Is it common for firms to communicate minimum charge hours during tax season? For example, my firm has sent out official messaging on requiring 50 minimum billable hours starting this week and will eventually go up, through 4/15.

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

Yes. It's really dumb though. Love how we normalize slave labor in this industry with cute words like "busy season".

likefunny

You say that more work can be done in 60 hours than 40 hours. Just type "research on if more work can be done in 60 hours than 40 hours" and there is overwhelming evidence that not only is the answer no, but that by reducing hours to 32 you can get the same output as 40, and have a better life.

There are a few studies from Stanford that go into detail about this.

And in fact working 60 hours per week increases your chance of death significantly, and anecdotally I've had multiple partners either die or be permanently on medical leave.

likefunny

My group has consistently waffled on this question each busy season. The unintended consequence of communicating a minimum hours requirement is that there will inevitably be people who “overcharge” their hours just to meet the minimum; this is often not discovered until after busy season. For this reason, emphasizing the need to keep busy has sometimes been favored over a strict hours minimum.

like
Recent IconRecent

“55 hours a week is nothing” this is how it is being normalized. No offense to anyone here. Just a thought

likesmart

Yeah, but we live in the US where people live to work and not work to live. While I was in college I studied full time and worked 55-60 hours as a nanny, so for me 55 hours at Big Four is nothing. And before I joined I have heard stories that at Big Four people work at least 80 or more a week. And we are talking about busy season here which in my case is like 4 months out of 12 and during the rest of the year I work 40 and most of the time not all of those hours are chargeable + I have the possibility to adjust my schedule to my life which I didn’t have while I worked in industry those 40 hours every single week so yeah - 55 hours during busy season is not always a bad thing

funny

Is this your first year in the game?

likefunny

yes, we get weekly reminder busy season is 55 plus hrs. lol.

like

Seems early for that. I always laugh at the “50 minimum” requirement. If I work 75 one week and 49 the next, I’d get flagged but someone who works 50-50 wouldn’t at our firm. So much for accelerating work!

like

The sad reality is that those who get promoted quickly are the ones making up their hours. While those who genuinely work those hours are slaving away with little to no recognition. Public accounting is no longer an attractive industry and I'd be surprised if younger generations don't avoid the industry completely.

like

Yes

like

Yes

like

Is this even legal to do?

like

Why wouldnt it be?

like

We have 55, haha. I don’t find it weird tho, better to over communicate the expectations than staying silent. And let’s be honest 55 billable hours at Big 4 is nothing. And if you manage your time well and have an idea what you’re doing there is a high probability that you won’t work more than that

like

Totally normal as in common in the industry, and the really fun part is when you get mixed messaging. The scheduling team for my group said 55 plus and two days earlier the local tax leader for my office said 50-55. I have staff more worried about charge hours than anything else because of it.

like

which service line are you in? it sounds like federal

March hour requirement if 67 hours a week for staff and seniors, work 7 days a week.

This is per deltek for march charge hour goal

100%

Related Posts

Anyone moving to dc/Arlington that needs a roommate? M-24

like

Hello folks,

Is Anyone deployed to client location samsung from HCS, could you please share your experience about the professionalism, ethics, work life balance & culture in HCS-Samsung client location ?
Thanks a lot for your input

like

McKinsey consultants- I remember hearing that you have a different comp model from most firms (where title and pay aren't necessarily linked). Does anyone mind elaborating?

like

Switching from PDM 2 to SpM, should I expect a pay adjustment?

I applied for few SA roles at AWS after getting the SAA certificate and some badges like the “WAF” and “Advanced Migration”. I also optimized my resume recently trying to match what AWS would look for, but I did not get any 1st call or screening interview!
I also applied to some of the roles using friend’s referral. I have more than 15 years in IT infrastructure mainly in Storage systems (EMC, Hitachi) What could be the problem? Thanks.

like

Can anyone help with the avg pay for Sr. Program Manager (Non Tech) with Amazon in London?

Comparative view:
India (Blr) - 46 LPA + ESOP

Amazon- 80K GBP (Base + Bonus)

What makes more sense?

like

I am currently in school for Bachelors Healthcare management/Admin. I’ve been seeing a lot of people talk about how they got the same degree but haven’t been able to find a job or anything. I chose this degree because honestly I want to get paid in the future. I’m almost done so it’s entirely too late to switch. What jobs can I look into with this degree that would compensate me well once i graduate. I’ve been looking into healthcare consulting but if there’s any other suggestions i’m open!! thx

like

Quick question.
I was a contractor for a big company and they just let me know that my last day is December 30th. I got this position thanks to a recruiting company that has been great and gives me benefits.
Should I:
- Continue working with the recruiting company, hoping that they will find another position for me? (as they told me they will, and when they applied me I started working with my current company within 2 weeks)
- Work with the recruiter + apply for jobs on my own?

like

Can I leave Nagarro within one week of joining have received the laptop want to inform them before leaving.

like

Just a joke, take it as a joke-
.
Recently Better (dot) com's employees were fired from the job.
If you are some HR/Senior management personnel and hiring them.
You should reconsider your decision as they will make your organisation BETTER. :-)

likefunny

For those whom 𝑺𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 is everything, wishing them a very Happy Valentine’s Day 😀❤️🎁

#SAP #SuccessFactors

Post Photo

♥️ SAP SuccessFactors

#SAP #HXM #SuccessFactors

Post Photo

𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐄16 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐀𝐏 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬!!

A data inspector tool for professional user to check raw data. Perhaps, it's a one-stop destination to report various entity tables which were earlier accessed from different tools in Employee Central, allows you to view/ download the raw data in a tabular from the instance.

Use Case:
* display the list of frequencies available in the system - Entity: FO_FREQUENCY

Post Photo

Any ladies want to go to happy hour tomorrow? 💁‍♀️ here

like

My manager micro manages everything I do, and I’m losing my mind. Wanted to see how any of you have handled a manager like this, and get some advice on how to tell them to literally stop.

like

Guys, Quick question to anyone working with o9 solutions. How many days did it take for your offer letter to be released post HR discussion?

looking for opportunities in Business Analyst role. pls do support. desperately looking for a change.

like

Can someone please tell me what is advance tax analyst rank 44 role in EY gds?

Following open position in Siemens Pune location:

1)C# .NET 3-5 YOE

2)Nodejs Developer(2-4 Years)

3)Azure DevOps Lead (Infra) 7-9 years

4)Software Developer Engineer(C#.Net) 3-5 Years

5)Java Backend Developer (2-4 Years)

6)C# Developer(2 to 5 Years)

7)Software Developer Engineer-Java 3-6 years

8)Angular Full stack Developer(2-5 Years)

9)UI Software Architect 10+years

10)Cybersecurity Professional 4-5 years & 7+

11) DevOps Engineer 2-5 years

12)Mobile App Developer 3-6 years

like

Just got moved into 6th grade math for the upcoming year! I’m feeling big nervous excitement ! 😁😁

like

Additional Posts in Tax Bowl

Is this an aggressive position? Would you use final regulations effective for tax year beggining Dec 16, 2020 to support a deduction for calendar tax year 2020? Proposed regulations didn't include this exception. More details below.

Let’s hear it: how many hours a week are you working from now til April?

Need to feel better about my schedule 😅

like

Through a lot of comp discussions I heard a lot of talk of “making you whole” when things get better. Am I drinking the kool-aid by believing this? Is this just meant to prevent further questions that the firm does not know the answer to?

like

Anyone work in nonprofit tax? What exit opportunities are available with 3-6 years experience? Hoping to be promoted to senior this year and curious what options exist with this specialized skill set.

like

Am I understanding utilization rate correctly? It’s chargeable time over total time? Charged 40 hours and had 10 hours non-charge so my utilization is 80%? If so, wouldn’t it benefit me to understate non-charge hours so my utilization is higher since they only really care about chargeable time anyways? Charge 40 hours still but only put 5 hours non-charge for utilization to be 89% instead of 80%? Or am I misunderstanding how utilization works?

like

Thoughts on PwC Houston Tax Global Structuring (M&A and ITS)?

I know I'm in the minority here (and I swear this isn't a brag) but is anyone else less stressed this busy season working from home, and finding issues focusing because of it? My work is getting done, but just very very slowly. I'm able to sleep throughout the night and not wake up early (which is a huge negative right now) and literally feel no need to stay glued to my computer as in prior years. Am I broken?

like

Went from a big firm to work for a smaller firm. The people in the smaller firm are protective of their work and are good by their work too. I no longer feel chaos or stress. I am treated with respect and my schedule is more normal. I am even working more billable hours than before, but it feels like a seamless experience. I don’t work then past 5pm or anything out of the ordinary for this time of the year. I am so grateful!

likeuplifting

Small Firm Question:
Working PA for the first time this year. Doing a lot of returns right now.

History of my firm: small (7 employees, two interns), was a single CPA show for 20 years. Cont.

Busy season never seems to end. Question, am I burned out or is this normal? I was very stressed during busy season until now. I sort of feel a calm sense of not caring anymore. We have extended our busy season until 5/15, but I really just don’t feel like I care...

like

Got a phone call from a recruiter that they are working on my offer on Monday and haven’t heard anything back since. Anyone has any idea how long it would take and when would I should follow up? I dont want to sound desperate

I just spoke with a software architect that went back to school to learn software engineering after law school because it was more lucrative and had less hours. He’s worked his way up and has the skills and authority to work 6:30am-10am and gets to work remotely. We discussed that results/outputs is better than billable time like in law and public accounting. Yet, his parents and others would view him as “lazy” but he does his job and makes a fantastic living. Time>Money and Results>Hours

likefunnysmart

Question about solo/self-employed 401ks: If I create a sole-member LLC for a side business and create a solo/self-employed 401k, am I only allowed to make contributions from the earnings earned via the LLC? Or am I allowed to contribute money earned from a different source (ie W-2 job).

like

International tax manager looking to move to industry in Bay Area or remote. JD background. I’ve been seeing that job postings for “managers” in industry ask for 8 years - I have 4. Is this normal? Advice on applying? Also what to expect for comp?

like

Do you play phone games during busy season?

Subject matter expert with my CPA. I’m completely fed up with the compliance aspect of public accounting Tax but don’t mind the technical side. Does it make sense to become an attorney to get out of compliance work and still do something related to specialty tax?
Or do I just go the college professor route? Wouldn’t mind working @ BNA or something like that either but I’m seriously fed up with everything about tax compliance and can’t keep doing this

like

Anyone recommend their firm for fed tax? Looking to stay in PA in a top 20 to continue working remotely.

like
likehelpful

What kind of exit opportunities are there for tax senior? Looking into getting an MBA. Any thoughts?

What are typical year over year industry increases like? Obviosuly different for every company but just looking for general averages.

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

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

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