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What is your specialty in tax at big 4? The type of stuff you’ll see at a small firm is completely different than what you’ll see at a big 4 (I’ve worked at both).
Worked 2yrs at a small firm, 2 at mid size, and 2 in big 4. Saw 1040s and small business returns/provision at the small firm, and was in business tax services for midsize and big 4. Fair point and am thinking about that as well. I liked the small firm work better and wanted to hear others' thoughts. My big 4 exp is more recent and at a higher level so tried to frame the question that way
I’m looking at doing this in the next 10-15 years if things don’t work out at my current firm. I’ve seen our firm’s financials so I can tell you that their target profit margin before partner comp is 33% which they typically hit every year and is industry standard from what I’ve read. However, that includes payroll and occupancy costs.
If you’re on your own, you don’t have to worry about paying other people. The drawback here is that your capacity to bring on more clients is limited because you don’t have anyone to leverage off of, but honestly you can still make well into $300-400K on your own if you also don’t have occupancy costs. Depending on how big I would want to grow, I’ve thought of hiring seasonal preparers just to help during busy season.
If you do your work virtually, you don’t really have to worry about occupancy costs. The drawback here is client meetings if you don’t have an office in your home or don’t want clients in your home, but there’s so many other places you could meet that this can be alleviated pretty easily.
I want things to work out with my current firm because we’re in growth mode, I’m excited for our future, and I love the team of people we have. But a lot can change in 10-15 years, so I’m positioning myself to be able to transition smoothly to doing my own thing if necessary.