Is it really true that smaller size firms have better wlb? Tax specific. If true why people still stay with big 4, like what are the pros and cons of working in smaller vs. bigger firms? Thinking of jumping ship but don’t want to have hallucination that going to a smaller firm will guarantee a better wlb lol

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It’s hard to put a blanket statement on this. So much depends on what office, clients, and teams you work with.

The Main benefits of big4 are name recognition and the complexity of the clients you work on. A lot of larger companies feel like B4 is the only option due the the complexity of their business that usually smaller firms cannot service them. With that said people have great careers outside of B4 and if you leave you can always go back if you miss it.

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Depends which firm, at Marcum we have 50hr busy season and 30hrs during the rest of the year. In fact, most people make more money than B4, or other midsize firms. Also, we get summer Friday’s off. Honestly, most people that I know who come from B4, come to us for better WLB, more pay, or remote work.

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@PwC3 indeed they do, our tax team had summer fridays from May 16 through August 5th

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Not true. Smaller firms work the same amount of hours but have worse pay and worse resources

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I disagree, we offer much more competitive pay then b4 or midsize. Cant speak to the resources however we have a great WLB.

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I’ve worked at small (15-50 ppl) and large (RSM) and hours are about the same at all of them, but bigger firms pay better.

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Prestige of the client base, deeper bench of technical resources, and higher long term earning power are a few of the reasons.

In the long run, as you get older, WLB is more important but as you’re building your career, good to work long hours and learn as much as you can. It’ll pay dividends later.

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I've worked at small firms and my work life balance has definitely been better than my big 4 friends. But my bosses have been really cognizant of keeping it that way and hiring new staff or turning away clients to keep us under 55 hrs a week during busy season. We work 40 hrs a week for the rest of the year.

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Which firm is this? I might switch. 🤔

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Also PTO at small firms is peanuts compared to flexibility at larger companies.

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It just depends on the firm. The main difference at a small firm is that if it is important to you, you are likely interviewing with a decision maker and will be working directly with them and able to come back and say “you said I wouldn’t have to work so many hours”. I would avoid mid-tiers for wlb.

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I have been to a smaller size firm, 50 people, yes tax season is just 55 hours.

Summer is 32 hours week.

No fall busy season.

Pay was good or competitive as well.

But definitely all small firms are like that.

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You aren't at cohn Reznick?

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Worked at RSM before big 4. Hours were a fraction at RSM especially during summers where billables we about 20 hours a month. No joke.

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All are bad. In some you work 80 hours. In others 60

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I went from B4 to a much smaller global consulting firm and I will say the WLB is so much better.

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Depends. Spent 10 years at one before going mid-tier. Was a high performer and the firm was very hands on with all clients. Less in house resources but our firm was part of an independent network of firms who share expertise with each other - def not the same as having in-house groups but it’s there.

The firm I worked for (80 people) worked 60-70 billable in the spring but 9/15 and 10/15 wasn’t much OT. The real pain was end of year planning meetings with most clients that took forever to prep for and have so for several holiday seasons I was constantly working at night and not enjoying family time or PTO. That made my annual hours the same as what I do now at mid-tier.

The upside to smaller firms is much less turnover and more happy hours/fun stuff that help you value your job more.

Overall I’m happier now working similar hours but getting paid much more and having family time during the holidays. If you interview with smaller firms make sure to ask questions about the hours and what they do for their clients. Many clients are friends/families so they feel the need to babysit and it drives the engagement teams nuts.

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You work just as much at smaller firms, you’ll probably also have to work on more clients at one time compared to Big4. But as always it depends on your city, industry, specific team, blah blah blah

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I like working here as opposed to my time in Big 4 because I get facetime with the partners. They see my work and it’s easier to get selected for their projects. I was in GPS at Big 4 and the partners on the project had no idea who I was or if I was doing a good job.

The WLB is about the same except for busy season - my busy season is shorter here.

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Uh duh it’s true

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55 hour weeks in busy season, much less off season (sometimes 3 hours/week). For fall deadline we are at 45 hour weeks rn and crank it up as we get closer to deadline. Max 55

What office are you working in right now? Cuz our office has been just crazy. I’ve been working OT since January of this year. And our office started pushing for 50 two weeks ago… non-busy season has been 30-40 hour weeks regardless

I generally work less than friends at same level. Billed 1600 as an associate last year and got promoted to senior with a 25% raise

No, the culture is the same. My college buddy got a job in Deloitte, I decided to go to a smaller firm with offices only in 2 states under the assumption that I will have a better web, and we worked about the same hours, but he made around 20k, salary and bonuses were higher.

While all firms are different, it seems to make perfect sense that smaller firms have a better wlb ( if such a thing exists in public accounting).

People stay at the big 4 for generally three reasons 1) they pay more, 2) there are far better exit opportunities than a local firm, and 3) larger, more diverse client base providing a great range of exposure and opportunities to learn and grow.

I am not saying the B4 are not sweatshops, because there is some aspect to that, but the simple truth is you get out what you put in. If you want an easier job (in accounting), with more WLB, then just realize the other side of that coin may be lesser $ and opportunity in the future.

Work hard at big 4. Thank me in the morning.

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