Related Posts
Conversation Starter
Rick Scott is having a terrible day lol
What do folks here think of working at Vanguard?
Pro
Additional Posts in Accounting
I am WAY TOO nice to be in public accounting….
Pro
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Rising Star
A2s
Staff 2
Agree
Was thrown in the fire as a staff 1. I am a manager now and can tell you the earlier you experience it, the better you learn and develop in terms of your communication, confidence, etc.
Note my comment assumes you are prepared for each time you lead cause if you are not, all the experience you can have will not mean much in a number of cases if not prepared.l but that is just my opinion.
I’m about to be S2 and have never lead a client call… 🫣
Aim to do it this year. It gets easier the more you do, but it’s essential for manager promo
A2, S1
This is all dependent on the service line!
Audit: With supervision, you should be able to handle most FSLIs after your first busy season A1/A2 and start leading client calls independently at A2/S1. But this is assuming it is a routine “hi, i need the support for the BS” and a high-level overview of what you need for your testing and why you need it, i.e. (Sox calls, walkthroughs, and daily client catch-ups, etc.) these should all be lead by a staff or senior. Now, if there is a question on VPPAs and their relation to IAS 20, some partners wouldn't be able to lead calls on that topic with a client present. So, with technical meetings, there is a ton of variance.
Tax: I have no clue, but i would guess it is similar to audit +1 promotion (i.e., instead of A1, it is an A2)
Advisory: Probably M1 or S3, with the occasional S2/1 chipping in every once in a while. But solo? Reach out? I would say M+ (as an S2, i rarely get invited to client meetings, let alone lead.)
Depends on tax or audit. For tax it happens later down the line than audit usually.
Agree - for tax, you should start taking the lead on internal calls as a senior and should be able to handle general client correspondence. Leading client calls for technical matters, etc starts more at the manager level.
This varies so much by SL and SSL. In audit people lead them sooner. In tax, Seniors might facilitate a call (intros and agenda), but seniors aren’t getting into tax technical stuff. For specialty tax, I don’t even have my managers handle anything too technical unless it’s a small client.
I’m in specialty tax and will have managers connect directly with lower level folks at the client after calls, but on larger calls or with the VPs of tax, no way I’m having a manager lead that.
Intern
tbh, yeah i was calling up client contacts one on one as an intern. that’s technically leading a client call.
but i wasn’t running larger group calls until maybe my A2 year. which is probably what OP means.
What does leading a client call entail? And how does one prepare?