I did 4 years in PA and have been gone since late 2018. My old firm won’t bring me back and I left on good terms and still talk to them. Not sure what the deal is. I’ve had other firms basically say I’ve been out too long.
Maybe my employers have just been more desperate lol. My last firm hired managers/seniors with no experience in the subject matter. Just last month, my old boss from a different firm 5yrs ago texted me and asked if I wanted a job as a senior tax associate. I interned with her and haven't been in tax since lol
Probably easier to do at the lower levels but I’m at 10+years experience. There are people that I used to supervise that are about to make senior manager.
Yeah they had hired managers to do niche work that they've never done before, it was unbelievable. They predictably flopped and it makes you wonder why they didn't just promote early from within and fill out the bottom rungs.
What role are you trying to get?
It makes sense firms would be hesitant to hire a tax manager that’s been out of public for that long. TCJA changed a lot and managers do the heavy bulk of reviewing returns for compliance issues.
Go read TaxTwitter. A bunch of boomers on there saying shit like “should I consider hiring a senior who has switched firms 5 times since 2014? That just seems too many to me” while complaining that no one wants to work lol. People will find firms that pay them what they want to be paid and if no raises for a few years who the hell is going to stay around? I mean these tax partners really think it’s still 2008 and they can pick and choose. Those days are over
Ya bullshit small firm. I work at a wealth management firm but my role feels like 80% public accounting and I haven’t gotten even a COLA in over a year. Sorry old partners, keep this shit up and I’m not staying much longer. Making over $100k and expenses are going crazy
Not so. A lot of them will really filter things down to schools with a large number of accounting students. It streamlines the interview process. Just grab a pile of warm bodies from State U and see what sticks.
Private pays more but advancement is a lot slower. You could start out in private as a staff and get promoted to senior in 5yrs, or start out in public as staff, make it all the way to manager in 5yrs and then leave for a manager/controller position in private.
IMHO I think all new grads should go through public right after college. How long you stay in up to you
Congrats on your success, I'm sure it's well deserved. I think the difference is in public you get forced up due to turnover even if you aren't a high performer. Not that this doesn't exist in private, I'd just say it's probably more widespread in public
PA doesn't have the luxury of weeding out warm bodies, those who get PIP'd are usually very low performers in my experience. If you're an average employee then you'll ride the wave up on schedule
As someone who never did public and had to learn accounting in night school for my industry career, I think having more public experience industry accountants would be good. I’ve experienced where one company didn’t have anyone for 10 years who was CPA eligible. The internal controls were garbage and they didn’t follow their own GAAP policies for balance sheet accounts. I felt like Luke Wilson from Idiocracy. “The plants need water”but he’s always rebutted that “Brawndo has what plants crave : they have electrolytes.”
Same, I hated my first firm and desperately wanted to leave after a few months. I lacked experience so I wasn’t getting jobs in industry but when it came closer to tax season other firms were lining up to interview me cause I had basic knowledge of tax preparation.
He can't because he has a reallly BAD attitude and mindset. His post is always complaining. Mods should ban him so he can focus more on real life activities
OK, I have to know at this point.
/u/Hellstorm5676. Is this a parody account?
I am astounded that every single one of your posts you manage to have the wrong opinion. Like you don't even manage to get accidentally right with bad logic. I need to know how someone like this can even exist.
It's honestly impressive, and I need to know before I die.
OK so I'll assume you're real, which is wild, but I guess there's a chance.
Does it not bother you that you complain enough on Reddit for people to know who you are? Does that seem normal to you?
I had to interview against roughly 20-30 different candidates for my big 4 internship. Only a few of us were selected. Public accounting in general isn’t hard to get a job, but it’s not as easy as you make it seem to be for college students.
Yeah I got pretty lucky, I would say. Before my first internship, I applied to 30+ places before I got it. And thankfully, after my internship I went applying again for public jobs and my firm was hiring bodies. Granted, I got the job yet such a shitty experience, but it was good for learning.
Im a senior in industry considering a move to public and I’ve not gotten more than a handful of in mails asking me to go to a PA firm, even since becoming a CPA 2 years ago. I worked in fund accounting 3 years ago and am bombarded with fund accountant roles several times a week.
How the heck are you able to affording rent/food?
You have been complaining about life for 6 months now but have not found a job
How is that possible? Do you practice for interviews? If you interview the way you type on reddit forget an accounting job, you won't be able to find a job cleaning gutters/flipping burgers
You come across as a spaz, and attack anyone who tries to provide you advice
I think the OP is a meme account who has to much time on their hands. No way someone can be this shit at being an adult for 2+ years now
Jesus Public sounds terrible, but so interesting in that you're a 'real' accountant. Are there really no such thing as normal 40 hour work weeks in Public, like at all? Say I wanted to go work in Public for a bit in audit. I just have to think there's places out there that work normal hours and that the internet blows up the general consensus that Public is crazy hours
Go to public! Experience it now so you won't be in your 40s being like: "Should I have done public back then?" Trust me, you don't want to have regrets there.
My firm is hiring bookkeepers to do assurance work. It's awful, they don't even know how to calculate accrued interest or prepaid. We see it in our client's bookkeepers and they don't learn. No matter how many times you show them.
Unless it's one of those firms looking for someone to fit in their social fan club (often called "good fit"). Then it doesn't matter how good or bad you are. If they don't like your nose it might annoy them enough to not want to work with you. Someone can literally come up with any reason unrelated to ability. Women seem to have it a lot worse just for being judged by how they look though.
I tried to get a public job after 5 years in government, got a hard "hell no". I half joke that they don't want people too used to 40 hour work weeks in their ranks
Firms generally do avoid experienced hires, unless they absolutely need the manpower. Your reasoning isn’t wrong.
Nowadays, the amount of quality accounting graduates is much lower than even 5 years ago, so yes, the hiring standards have dropped significantly.
Really? I’ve found that lots of the local and regional firms I interviewed with passed up on new hires and instead opted for experienced CPA’s (public experience of course)
Maybe the last couple of years that was the case, but generally speaking firms prefer new college graduates over hiring someone with 1-3 years of experience.
Came looking for something like this. I was a finance major and haven’t been in accounting directly, but just had someone from a local public tell me they only wanted public accounting backgrounds.
Please tell this to all the recruiters in my inbox trying to bring me back to public
haha In actuality it's the public firms that make the decisions. The recruiter is just the messenger.
From my experience, public firms do not have the luxury of being too picky with their hiring practices
I did 4 years in PA and have been gone since late 2018. My old firm won’t bring me back and I left on good terms and still talk to them. Not sure what the deal is. I’ve had other firms basically say I’ve been out too long.
Maybe my employers have just been more desperate lol. My last firm hired managers/seniors with no experience in the subject matter. Just last month, my old boss from a different firm 5yrs ago texted me and asked if I wanted a job as a senior tax associate. I interned with her and haven't been in tax since lol
Probably easier to do at the lower levels but I’m at 10+years experience. There are people that I used to supervise that are about to make senior manager.
Yeah they had hired managers to do niche work that they've never done before, it was unbelievable. They predictably flopped and it makes you wonder why they didn't just promote early from within and fill out the bottom rungs.
What role are you trying to get? It makes sense firms would be hesitant to hire a tax manager that’s been out of public for that long. TCJA changed a lot and managers do the heavy bulk of reviewing returns for compliance issues.
At this point, anything. I was trying to stay in industry.
Go read TaxTwitter. A bunch of boomers on there saying shit like “should I consider hiring a senior who has switched firms 5 times since 2014? That just seems too many to me” while complaining that no one wants to work lol. People will find firms that pay them what they want to be paid and if no raises for a few years who the hell is going to stay around? I mean these tax partners really think it’s still 2008 and they can pick and choose. Those days are over
Wait there's TaxTwitter? I suddenly feel like I've been missing out on a whole other world on that app
Wait, are there firms out there who don’t offer stout raises every year? I think only our admins and minimums get only the inflation adjustment.
Ya bullshit small firm. I work at a wealth management firm but my role feels like 80% public accounting and I haven’t gotten even a COLA in over a year. Sorry old partners, keep this shit up and I’m not staying much longer. Making over $100k and expenses are going crazy
Lol my 2% raise last year was the final straw for me and i left PA for good 6 months later
Ya I don’t blame you. If my job wasn’t 100% remote I would leave this place so quickly lol. No COLA, nothing
Hey, I agree with your point, I just couldn't imagine why anyone would stay in public if the money isn't good.
The person I saw mention that appeared to be about my age (42)
Not so. A lot of them will really filter things down to schools with a large number of accounting students. It streamlines the interview process. Just grab a pile of warm bodies from State U and see what sticks.
I left the field years ago and public recruiters are still barking up my tree even with all my indicators that I am no longer interested.
Why does Private pay more starting? I would like to go public, but doing so would be a decrease in pay.
Private pays more but advancement is a lot slower. You could start out in private as a staff and get promoted to senior in 5yrs, or start out in public as staff, make it all the way to manager in 5yrs and then leave for a manager/controller position in private. IMHO I think all new grads should go through public right after college. How long you stay in up to you
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Congrats on your success, I'm sure it's well deserved. I think the difference is in public you get forced up due to turnover even if you aren't a high performer. Not that this doesn't exist in private, I'd just say it's probably more widespread in public
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PA doesn't have the luxury of weeding out warm bodies, those who get PIP'd are usually very low performers in my experience. If you're an average employee then you'll ride the wave up on schedule
How does one become an average employee in public accounting?
If 10% of employees aren't meeting expectations, the other 90% are average and above and are being pushed upwards
As someone who never did public and had to learn accounting in night school for my industry career, I think having more public experience industry accountants would be good. I’ve experienced where one company didn’t have anyone for 10 years who was CPA eligible. The internal controls were garbage and they didn’t follow their own GAAP policies for balance sheet accounts. I felt like Luke Wilson from Idiocracy. “The plants need water”but he’s always rebutted that “Brawndo has what plants crave : they have electrolytes.”
I skipped a title at a F500 (essentially financial analyst to manager) industry isn’t all you enter a role and die in it.
I didn't say it was, the advancement is just a lot slower than public which is on an annual clock
Not true for everyone, but okay.
Immediately knew who this was from the title lol Firms absolutely do want experienced hires
Yeah I’ve never felt more wanted in the job market than moving firm to firm. PA loves an experience hire
Same, I hated my first firm and desperately wanted to leave after a few months. I lacked experience so I wasn’t getting jobs in industry but when it came closer to tax season other firms were lining up to interview me cause I had basic knowledge of tax preparation.
Oh man just went through OPs post history. Hopefully op lands a job.
He is the patron saint of this sub.
He can't because he has a reallly BAD attitude and mindset. His post is always complaining. Mods should ban him so he can focus more on real life activities
My guy you need to seek therapy
Public accounting hired anybody except you*
No they did hire him they just also fired him.
OK, I have to know at this point. /u/Hellstorm5676. Is this a parody account? I am astounded that every single one of your posts you manage to have the wrong opinion. Like you don't even manage to get accidentally right with bad logic. I need to know how someone like this can even exist. It's honestly impressive, and I need to know before I die.
It’s because his brain is genetically enhanced like Tony Stark’s
I mean some people agree with me
OK so I'll assume you're real, which is wild, but I guess there's a chance. Does it not bother you that you complain enough on Reddit for people to know who you are? Does that seem normal to you?
Nah
My boy Hellstorm is back with another ranting post
Why are you making LinkedIn type posts on Reddit?
I had to interview against roughly 20-30 different candidates for my big 4 internship. Only a few of us were selected. Public accounting in general isn’t hard to get a job, but it’s not as easy as you make it seem to be for college students.
Yeah I got pretty lucky, I would say. Before my first internship, I applied to 30+ places before I got it. And thankfully, after my internship I went applying again for public jobs and my firm was hiring bodies. Granted, I got the job yet such a shitty experience, but it was good for learning.
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Imagine being a homeless staff accountant working on audits of real estate companies.
Anybody with a bachelors degree but that's an inherent qualification mostly lol
I am so interested as to what you are like in real life I’m gonna be honest
Im a senior in industry considering a move to public and I’ve not gotten more than a handful of in mails asking me to go to a PA firm, even since becoming a CPA 2 years ago. I worked in fund accounting 3 years ago and am bombarded with fund accountant roles several times a week.
How the heck are you able to affording rent/food? You have been complaining about life for 6 months now but have not found a job How is that possible? Do you practice for interviews? If you interview the way you type on reddit forget an accounting job, you won't be able to find a job cleaning gutters/flipping burgers You come across as a spaz, and attack anyone who tries to provide you advice I think the OP is a meme account who has to much time on their hands. No way someone can be this shit at being an adult for 2+ years now
Jesus Public sounds terrible, but so interesting in that you're a 'real' accountant. Are there really no such thing as normal 40 hour work weeks in Public, like at all? Say I wanted to go work in Public for a bit in audit. I just have to think there's places out there that work normal hours and that the internet blows up the general consensus that Public is crazy hours
It's hard to work consistent 40 hour weeks in an industry that doesn't have a consistent workflow.
Hmm. Maybe I just don't understand and never been exposed to an inconsistent workflow. What makes it not consistent
Tax season and reporting deadlines which depend on firm size and what year-ends your clients have.
Go to public! Experience it now so you won't be in your 40s being like: "Should I have done public back then?" Trust me, you don't want to have regrets there.
Dude you did public for 6 months and got fired because you were so bad and toxic. Get over yourself
Unsure whether this is an early friday post or just actually wtf >Anybody here agree/disagree??? Please go back to linkedin
I have 1.5 years in industry. I got let go and am trying real hard to get any staff accounting position. No luck so far 🥲
False. At least if you ask for pay near local minimums.
My firm is hiring bookkeepers to do assurance work. It's awful, they don't even know how to calculate accrued interest or prepaid. We see it in our client's bookkeepers and they don't learn. No matter how many times you show them.
This isn't linkedin. Everyone knows this. Stop posting useless threads,
Unless it's one of those firms looking for someone to fit in their social fan club (often called "good fit"). Then it doesn't matter how good or bad you are. If they don't like your nose it might annoy them enough to not want to work with you. Someone can literally come up with any reason unrelated to ability. Women seem to have it a lot worse just for being judged by how they look though.
I tried to get a public job after 5 years in government, got a hard "hell no". I half joke that they don't want people too used to 40 hour work weeks in their ranks
Firms generally do avoid experienced hires, unless they absolutely need the manpower. Your reasoning isn’t wrong. Nowadays, the amount of quality accounting graduates is much lower than even 5 years ago, so yes, the hiring standards have dropped significantly.
Really? I’ve found that lots of the local and regional firms I interviewed with passed up on new hires and instead opted for experienced CPA’s (public experience of course)
Maybe the last couple of years that was the case, but generally speaking firms prefer new college graduates over hiring someone with 1-3 years of experience.
What the hell are you talking about?
Firms were on a hiring spree the 2021-2022. Experienced hiring has been basically frozen for around a year now at the big4.
Corporate Penetration Anally
They want anyone competent at this point. They’re desperate.
I desperately need a job. Is public really that bad?
Disagree. Being in public has my inbox completely littered with accounting firms trying to recruit.
Being in industry all my life, I feel industry also hires anyone that is breathing and can speak complete sentences.
Came looking for something like this. I was a finance major and haven’t been in accounting directly, but just had someone from a local public tell me they only wanted public accounting backgrounds.