years in the Big 4 you've earned it.

I’m not positive about the 75%. You could def be right. 100% of average last five years rings a bell. Yep, the assumption is you make partner by then. I remember my boy telling me it was for life.

I’m not at KPMG or in accounting but one of my college roommates has been with them for 12 years now.

 

[Majorbread]

Just passed final exam for CPA license and now applying for license

Did anyone in industry experience a pay bump after getting their CPA at the same company they worked for? Or did you have to get a new job to see the $$ increase?

Accounting been pretty good to me financially since graduating, but I'm definitely trying to secure the bag after getting my CPA. Don't really want a controller type role, financial reporting/ SEC reporting is more of my style.

Did the Big 4 thing for 3 years then jumped over to industry to have more of a life outside of work. My only beef with the profession in general is that a lot of folks (in my experience) who came from Big 4 look at working a lot like a badge of honor (it's not ), and that culture kind of comes with them when they move to industry in managerial type roles. But other than that no complaints. It's not for everyone though

 

[sfc415]

Just passed final exam for CPA license and now applying for license

My only beef with the profession in general is that a lot of folks (in my experience) who came from Big 4 look at working a lot like a badge of honor (it's not ), and that culture kind of comes with them when they move to industry in managerial type roles. But other than that no complaints. It's not for everyone though

My previous boss at the last startup I worked at was like this. He kept telling me stories about how he worked 12-14 hours a day at EY like I gave a @#$@, and he expected us to do the same (I already did that for a while at the first firm I worked for and wasn't trying to do it again).

Even if I finished all my projects on time and had nothing left to do for the day, he'd want me to stay in the office for another 4-5 hours to do nonsense work that's better suited for interns or office managers. I don't mind doing non-accounting tasks (comes with any startup job), but seriously, trying to get me to do collections calls with customers for 3-4 hours a day is ridiculous

My current job is perfect for me. I might complain about the hipsters I have to work with, but having unlimited PTO with no restrictions on when to take it (other than month/quarter close time) and being able to work from home 1-2 days a week is

I do agree that while Big 4 background means nothing about how good of an accountant you are (and for the number of hours worked, it doesn't even pay well compared to most of the companies I've been at) it's a resume builder for managerial roles. Same with the CPA. I haven't been able to apply for some jobs just because the requirements were "Must have 3-5 years experience at a Big 4".

The startup scene in the Bay Area is basically what allowed me to move ahead quickly in this field. Being an accountant for startups is so damn chaotic, that if you're flexible and able to solve problems quickly, you have a lot of value. I've seen a lot of accountants who came from established companies/Big 4 and couldn't handle the daily disasters that happen at startups Not that I blame them; the constant "putting out fires" mentality is irritating to me too

 

[lazyj10]

Too lazy to quote - but yes, the bay area as a whole including public accounting, needs to lay off this "how much I work mentality". Sure I fell into that trap when I was younger, but now, I'm with two kids and seeing them grow up is far more important than a lot of things. We should work efficiently and be disgusted on those who have to work 85 hours a week to get a damn audit out. That's for the bird. This isn't brain surgery.

 

[lazyj10]

I’m not positive about the 75%. You could def be right. 100% of average last five years rings a bell. Yep, the assumption is you make partner by then. I remember my boy telling me it was for life.

I’m not at KPMG or in accounting but one of my college roommates has been with them for 12 years now.

Interesting - I'm at KPMG...he has similar experience to me though I wasn't at KPMG for the entirety of my career...they've changed the partner structure and pension structure before so it may have been something like that originally.

 

[jjs]

yeah 30 years at a big 4 is a no-no for me.

But then again i'm going to work in strategy not accounting.

And no I'm not going to work for the big 3

 

[Brownstone]

Ran into the local partner here for KPMG through school and his brain power was on another level.

 

[dman14]

My previous boss at the last startup I worked at was like this. He kept telling me stories about how he worked 12-14 hours a day at EY like I gave a @#$@, and he expected us to do the same (I already did that for a while at the first firm I worked for and wasn't trying to do it again).

Even if I finished all my projects on time and had nothing left to do for the day, he'd want me to stay in the office for another 4-5 hours to do nonsense work that's better suited for interns or office managers. I don't mind doing non-accounting tasks (comes with any startup job), but seriously, trying to get me to do collections calls with customers for 3-4 hours a day is ridiculous

My current job is perfect for me. I might complain about the hipsters I have to work with, but having unlimited PTO with no restrictions on when to take it (other than month/quarter close time) and being able to work from home 1-2 days a week is

I do agree that while Big 4 background means nothing about how good of an accountant you are (and for the number of hours worked, it doesn't even pay well compared to most of the companies I've been at) it's a resume builder for managerial roles. Same with the CPA. I haven't been able to apply for some jobs just because the requirements were "Must have 3-5 years experience at a Big 4".

The startup scene in the Bay Area is basically what allowed me to move ahead quickly in this field. Being an accountant for startups is so damn chaotic, that if you're flexible and able to solve problems quickly, you have a lot of value. I've seen a lot of accountants who came from established companies/Big 4 and couldn't handle the daily disasters that happen at startups Not that I blame them; the constant "putting out fires" mentality is irritating to me too

this
done some temp work for startups out here. a lot of these companies just don't have their **** together. no real HR or acct dept set up.
don't get me started on how they spend their money. no wonder these companies burn through millions of dollars in funding and most don't survive.
are you currently at a startup?

 

[biggie62]

Public hours aren’t that tragic outside the big 4. I mean don’t get me wrong I still work around 2600 hours throughout the year but there are slower periods. And I am working out of NYC so I def work harder than my colleagues in other offices in my firm even in the same practice.

But it depends what you want. While I see what people say about avoiding public, however you are thrown so much stuff each year that a year in public really is worth 2-3 in private. It is why manager level people are hired at a young age. While they may not be able to actually manage people, many of the people’s technical skills are probably better. Don’t get me wrong I’m not blinded, I know partners that can sell but don’t know a lick of GAAP when there is a technical issue. But there are some really smart people in some practices. There are def a lot of idiots too who just coast but those don’t last long from my experience.

 

[sfc415]

this
done some temp work for startups out here. a lot of these companies just don't have their **** together. no real HR or acct dept set up.
don't get me started on how they spend their money. no wonder these companies burn through millions of dollars in funding and most don't survive.
are you currently at a startup?

Yes, still at a startup (went back to a firm last year, but one of my clients bought me out). Overall it's well structured compared to most of the crazy places I've worked at/with, but yeah, it still has a bunch of inexperienced/incompetent people that give themselves fancy titles

An example: Our accounting team is responsible for payroll, but our HR team keeps updating salaries incorrectly, so there's always people reaching out to me and accusing me of making mistakes (which is embarrassing; payroll is the one thing you HAVE to get right).

 

[aec23]

I dont see how its expected


Must have been hard to get by with $52-75k in SF

Started out living in Oakland and haven't left. Wasn't about to throw away my whole paycheck for SF rent back then.

 

[bodeine brazy]

Tryna learn the terminology.

 

[District of Columbia]

Thread bump.

Were internships crucial to you all getting job opportunities after graduation ?

Im 28 and looking to switch careers ..but a internship isn’t viable with a wife and kids

 

[dman14]

Thread bump.

Were internships crucial to you all getting job opportunities after graduation ?

Im 28 and looking to switch careers ..but a internship isn’t viable with a wife and kids

knew a guy that switched careers into accounting. he was taking classes and worked an entry level staff accounting position
not sure what your background is in but accounting is always in demand

 

[kickn-since89]

Thread bump.

Were internships crucial to you all getting job opportunities after graduation ?

Im 28 and looking to switch careers ..but a internship isn’t viable with a wife and kids

personally internships for me was beneficial. but I was a young kid still in college, living at home and they helped a lot because I had no work experience. Some companies offer paid internships but im sure you can find an entry level position even if its just bookkeeping that you can get into. You can let them know that you are switching career paths

 

[biggie62]

It sort of depends on the size of firm you want to work at and whether you go to a target school for your degree. There are more variables than you realize to see if it makes sense or not.