You want to work in accounting?

[lazyj10]

Mind you, I do NOT work for a Big 4. I cannot imagine their workload compared to mine. However, this email just came through.

Busy season has begun. Clients have already sent us a substantial amount of work that needs to be completed over the next few weeks. More work is coming each day. Therefore, the Partners request that all professional Staff and Seniors work a minimum of 60 chargeable hours per week starting today. We encourage you to work more hours to the extent that you have the work and are working efficiently. Aside from a few exceptions as directed by a Partner or Principal, Staff and Seniors should not have any non-chargeable work. Staff or Seniors who do not have enough chargeable work should contact me by e-mail after speaking with the Senior or Manager assigned to them.

Saturday morning treats began last week and will run through April 12[sup]th[/sup]. Generally, they will be set out at 9am each Saturday by members of the admin team. The first weekly lunch is planned for Friday, January 25th.

We hope that no one works more than six days in a week. As a reminder, firm policy is that staff may not work more than 12 hours in a day without prior written or e-mail approval from a Partner. You should be in the office daily by 8:30am. Arriving after 9am is by exception only and is not to be the general rule.


As you can see, they do their part regarding food and stuff, but the hours get to you after awhile. I posted this to show someinsight to those wondering what the lifestyle would be like. By no means am I comparing this to an I-banker or other industry. This is just from my firm and weare a national firm.

 

[flydaily]

damn....do they let you all do some work from your home or is all the extra hours at the office?

 

[DeadsetAce]

I work at a Big 4 firm, but not doing audit. So busy season does not affect me like it does for you. I usually work 40 chargeable and have 10 hours oftravel time flying to and from the client every week.

EDIT: But my friends here who are in audit are doing 60-80 hours a week during busy season, usually working saturdays and some sundays. Glad I'm not inaudit.

 

[shannonscrooks]

At my age and considering I am single, have no children, I have no problem putting in hours if the $ is right.

 

[jawnyquest]

getting an accounting degree is too much for me.

id have no problem working those hours though..

 

[frenchblue23]

Don't accountants make bank?



3 out of 12 months of heavy work load is not so bad if the money is gonna be right.



If I didn't hate math, I wouldn't mind being an accountant.

 

[lazyj10]

working at home depends if you have staff. I'll have a couple staff to oversee as a Senior, but I get in typically early. Therefore, I need to accommodatethem before I leave. If I'm lucky and they're bright, I can work 6:30 - 6:30 at the office and go home and finish if I'd like.



If my staff aren't so, then I will be at the office. Saturdays are typically done at the office, its more of a "show of face" since the Partnerscome in. It looks REALLY bad if you AREN'T here and a Partner is.



I very rarely travel. Most of our audits can be done at our office. I do travel to Portland for a client, but thats mainly because they have enough troubletrying to send us what we need.



The money is ok, but if you divide your salary by hours worked, its not a hot look.

 

[gunna get it]

At my age and considering I am single, have no children, I have no problem putting in hours if the $ is right.
Word. thats how I feel.

My Mom does accounting for ING in the city, her work load is Crazy right now.
My ex works for Fidelity, and from the end of December to April, they are required to put in 6 days a week.

 

[DeadsetAce]

They make good money...but not bank

 

[skip2mylou23]

Originally Posted by LazyJ10

working at home depends if you have staff. I'll have a couple staff to oversee as a Senior, but I get in typically early. Therefore, I need to accommodate them before I leave. If I'm lucky and they're bright, I can work 6:30 - 6:30 at the office and go home and finish if I'd like.



If my staff aren't so, then I will be at the office. Saturdays are typically done at the office, its more of a "show of face" since the Partners come in. It looks REALLY bad if you AREN'T here and a Partner is.



I very rarely travel. Most of our audits can be done at our office. I do travel to Portland for a client, but thats mainly because they have enough trouble trying to send us what we need.



The money is ok, but if you divide your salary by hours worked, its not a hot look.

I know discussing salaries is taboo but can you throw me a ballpark figure?

 

[dgk3188]

Originally Posted by DeadsetAce

They make good money...but not bank

my brother is making 100k +.

i'd say that's bank IMO

 

[starburyptgod]

^^ No overtime too, right?

 

[integra owner]

Originally Posted by dgk3188

Originally Posted by DeadsetAce

They make good money...but not bank

my brother is making 100k +.

i'd say that's bank IMO

125k is not a lot of money when you divide it by 60+ hours for 5months out of the year, and the stress that comes with being an accountant at a big firm. To be making "bank" at 100k, you would need to work nomore than 50 hours a week. After that, you're just working your life away; who wants tons of money if you have no time to spend it?

 

[sundoobie]

minimum of 60 chargeable hours

Screw that noise dawg. Work at a local firm ya all, less stress, less hours and prob less money however LIFE>$$$

 

[ubuibeme]

Minimum of 60 chargeable hours is crazy, but someone has to do it....

Business Marketing major, then Law School FTW!!!!! I wonder what the life is like for a lawyer @ a major firm... HovKid?

 

[jcash da kid]

Damn I'm a finance major and keep thinking about switching over to accounting. I had a quick question can I get a Bachelors in Finance and Masters inaccounting. Then in order to get my CPA i have to work audit right but for how many years 1 or 2. I'm in NY if that changes anything I know differentstates have different requirements. I think I might go that route but can anyone give the differences between the different sectors for some reason I'mreally interested in consulting even though I dont know too much about. Everyone tells me Consulting>Tax>Audit but I dont know how true that is or is itjust because of the salary.

 

[lazyj10]

Originally Posted by SunDOOBIE

minimum of 60 chargeable hours

Screw that noise dawg. Work at a local firm ya all, less stress, less hours and prob less money however LIFE>$$$







Our firm's growth has just been ridiculous, we have more work than people, even with all the new hires we go through....turnover is high in theindustry anyway.

Local firms in my area don't have some of the benefits, as good money (I have a mortgage), and the experience I'll need. Maybe in a few years if Iwant to stay in the field.

Minimum of 60 chargeable hours is crazy, but someone has to do it....

Business Marketing major, then Law School FTW!!!!! I wonder what the life is like for a lawyer @ a major firm... HovKid?

LOL - I may go to Law School one day, but not in the near future. Congrats if you're doing that path, but enjoy working more than I do.

Originally Posted by JCASH DA KID

Damn I'm a finance major and keep thinking about switching over to accounting. I had a quick question can I get a Bachelors in Finance and Masters in accounting. Then in order to get my CPA i have to work audit right but for how many years 1 or 2. I'm in NY if that changes anything I know different states have different requirements. I think I might go that route but can anyone give the differences between the different sectors for some reason I'm really interested in consulting even though I dont know too much about. Everyone tells me Consulting>Tax>Audit but I dont know how true that is or is it just because of the salary.

If you work in a public firm, you'll have your audit hours no problem. I had mine after like 1 busy season. I just need to finish the exam now.

As for your degree situation, all I can say is, I did a double option - my options were 1) bachelors in business administration with a emphasis in corporatefinancial accounting and 2) a second emphasis in finance.
It was an extra semester, and really worth it to me considering I enjoy both topics. I had JUST clearance to sit for the CPA exam without a masters. Ibasically had to use an elective to take Audit in college. By doing that, I wound up with enough. I studied the outline and saw a counselor. A lot of myfinance classes overlapped which was the lure of the degree but it didn't hinder my requirements for the exam which was important to me.

Consulting definitely has a better feel to it, I'd imagine. DeadsetAce I think does it, but I mean, it sounds more cushy to me (lol). The whole thing issubjective. Audits are needed because of lenders and others (or investors) and tax is needed because few are tax exempt. I think if you know tax really well,you can probably make more in that field because its more specialized but if you don't like tax, don't even bother (in my honest opinion).

 

[airvandal180]

Originally Posted by JCASH DA KID

Damn I'm a finance major and keep thinking about switching over to accounting. I had a quick question can I get a Bachelors in Finance and Masters in accounting. Then in order to get my CPA i have to work audit right but for how many years 1 or 2. I'm in NY if that changes anything I know different states have different requirements. I think I might go that route but can anyone give the differences between the different sectors for some reason I'm really interested in consulting even though I dont know too much about. Everyone tells me Consulting>Tax>Audit but I dont know how true that is or is it just because of the salary.

If you get a B.S. in Finance and a M.S. in Accounting, I'm pretty sure you can sit for the CPA, though don't quote me on that.
In NY State, youneed 3000 audit hours + passing the CPA exam, if you have just a B.S. If you have a master's degree, you only need 1500 audit hours + passing the CPA exam.

In terms of consulting>tax>audit, I think that's pretty accurate. I have a friend in E&Y's consulting practice and a friend who will bestarting in Deloitte's consulting practice in June and they like the travel involved, so if that rocks your boat consulting will be for you. I'mstarting in tax at PwC in July, and I'm familiar with the culture and work from two internships and I learned a lot. That being said, I can't imaginewhy anyone would want to do audit - the hours are a lot harsher than in tax.

 

[jcash da kid]

Yeah I dont know which option I want to go with because I'm not 100% sure if I want to do accounting because Managerial was boring to me compared toFinancial. My schools options would be to double major in Accounting and Finance which would be 150 credits so I think I could sit for the cpa right but Iwouldn't have my masters can I still do that as long as I get my Audit hours?? The other route would be just to switch my major and do the 5 year programand get my BS and MS in accounting or just stick with Finance and then get my masters in accounting. What classes would I need to apply to get my masters? Iknow I need to do intermediate 1 and 2, Cost Accounting and Tax. Is that all I need pretty much to apply for my masters??

 

[freshtadeff03]

I'm ready 4 it....

 

[funkdoctor73]

You life will be hell...I can tell you from experience, you are going to work at least 10 hours a day, and probably sleep 4-5 hours on a good day. Once youleave work, it does not mean your work is over...You really, REALLY need to love what you do to continue

Angel

 

[airvandal180]

Originally Posted by JCASH DA KID

Yeah I dont know which option I want to go with because I'm not 100% sure if I want to do accounting because Managerial was boring to me compared to Financial. My schools options would be to double major in Accounting and Finance which would be 150 credits so I think I could sit for the cpa right but I wouldn't have my masters can I still do that as long as I get my Audit hours?? The other route would be just to switch my major and do the 5 year program and get my BS and MS in accounting or just stick with Finance and then get my masters in accounting. What classes would I need to apply to get my masters? I know I need to do intermediate 1 and 2, Cost Accounting and Tax. Is that all I need pretty much to apply for my masters??

If you did that double major thing, you still need a master's to only need 1500 audit hours for the CPA license, regardless of how many credit hours youhave after graduation.

I couldn't tell you about finance majors taking masters degrees in accounting accounting but from what friends I know in the field have said, it'seasier to go from accounting to finance than it is to go from finance to accounting in terms of career changes.
Accounting, IMO, is more practical; I actually don't plan on staying in accounting for more than 7-8 years, I want to open up a fitness-consultingfirm for young professionals since I worked in a gym for a couple of years during college and liked the personal training aspects. But I know accounting willbe much more useful for me than finance/economics if I was to make that career change; that's why I majored in it.

 

[tmay407]

Dang man, you're making me not want to major in accounting anymore...I was thinking about either accounting or finance. What kind of jobs can I get with afinance degree?

 

[swyftdahoe]

Accounting sucks.. I have a few friends who work for one of the big 4.. And it's just not worth it lol.. That said, I'm a programmer so my hoursaren't ideal either..

 

[jcash da kid]

Isn't it public accounting that really sucks btu private isn't too bad??