Ask a Big 4 Auditor anything...Accounting majors GTFIH!

[Raidersfan13]

I make a similar salary as you and other than the months of feb, march, half of april, august, september, I only work 3 days a week. Those busy months i am only working 50 hour weeks. Very small tax firm FTW.

Thats awesome bro. I really wish my undergrad would have emphasized tax and small firms more. We were almost pushed to go the big 4 audit route.

I see my friends at small tax firms, and they are loving life!

[sofakingswole]

I'll be graduating next year with an accounting degree and im trying to get an internship this summer. My gpa is 2.9 cumulative, and 3.5ish in business classes at a pretty good university. What are some good options besides going big 4 (what job titles, what kinds of companies)? Will my cumulative gpa really hurt my job prospects or will I be ok because i have A's in accounting and finance classes?

[shortys408]

I'll be graduating next year with an accounting degree and im trying to get an internship this summer. My gpa is 2.9 cumulative, and 3.5ish in business classes at a pretty good university. What are some good options besides going big 4 (what job titles, what kinds of companies)? Will my cumulative gpa really hurt my job prospects or will I be ok because i have A's in accounting and finance classes?

I would write on your resume
"accounting GPA: 3.5" dont even mention the 2.9

[Frank784]

No problem brah. What do you want to know?

A few on the top of my head...how was the transition from just having tax courses to the kind of work you were doing/ are doing your first year. I know it would likely vary depending on what industry work you're looking at(State and local taxes, high net worth individuals, corporate, international, whatever the case may be), but how was that transition and whats the work like? I'm being thrown into the fire with having no internship experience and being hired on in January...how many hours could I be looking at on average? Will there really be nights where I don't go home? Hearing that in undergrad had always scared me away from big 4 and public accounting. Also, anything else that would be good to know or maybe you didn't know or should've known going into it.

thanks brah. reps of course for the help and fellow accounting brah

[Raidersfan13]

I'll be graduating next year with an accounting degree and im trying to get an internship this summer. My gpa is 2.9 cumulative, and 3.5ish in business classes at a pretty good university. What are some good options besides going big 4 (what job titles, what kinds of companies)? Will my cumulative gpa really hurt my job prospects or will I be ok because i have A's in accounting and finance classes?

Your prospects will look much better if you can get it above a 3. So do what you gotta do to boost that cumulative GPA.

Besides big 4, there are plenty of other options available to accounting majors. Within the realm of public accounting there are plenty of mid size and small firms. Outside of public accounting, you can get financial analyst gigs at virtually any public or private company (I have plenty of friends who are now financial analysts at places like Google, Apple). You can also go the government route- government hires a ton of accountants. You can also apply for consulting and banking gigs too, but with those grades, its gonna be tough

[sofakingswole]

I would write on your resume
"accounting GPA: 3.5" dont even mention the 2.9

Ya, thats probably a good idea. Whats it like working at a smaller company? I think thats the direction I want to go after school. Which positions do they try to fill with recent graduates?

[shortys408]

Ya, thats probably a good idea. Whats it like working at a smaller company? I think thats the direction I want to go after school. Which positions do they try to fill with recent graduates?

I am working with a sole proprietor. He has over 150 clients for just himself though. It is nice working at a small firm like this because you can see the entire picture. At a big 4 firm it is impossible to see everything. But I see every aspect of running an accounting firm and I am involved in every part of it as well. So I am definitely learning more than my big 4 friends who are just doing the same kind of tax returns repeatedly.

[HansF]

Is accounting as depression as everyone makes it out to be? I like it. I get strange looks when I tell people I do it. They say accounts go postal.

[shortys408]

Is accounting as depression as everyone makes it out to be? I like it. I get strange looks when I tell people I do it. They say accounts go postal.

it is definitely not for everyone. I like it, but if I talk about it to anyone, it will put them to sleep.

[MikeC23]

Could i get a job at a Big 4 firm in the Bay Area/San Jose right out of school if I'm attending a uni in Washington?

[Raidersfan13]

Is accounting as depression as everyone makes it out to be? I like it. I get strange looks when I tell people I do it. They say accounts go postal.

Its not as boring as the general public makes it out to be. I mean, im getting paid to analyze and understand some of the most complex businesses in the world. I work on different assignments everyday, and different clients, so no two days are the same.

I cant speak for the A/P clerks and low level staff accountants at dunder-mifflin, im pretty sure if I was one of those, id want to kill myself.

Could i get a job at a Big 4 firm in the Bay Area/San Jose right out of school if I'm attending a uni in Washington?

You would probably have to reach out to your schools recruiter, and let them know of your interests. If they like you, and there is need in SJ, they will reach out to that office. I have friends that went to school with me, but ended up accepting offers with the same firm in NY, SF, San Diego. Even I reached out to the firms NY recruiter at one point, so its definitely possible

[nick187]

Is Internal Auditor a good career ?

[jcilla26]

A few on the top of my head...how was the transition from just having tax courses to the kind of work you were doing/ are doing your first year. I know it would likely vary depending on what industry work you're looking at(State and local taxes, high net worth individuals, corporate, international, whatever the case may be), but how was that transition and whats the work like? I'm being thrown into the fire with having no internship experience and being hired on in January...how many hours could I be looking at on average? Will there really be nights where I don't go home? Hearing that in undergrad had always scared me away from big 4 and public accounting. Also, anything else that would be good to know or maybe you didn't know or should've known going into it.

thanks brah. reps of course for the help and fellow accounting brah

I interned at the firm I'm at, so that helped tremendously. Tax courses really just cover the basics of tax, so nobody expects you to know a lot coming in with no prior experience. However, you'll see everything from the tax courses really come together in practice. Every return that goes out to a client you're on, you'll be preparing (in most cases). They are hiring you in January to set you up for busy season. The idea is to get you acclimated with the firm and work, before busy season hits. In terms of hours.... it all depends on what group you're in. I have friends that didn't work a weekend during busy season and I have friends that charged around 320 hours in a month. Deadlines are deadlines - so if a client gives you information late, guess who that affects? You still have to get it out on time.. If it means you have to pull an all nighter to get something out on 9/15, then that's just something you have to do.

Some of the basic tips.... ALWAYS self review your work before you give it to the senior to review. Remember, by giving them ****ty work, you are just making more work for them. Your job is to make their lives easier, not harder. Don't spin your wheels on a problem you may be having for too long. Ask questions, but always make sure you actually think about the problem before you ask. As long as you work hard and try to be efficient as possible, you'll do fine.

[Frank784]

I interned at the firm I'm at, so that helped tremendously. Tax courses really just cover the basics of tax, so nobody expects you to know a lot coming in with no prior experience. However, you'll see everything from the tax courses really come together in practice. Every return that goes out to a client you're on, you'll be preparing (in most cases). They are hiring you in January to set you up for busy season. The idea is to get you acclimated with the firm and work, before busy season hits. In terms of hours.... it all depends on what group you're in. I have friends that didn't work a weekend during busy season and I have friends that charged around 320 hours in a month. Deadlines are deadlines - so if a client gives you information late, guess who that affects? You still have to get it out on time.. If it means you have to pull an all nighter to get something out on 9/15, then that's just something you have to do.

Some of the basic tips.... ALWAYS self review your work before you give it to the senior to review. Remember, by giving them ****ty work, you are just making more work for them. Your job is to make their lives easier, not harder. Don't spin your wheels on a problem you may be having for too long. Ask questions, but always make sure you actually think about the problem before you ask. As long as you work hard and try to be efficient as possible, you'll do fine.

Thanks for the info...I'm looking forward to learning a ton and later finding a niche for myself. I definitely want to impress and show them that I'm driven and want to move up(Though, who doesn't?) The money is pretty great, but I know it will work itself out as long as I perform. I keep reading that a ton of people leave for industry and get raises anywhere from 20-50% from public accounting and the turnover is relatively high. I wonder what turnover really is like, because all of the firms pretty much have it lined up as senior in 3 years, manager 5 or so, etc.

[FunkymonkAW]

Thanks for the info...I'm looking forward to learning a ton and later finding a niche for myself. I definitely want to impress and show them that I'm driven and want to move up(Though, who doesn't?) The money is pretty great, but I know it will work itself out as long as I perform. I keep reading that a ton of people leave for industry and get raises anywhere from 20-50% from public accounting and the turnover is relatively high. I wonder what turnover really is like, because all of the firms pretty much have it lined up as senior in 3 years, manager 5 or so, etc.

Turnover is pretty high. A lot of people burn out after a few years, others are just there to hit their 3 or 5 year mark and GTFO with a nice addition to their resume, etc etc. From what I understand, the high turnover is generally the result of the employees' decisions, not necessarily layoffs.

[jcilla26]

Thanks for the info...I'm looking forward to learning a ton and later finding a niche for myself. I definitely want to impress and show them that I'm driven and want to move up(Though, who doesn't?) The money is pretty great, but I know it will work itself out as long as I perform. I keep reading that a ton of people leave for industry and get raises anywhere from 20-50% from public accounting and the turnover is relatively high. I wonder what turnover really is like, because all of the firms pretty much have it lined up as senior in 3 years, manager 5 or so, etc.

Yeah we just had our comp and one of the partners told me "your biggest raise comes when you leave to go to a different company." I personally love public accounting, though haha

[Dan916]

Are you aware the trillion dollar stimulus spending created a need for federal auditors and those jobs are filled by now? Thats too bad

[naloomis]

Does anyone know about the Degree in Accounting offered by UBC? http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/dap/

It's for people who already have their bachelor's degree in something unrelated.

From what I've read, the program gets a ton of people, but I hear the big 4 will recruit you from there if you keep a high GPA. Any insight?

[RedAccord]

Bumping week old thread..

What was the second round of the interview like? I have an interview for PwC in a week but what really makes me nervous is what comes after the interview. Apparently, if I make it, I go to their office for a day and they interview me multiple times throughout the day. Is this true? What was your experience with this?

Side note: applied for a tax internship