Job Description
but..overall, i like my job and the pros outweigh the cons by far. Additional Notes: I work for a Big 4 Accounting Firm.
Pros
during interviewing, you will never eat so well. when i interviewed for a week a 4 different firms went to every super nice and expensive steak or seafood place for lunch and dinner. all the recruits were wined and dined.
during the job: -during the work day i can go on instant messenger (aim/msn and our own internal work system) and chat with whoever i want.
-i have a nice laptop that i get to do all my work on.
-we have nice parties and get to get dressed up and fed if we want to attend them.
-we have intermural sports. i played on a cpa basketball league where you'd be surprised, the accountants are surprisingly atheltic.
-the client basically is at our mercy..we have to do a good job, but the client has to give us the things we need-it's too expensive not too. so we are kind of in a power position and thus...we have job security. unlike consulting, for public companies, especially large ones, since there are only 4 big four accounting firms who can handle fortune 500 (or 1000) companies, there's no other place a company can really go.
- we are fed. sure we have long hours from january thru march, but if i work past dinner time, our meals (dinner and sometimes lunch with breaks to starbucks) are expensed to the client.
-where else would a new hire get to talk to a controller of an international company or be in the mix of it all when a ceo/cfo "retires" (aka get's fired by their board of directors) and read about it the next day in the newspaper?
-i'm not stuck in a cubicle and get to go from client to client learning about many different businesses and industries so that when i eventually decide to leave (as long as i don't screw up royally) i'll be able to leave to a good job with lots of potential if i want.
-i can expense mileage and parking
-most people i work with are between 22-30. those that are older are senior managers and partners who are more youthful than most. and since you can't really get this job unless you have some sort of social skill because we are a client service business, the "geeky" accountant stereotype doesn't exist at my firm. most people are actually quite attractive and trendy with relatively well-rounded personalities.
-annual pay raises that are more diagonal than horizontal
-my firm is international: chances of out of state/country trainings, engagements, and transfers are very good if i choose.
-the firm paid for me to take cpa exam classes and for me to take the cpa test. saving me about $3000
-we work in relatively small teams (3-6) and get to know one another pretty well and people always seems eager to help each other.
Cons
-the commute, sometimes i have to drive 1 1/2 hours just to get to work.
-the clothes: initially it's fun to dress up to work, after a while it gets expensive and tedious to have to keep up with maintaining a nice wardrobe
-the hours part 1: i've worked one weekend "observing" a paint stores inventory from 7pm to 6 am after working a full day at a different client. thankfully those observations are only the 1 and 2 years at the firm
-the hours part 2: it's extremely difficult to make plans even for fridays and saturdays during busy season (january thur march). 55 hours weeks are normal and i've had friends who worked 90 hour weeks. it's kind of rough when i'm out the door by 7:30 to get to work at 8:30 and don't leave until 9:30 pm. only plus side is that i'm avoiding traffic on the way home.. i.e. there is no such thing as "drive at 5"
-finding someone who is not an accountant/auditor who understands what i do are few and far between.
-the work can be tedious as a first year. since i don't really know much compared to others a lot of the simple grunt work tasks are given to me, like formatting excel and inserting answers into a template for other people to actually do analytical work on.
-sometimes it feels like i'm under a microscope. while for the most part it's nice to have experiences people around me, it can also be a bit nerve-wracking because many times mistakes that i make are easily pointed out and there's no real way to hide them and fix them myself with out other people knowing.
-sometimes we are looked at as the enemy and a necessary evil. true people might be nice to your face, but i know they really would just wish we would be quick about our work and leave. and sometimes they aren't really that nice (i once had a controller tell me-joking, but not really "this is a stupid test, i dont' know why you're doing it")
-as a first year i don't get to make my own hours most of the time. i have to be at work when the 2nd year associate (or higher) tells me to be at work and can only leave when they tell me i can.
Company Size
10,000 or greater employees
Pay Range
$50,001-$60,000
Years in Job
1
Education
Bachelor in Business, Masters in Accounting
City
Seattle
State
WA
