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Additional Posts in Accounting
Chief
Pro
Conversation Starter
Rising Star
Additional Posts (overall)
Chief
Why is intern training so long & boring.
Do all markets offer 10k MST bump?
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Pro
Accounting may very well not be for you, but I wouldn't let external audit be the platform on which you make that judgment. This is especially true for the larger firms which are deeply manipulated, toxic cultures that often distort the true practice of auditing.
Auditing really isn't accounting; it's somewhat related to accounting because its the subject of the audit. Most of the technical accounting questions are going to be handled at the national level. The industry tries extremely hard to establish the myth that audit is some especially superior and necessary "prerequisite" to all other accounting/finance jobs. On the surface, that may seem plausible, but the firms are just trying to harvest as much cheap labor in a high turnover business model. They have to establish that myth for their business model for them.
Don't get me wrong, auditing is an important function, and it does require skill. But the auditing industry works in an extremely unique way, and it's not representative of the rest of the working world. So you may not need to determine if you need to make a "switch" that may "save" accounting for you. It may just be that you need to have a legitimate and reasonable experience, and chances are pretty good that you did not in external audit.
Pro
That's a very fair and reasonable response from Partner 1. What I like most about it is that it encourages a professional to consider WHAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY DOING ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS. It's unbelievable how the industry has brainwashed so many into thinking strictly about the name of the employer on your resume and not giving any thought to the actual experience.
Industry accounting is so different from audit. I left EY to join the accounting team of a tech company and absolutely love it. I’m actually utilizing the stuff I learned in college and with none of that stressful client nonsense.
Was financial audit for 1.5 years and it was the dumbest career move ever. Unnecessary stress at such a young age lol
I was in the equivalent of FSO external audit for two years. Was in the exact same shoes as you. Switched to forensics and couldn’t be happier
I think there are a lot of options within an accounting firm that you could pivot to and get your feet wet into something more interesting or fulfilling for you. My team in deals is made up of basically former audit and tax people who got a good reputation and got themselves in and most of us are happy.
Chief
I would suggest trying another LoS like accounting advisory or FDD
Not many people like audit, it’s a great place to start to get a lot of exposure but it’s always an exhausting ordeal
Chief
It depends on your interests and career goals but accounting advisory generally has better WLB
FDD is good if you want to pivot to FP&A or IB, accounting advisory is good if you want to do the same work in industry with less hours
Reading peoples experiences in the TAS bowl is helpful too