I’m having difficulties deciding between moving from audit to either
1) finance and ops at a tech fund startup (pe backed) as their first employee with potential to be group cfo in the long run
2) deals valuation at pwc

please help - option 1 sounds great but im unsure if i’ll end up as some back office pe monkey/have no transferable skills if it fails since its a holding co fund in nature? Is this a career killer

like
Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

I wouldn't put too much stock in the "potential to be group cfo in the long run" part of it, but it finance/ops role could be a great place to learn. It all depends on who you are working for. As for the "career killer" part of your question, it sounds like you may have drunk some of the kool-aid that EY has likely poured down you. And that's completely understandable. There really isn't such a thing as a career killer role coming out of audit, unless you took a job as an A/P clerk or something. Those are long-established myths used to fear monger gullible people into staying at a below market salary in their loss-leader practice.

The main thing you have early in your career is the capacity and willingness to learn. Neither of your options are career killers, and neither are guaranteed learning experiences. But they are very likely to be better learning experiences than audit. In any case, you are not going to kill your career by leaving audit--unless you wanted to make partner. But if you were in a position to make partner, you probably wouldn't be making this post.

like

Thanks for the reply, totally agree on moving out of audit. For the role I would be the first employee and basically learning on my own, not exactly from anyone! I’m a self starter type who learn things independently, so I guess it could work…

By career killer, i mean like possibly being pigeonholed into fund ops roles or finance in PE/VC in the future? I’m kinda noob on funds and the skills their finance function require, not sure how it compares with commercial

I’m not sure how many years of experience you have or what your long term and short term goals are but identifying those could be helpful. You’ll likely work more hours at the tech startup and have fewer people to learn from and rather “figure it out as you go” whereas at pwc you’ll have people above you to learn from. Both have pros and cons, so I would identify short term goals and see which one aligns better. The benefit of going bigger earlier in your career (again, not sure what level you are), is that you can always move to a startup later. But it is much more difficult to move up in company size, not impossible or anything, just harder. They both seem like great opportunities so it more so comes down to personal preference

I’ve had about 4 yoe in audit, long term goal is to acquire the skillsets to eventually sit at cfo of a meaning enterprise, OR go into buyside investments somewhere looking at tech. Both option meet my career goals in some way. I’m not aiming for big corporations since I kinda dislike fitting in with the corporate mould they make out of you… so I look around at smaller enterprises with purposeful visions. Main goal is just to gain the skillsets and exposure, im ok working a little more, and i like learning things on my own.

I’m thinking if the startup thing doesnt go well, i can go back to PA deals ? I kinda think that this opp is rare, not everyday u get see good founding team with large scope role offered. But its a tech FUND, will the skills i gain be transferrable, and where?

Related Posts

Like, I dunno man, you okay...?

Post Photo
funnylike

EY-Parthenon , EY fishes is TAS (Transaction advisory part of EY or EY-P? Can you shed some light on the compensation range for Director role? I have 14 years experience and currently at Director level. Thank you.EY EY-Parthenon

like

Hey Fishes !!
Was looking to attend any web3/nft/startup meetups to soak in the knowledge , new to the city as well , where would I find such events , searched on LinkedIn but didn’t find any for some weeks.
Thanks In advance

Anyone from Facebook (Meta) can help me with internal referral?

like

Where’s the best place to pick up freelance work as a side hustle?

likehelpful

Does anyone know what brand of pillows Sheraton use?? I want me some of that!

like

Is it mandatory to show an offer letter when the company wants to retain you back? What if we don't want to share the company name?

like

Things to do in key west ?

like

Hi Fishes, I got an offer from Infosys and my joining date is on March 1st. . Since my current employer didn't accept my resignation as I was in emergency leave, I will need to serve notice period until April 1st. . Will Infosys postpone my Joining date by a month considering this valid reason. Please share your thoughts to take this decision!!! Thank you in Advance!!Infosys

like

What’s the busy season expectation from associate and senior associate level at different firms?

Fucking hate Delta. Missed my flight. I was with my 4 months old 👶 daughter. She was hungry and crying I requested em to let me check in bag early instead waiting in Line. They said no. Morons.

like

Anybody know of an industry sports league for co-ed basketball & softball?

Bit loafers with or without socks? Nordstrom has good sales on some of em right now

Vacant room in a fully-furnished 3BHK flat in Sector 30, Gurgaon. Price: ₹11.3k. Interested women can DM me. 👍

like

Looking to hire Senior Data Scientists and Social Listening Analysts in Austin, TX for a creative and product R&D shop. Experience with Brandwatch/ Crimson. Message me if interested.

like

During salary negotiations with Infosys. HR : what is the offer you holding? Me : 40 HR : We would not be able to match that. Me : yes I understand, but you need to compensate me on some other parameters, maybe onsite opportunity. You cannot say since this is Infosys, take 30 or leave. HR : no, the max we can offer is 26. 😸😸

funnylike

Has anyone ever worked with a tech fabrication company that specializes in creating stuffed animals ? Very niche I know! Can be anywhere in the world

like

Friday the CEO sends out an email proudly proclaiming that the company made $22 billion last year.
Two hours later I am told on our team meeting that the bonus/raise pool is down from last year.
I just have no words.

likefunnyupliftingsmarthelpful

Additional Posts in Accounting Exit Opportunities

Hi are there any UK accountants in this group that might be interested in helping develop fintech software? I am an internal recruiter at Wolters Kluwer. Happy to get connected !

like

For those who have left the firm Deloitte were you transparent on the reasons for leaving? What did you tell your coach?

like

Just put my 2 weeks in 😃

likeupliftingfunny

Hi all. I’m thinking of getting into a university and working in operations or something. Has anyone heard of an internal auditor making a jump to work at a uni?

like
like

Anybody transition from Audit to Advisory within the same firm? 1) Who did you contact and did you have to interview? 2) how was the overall process? 3) was there a salary adjustment?

like

Realistically when can I expect to hear back after an interview? I don’t know why I just figured you hear back within a couple days but it seems like that may not always be the case?

like

Put in my notice from my corp acct position. Starting my own business. No more month end close for me.

like

Anyone deal with decision paralysis of where they want their career to go? There’s a lot of talk about pigeonholing ourselves in this profession and it’s causing me some stress when deciding where I want my next steps to be.

like

Any insight on SOX roles? Specifically not roles within the internal audit function but more ad-hoc SOX specialist roles? What kind of tasks do you take on and is that transferable skill? I don’t see tons of SOX posting but imagine IA would still be on the table and potentially GL roles.

like

What opportunities does Tax M&A experience lead to?

like

What kind of questions have you been asked in interviews? I’m being invited back for a second interview for a Sr. Accountant position. The first one was very conversational.

For those that left PA for industry, then went back to PA - why did you decide to go back? How long did it take you to realize you wanted to go back to PA? Also, how did it impact your career progression?

like

For those who left PwC, do you have to pay additional $20 due to a contract? I am with Verizon and they told me I have to pay additional $20 per month until my contract ends. I just upgraded to a new phone couple months ago.

like

I got an equity research analyst offer from BofA, but am currently in faas and would feel bad leaving my team. Any advice? Currently a newly promoted senior

likefunny
like

Hello , during interview do companies ask for prove showing you have passed part of the CPA ? If it’s still in progress ?

like

Hello fishies - I just finished an interview with amazon yesterday with a manager in the team ( mainly asked 1-2 behavioral questions and the rest audit questions). Would there be additional interviews after this or after this do they decide to give me an offer or not? This is for an auditing role.

like

People who left public accounting and didn’t end up doing industry accounting what did you go into? How did you like it?

like

Is B4 Deal Advisory (FDD) to FP&A a common transition? Don't think I can handle working in deals/transactions anymore

like

New to Fishbowl?

Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
  • Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
  • Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
  • Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.

Already a user?
Login here

Share

Embed this post

Copy and paste embed code on your site

Preview

Download the
Fishbowl app

See what’s happening in your industry
from the palm of your hand.

A phone with Fishbowl app

Send download link to your phone

OR

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Messaging rates may apply

Download app

Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Already have an account? Log in

Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use(New) and Privacy Policy(New)
Messaging rates may apply

Already have an account? Log in

For account settings, visit Fishbowl on Desktop Browser or

General

Legal