Tell me about an accounting career - The Something Awful Forums

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask / Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Tell me about an accounting career

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Hellblazer187 posted:

I did 4 internships in law school and have zero job prospects. So if one good non-gently caress up internship in accounting gives a really good shot at a job, that's a vast improvement.

A joint CPA/JD is rare and quite sought after. I would recommend what a previous poster mentioned and consider steering your career to estate/trust issues. Interesting work, usually with interesting clients who might or might not do what you recommend - it's like playing the lottery!

# ¿ Nov 17, 2009 19:02

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# ¿ May 19, 2013 02:16

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Kinson posted:

This is good advice. Estate/trust attorneys are a rare breed. The last tax seminar I went to had one as a speaker for 3 hours and I (and everyone else) found the topic to be very interesting.*

*disclaimer: what tax accountants find interesting may not be the same as what normal people find interesting.

Don't know about that, went to a few classes in late October and the speakers changed every two hours. You'd go from an awesome speaker to a complete snoozefest four times a day.

# ¿ Nov 18, 2009 18:24

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Kinson posted:

Sounds about right.

Worst part - seminar was in Vegas. Sweet, sweet Las Vegas waiving from out in the lobby.

# ¿ Nov 19, 2009 20:12

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Kinson posted:

I hit a two day tax seminar in St Cloud, MN. Only left the hotel (which had the shittiest coffee ever) once to play a round of golf across the street. Was the worst course I've ever played on and they were aerating the greens to boot. Why did you go all the way to Vegas for class hours? Don't you live in Oregon? No cpe available nearer?

Backstory: When my wife and I got married, I told her since she planned the wedding I get the 10 year anniversary. She said sure. I them informed her at ten years we would renew our vows in front of Elvis in Vegas. She laughed.

Well, ten years was July 09, and bless her soul, she said find some CPE in vegas so we could write off some of our trip.

And yes, Elvis was as awesome as you might imagine.

# ¿ Nov 21, 2009 23:16

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

scribe jones posted:

Any of you knuckleheads have experience with nonprofit accounting? I am working on this statement of financial position (i.e. bizarro balance sheet) and it is driving me batty. The way the template is set up is this:

But in other SFPs I've looked at, there is no line for current surplus/(deficit) in the net assets section. And I can't figure out how to make the thing balance with it there. What the hell.

Most SFP will list the current surplus on another statement (sort of like the income statement), instead of putting it on the SFP (balance sheet).

# ¿ Dec 23, 2009 18:53

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

scribe jones posted:

Next quarter

Maybe I will just take it out and e-mail them back saying "I changed your poo poo, per FASB 117 "

Aaaaand you'll look like someone who is a day late and a dollar short. The FASBs are now gone effective for statements 9/30/09 and later.

Look up the accounting codification standard now if you want to be

# ¿ Dec 24, 2009 17:47

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

scribe jones posted:

Well it's an exercise, and all the dates given are in 2007... owned much???

But the ASC (958-210-45, if you're playing along at home) says the same thing. So who knows what these people are thinking.

Owned much? How so? I see no date on your original post. Ah well, good luck when you start doing real work.

# ¿ Dec 26, 2009 07:30

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Hellblazer187 posted:

edit: other possible career path would be to go solo as an accountant who can also provide some legal services (wills, trusts, etc.) although I'd have to be careful with the bar combining the two services. Mostly I just want to work for a company and make a salary though.

You don't want to do legal work. The bar will jump all over you, and if you mess up and get sued, you're going to get cleaned out.

Prosecutor: Do you have a law degree? Any formal training? Work for a law firm?

You: No. I read a book and took a continuing ed class on it, though.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2010 20:13

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

renholder posted:

ah, ok. what kind of issues do you come up with fin 48 implementation at private companies? just curious

Most private companies aren't dealing with the same kind of sophisticated tax structures (read: overseas trusts, variable interest entities, etc.) that are in a more "gray" area that some of the larger companies do. (Disclaimer: Some private companies do it as well, most do not).

Circular 230 has dampened the "go for it and let the IRS figure it out" attitude at a lot of firms. Putting a FIN 48 disclosure on your financials is a wonderful roadmap to point the IRS to your audit risk areas. Hence, I make sure all our financials issued are FIN 48 free for our clients, and that has involved making them change their accounting in certain areas.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2010 01:48

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Brother Michael posted:

so I have been told that a CPA and financial advisor (I guess a CFP?) team up is pretty common, what about a CPA and Lawyer team up?

Hellblazer I know you were talking about doing both a few posts back but what I referring to would be a partnership.

Depends on the state, some have ownership requirements (here in OR they relaxed the non-cpa owner rules a few years back). Besides that, you might want to separate the two for liability purposes.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2010 07:07

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

hellboundburrito posted:

There were 203 people in my intern class, and only one didn't get an offer. That person didn't get an offer because he allegedly sexually harassed a senior associate (it is said that he told her "drat, you white but you got a black rear end!") but he was still allowed to finish out his internship.

Well, we accountants are not known for our people skills.

# ¿ Mar 7, 2010 19:09

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Run my own practice, 90 hours weeks are the norm until 4/15.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2010 01:25

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Mandalay posted:

I hear there are goons in *this very thread* offering to help you for free! (I guess it's for the CPA experience requirement?)

Meh, not so bad, I dork around eight months out of the year.

I've already got one junior staff, don't need to train another.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2010 07:53

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

scribe jones posted:

As someone who feels the same way (I want to work in tax but I would muddle through if I were in audit instead), is there a better way to thread that needle with a recruiter? Or do you just have to go all in one way or the other?

Just tell them that you want to work on whatever job you're applying for, and switch later. Easier to switch once you get your foot in the door.

And most college kids tend to lean towards audit, since it's "sexier." Recruiter might if you'd be interested in tax at the time as well.

# ¿ Sep 7, 2010 19:52

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

garythetard posted:

If you go audit can you decide on any industry you want to specialize in or does it all just depend on what the firm needs at that time?

Depends on who you suck up to and can tag along on their audit jobs. Small firms you will tend to audit everything (some local firms specialize, but not many). Large firms will tend to have niches, and the staff will lobby and politic heavily to get in on the "glamour jobs." (Nike, Microsoft, etc.)

Find the niche you are interested in beforehand, and perhaps bring it up in the interview/hiring process. (Tip: if you're being interviewed, ask the interviewer [or wait until they bring it up] what niche they work in, and state THAT's the one you might like to get some exposure in as well). Then find the main manager/senior who audits a lot of those clients and see if you can get assigned to work with them. If they like you and you're easy to work with, they will fight to get you assigned to their audit schedule (tip #2 - this means being on time, proactive, quick learner, no whining, and bust your rear end to not get your time written down ["realization"] since it makes the senior/manager look great).

If you find that the niche you're trying to get assigned to is not working, ask the manager (in a polite way) what you can do to get assigned to those. Don't be naive, though - you might just not be cut out to work on those jobs or with the currently assigned staff.

# ¿ Sep 8, 2010 16:57

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

gmilo posted:

My firm fits this description. However, it really depends on the firm. While Big4 experience is always sought after, smaller firms (and their smaller clients) typically give you more of an opportunity to work on every area of an audit from start to finish. All my coworkers who have quit have gotten good jobs. Don't get stuck in the mentality that its big 4 or bust.

Seconding this. A well-trained 3-4th year staff will have more experience running engagements than a 3-4th year Big 4 staff, simply because you're allowed more engagement administration. Big 4 will work more with public companies, but unless you're doing international tax/trust work (at which point you might be a lawyer anyways), you're not necessarily going to be dealing with more complex issues.

Big 4 is as sexy as it gets in the accounting world, but it's not required by any means.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2010 19:08

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

gmilo posted:

This is purely anecdotal but the only thing I've heard from tax lawyers or people who know tax lawyers is that the CPA is way worse than the bar exam. That being said, you can take it in parts which makes things significantly easier.

You young whippersnappers have it easy. Back in my day, you had to take it all at once! Over two days! And write essays!

# ¿ Oct 28, 2010 15:57

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

waar posted:

how can I find out if that can count toward my experience requirement to become a CPA?

Check with your state board of accountancy. Here in OR, you need to work under direct supervision of a CPA with five years' experience and get them to sign off.

# ¿ Nov 3, 2010 15:49

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

alfaholic posted:

As a junior in audit, I can say that the work is definitely not glamorous, and in busy season the hours are quite long (I'm schedule for 50-55 hour weeks in January).

Wuss. 90-100 hours a week from 2/1 - 4/15.

# ¿ Nov 8, 2010 17:55

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

scribe jones posted:

3. hit Abbi with a brick and steal his practice.

Sorry, I got enough staff as it is. I've been hit up twice this year by friends that were begging me to "go shopping" on their staff and take them off their hands before they did layoffs. Had to turn them down.

# ¿ Nov 10, 2010 16:39

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

pocket pool posted:

No I don't think she's really all that sure what she wants to do.

If she likes the work but hates the travel, she could look at working for a local CPA firm. Now's the time to switch, since the audit schedule is starting to fill up.

# ¿ Nov 16, 2010 21:39

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Missing Donut posted:

Rib,

Once you state your intention to leave, the partner should let you go rather than bargain with you. Face it, you're replaceable (but everyone at any firm your size is), and a person who has expressed a desire to leave is just someone who won't be a good team member.

My personal opinion is that once you hit this stage, get the gently caress out. I don't know how your busy season is structured, but it might not hurt your resume to leave at this stage, given the size of the firm. Were you working in a small firm, doing tax, then it is borderline too late to leave -- but only if you want to keep your public accounting options open.

Your resignation should be in writing, but if you won't see your partner, I can't imagine it would hurt to call him about the letter you left on his desk.

For many years, the IRS really didn't give a gently caress about unethical preparers. Sure, every once in a while they would go into crackdown mode, but they really didn't care unless the dollar amount was huge. Whistle-blowers were ignored even if the frauds were in the six figures per annum. In the last couple of years, the IRS seems to have taken a dim view of paid preparers and taxpayer representatives as a whole, taking the stance that taxpayers should be able to deal with the IRS by themselves. I don't know exactly what the split is between delusion and self-interest, and I don't care to know. Nevertheless, the IRS feels it necessary to regulate the industry.

Let's face it, the tax preparation field is a combination of tax professionals and fraudsters. The $64.25 fee is the first step toward federal regulation of the industry. To me (a CPA, for full disclosure), I find the registration system and the idea of federal regulation to be fine, and if this prevents states from enacting their own regulations, it's a net good. (Then again, in full disclosure, I usually deal with about 15 different states per tax season) On the other hand, the way that registration has been handled so far has been an unmitigated disaster.

If everything works as planned, it will be harder for a taxpayer to find an unscrupulous tax preparer to sign off on a work of fiction. Hopefully, it creates a perception that tax preparers know the tax code, but won't help you commit fraud, so that I am less bothered by these people.

IIRC, there was an article about how the IRS has 24 databases to track PTINs and none of them tie together. They audited a bunch of the PTINs, and found the majority of tax preparers were using multiple PTINs to dodge computer tracking.

The IRS is doing a good thing getting this done, however, making preparers will not increase the ethical preparation of tax returns. As a CPA, I need to attend a 4 hour ethics class every two years, but I don't leave there feeling like I'm a better tax preparer.

# ¿ Dec 1, 2010 16:55

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Missing Donut posted:

I would have never thought about getting a second PTIN just to foil computer tracking. Then again, I would have thought that they did social security number linking on the old PTIN system...

Ethics courses for CPAs are different than what the IRS is talking about. To the Service, ethics begins and ends with Circular 230. For CPAs, we have to deal with other issues such as independence. Also, the cynical side of me just assumes that 'ethics' is just a corporate bureaucracy buzzword, a bit of management-speak with no connection to the real world. It is supposed to sound good and fits with the stated intent of the registration program.

Come on, don't tell me you don't read accounting today.

http://www.accountingtoday.com/news...rs-51089-1.html

# ¿ Dec 1, 2010 22:22

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Missing Donut posted:

I read Accounting Today, I just have forgotten Accounting 500 Days Ago

Mind like a steel trap, baby.

# ¿ Dec 2, 2010 17:22

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Viriatha posted:

I've read the entire thread and given the OP's original question the focus for accounting seems to be on having it as your main career and working for yourself or a firm of some sort. I have a related question. What are your options if you want to do this part time?

I want to be an artist but I don't want to suffer "Starving Artist Syndrome". Having a part time job would allow me to support my art habit but still leave me time and energy to work on that art where a full time job probably would not, given the hours I've seen quoted here. I enjoy number games and do math for fun.

Would going to college and learning this skill be of any use to me? Are there even any part time positions available anywhere?

There's always demand for "part time tax season temps," but these tend to be people that are already experienced in doing this. Not sure anyone would want to bother training you for this to be honest.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2010 18:02

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

himurak posted:

I'm finishing up with my BS in Accounting in a non-major school next year and that means it's time to start looking at the Grad school's available. I'm not concerned with the Big 4 nor with a top school and have already had internships on the Audit side of things, which I despised.
I am debating between going to law school to get my JD and use those credits to fulfill the 150 requirement for the CPA. After that I would go for a Masters program in Tax Law. The alternative is to just go for a Masters in Accounting (MBA or MAcc) and specialize in Tax. I'm looking for some insight from either side of the fence as both seem reasonable to me.

CPA here - I'd steer towards the JD. A masters in tax isn't really all that helpful, and with a JD you have a lot more options available to you (either CPA firms or law firms). Masters in accounting locks you into a CPA firm.

# ¿ Feb 17, 2013 21:23

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

ThirdPartyView posted:

Yeah, I think this thread would probably disagree with that assessment. Unless you're doing pretty well at a T-14 law program, your odds of getting a solid job at a Big Law or even solid second tier firm goes down the shitter and if you end up going to a CPA firm with a JD, you might as well just bypass spending 3-4 years (depends if you do the LL.M. as well), ~$200,000 (or getting into that much debt, less maybe a paltry scholarship) and then having to spend another year passing the state bar by just doing an MS in Taxation (and saving a boatload of money). The average NPV of such a proposition simply doesn't make sense the vast majority of the time, IMO.

I was considering him working at a business law firm, not at a CPA firm as a first choice. CPA first year pay sucks.

If you don't want to attempt the law firm route, the masters would be a better option. I got the impression OP wanted more options.

# ¿ Feb 24, 2013 00:29

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

Harry posted:

Go to a bunch of firms and say "I have passed the CPA exam and am now looking for a job."

This time of year you're going to be shown the door since we're all swamped. Try in the fall, or find firms that do a lot of muni audit work and ask in the summer.

# ¿ Feb 24, 2013 00:30

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# ¿ May 19, 2013 02:16

AbbiTheDog: May 21, 2007

SirPhoebos posted:

I just started job hunting, so I'm far from discouraged yet. And yeah passing the exam felt like getting my wisdom teeth pulled at times, but it's done .

Trying to find a CPA firm job now in the middle of busy season with no experience will be an exercise in futility. Busy season is halfway done anyways.

Don't get discouraged but recognize most firms won't do any hiring until the fall.

# ¿ Feb 26, 2013 16:03

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask / Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Tell me about an accounting career