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Do you like the fast pace, social/collegiate atmosphere, and resources of your large company? I have split my career between large firms and tiny local firms and when I was at a small firm recently it felt like a waste of my abilities not to mention plain boring compared to a large PA firm. The clients are less interesting and frankly less inspiring, and there weren’t opportunities outside of work itself , like groups or semi regular events to get involved with, hardly any travel opportunities, and little opportunity to pivot. Obviously I am projecting my own experience but (and I say this as a 1040 specialist) the grind of churning out boring AF 1040s that take 30 min - 2 hrs a piece and dealing with all of the annoying average folks who have a weirdly worse sense of entitlement when it comes to service compared to higher income people, sounds like a long slow painful slog for the next 40 years. DM if you want to talk more, but I think you get the picture LOL. Thank the person for thinking of you and the vote of confidence, then do what’s right for you.
Work at a small firm now (less than 30 staff including partners) and handle partnership, s corp, some c corp, and personal returns. It’s amazing how many of the 1040 only clients take up more time with calls, follow up emails, “quick questions” than the business clients. For example, I never had a business client leave me 3 messages asking if medical expenses for a cat are deductible.
There is clearly a market for people who can churn those 1040s but it’s definitely a volume based business, and many people at that level won’t extend.
Had a buddy in a similar situation who ended up selling the practice to H&R Block because he hated it - made pretty good money from what I understand but definitely do not know the intricacies they went into the subsequent deal.
Thank you! Yeah, when you look past the potential $$$ the reality is that ownership isn’t for everyone and I need to figure that out for myself.
If the practice was worth something they'd be selling it to someone, instead of offering it to a senior with no experience in the type of work they do.
I would stay far away.
In my experience, people don't give away a valuable business as a favor, unless you are REALLY close (like parent/child), they might sell jt for a discount, or with favorable terms, but wont give it away. I don't know how close you are to this family friend, but in all likelihood the firm is not worth selling for much.
Even if you sell it later, taking over a CPA practice is a huge responsibility and will eat up valuable years early in your career (not to mention the heightened stress). If you’re sure you want to be a sole proprietor, then this could be the right move. But if you’re unsure what you want to do longterm, which it seems like you are, I’d recommend that you politely decline.
Thank you! I share the same thought and appreciate seeing it typed out.
Everything I read states - shortage of cpas and accounting majors.
Opportunities today will be there tomorrow
I would not give up on corporate compliance maybe future tax opportunities (international, M&A, working for client as a tax director) to bang out individual tax returns.
I used to work for one of those firms. Ask them how many clients they have, check and see how many of these are long term recurring clients...etc. Keep in mind it's a lot of client interaction and you need to bring business for your own small firm. If your clients are not happy, they will not come back next year
I am perfect fit for this question since my long term goal is to open up my own tax practice. Due to reaching this goal, I have a few years of tax experience at small firms where I have learned various types of tax returns. I haven’t saved enough to start up a firm. This year I am starting with a side job as sole proprietor for doing business/individual returns. Hopefully it will be a good start.
Good luck! It sounds like you’re on the right track
I had a similar position offered to me. I left after 7 months. Once I got in there were multiple red flags popping up, the owner seemed cold, and I realized that it just wasn’t my cup of tea. The work wasn’t all that stimulating and I didn’t like how they did things. It just seemed like if I were to take over that it would be very stressful with a lot of changes to make. I also feared client pushback to potential changes. Make sure you ask a lot of questions about the practice, clientele, potential to grow, etc.