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.

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

EY1, you be surprised what kind of shit goes on those mom and pop tax offices. Every new client means couple hundred of revenue with a very minimal additional expense. Had I not worked their as intern, I would have thought everything/everyone is like we do at big 4.

like

Waiting ..............

smartfunny

Are you waiting on intern to update the rest of post?

funny

Apologies. A client called...and asked me to use “last year’s numbers”... 😐

That guy sold to my boss a year ago this week. That guy tended to toe the line of credible accounting versus tax fraud for his clients - made up deductions, plugged every other number, deducted things that aren’t deductible, etc. He did these things every year, for 20 years, and so now our clients expect it.

My question is this: is the above normal? I feel icky doing any of those things. I like doing tax. I don’t like feeling dirty when I go home.

I guess what I’m really asking is: if I jump ship to another firm, is it still just creative accounting?

Sorry Op I saw your post and could not stop myself lol. Since I am currently at big and things like this would not fly here but I have Interned at two local firms before coming here and those were totally different. One was good CPA firm with 30ish folks and would do most according to law. Now the other was owned by CPA/lawyer and a manager was running this location, I saw him increasing deduction to bring a favorable results for his clients. Since he was a manager(not Cpa or EA) and shared profits, he would do many shitty things just to make clients happy and bring their friends and family to him for better results. Since I was intern and being paid hourly, I refused to sign those returns and the manager will come and put his PIN on those returns. Since you guys have bought the firm, you are stuck with it. As an employee I would not affiliate myself with anything shady, especially when you being paid hourly. If you boss, new owner, asks you to do something shady you can always say no or refuse to put your PIN/name of those returns and start looking. It all depends on you and what you think is right but recommend not getting into shady practice.

Oh yeah no. I don’t sign them. I’m pursuing my CPA right now and I have told him many times that I won’t sign them. I’ll prepare as instructed but I’m not going to sign anything. However, I’m actively looking for other work.

Fun fact: three lawyers have attempted to serve subpoenas on the old owner in the past 3 weeks.

helpful

When I say stuck, I mean stuck with those clients and their expectations and now it will be on you guys to guide them and make sure it is done right going forward.

I knew what you meant.

We practice tax avoidance not evasion. You can’t just make things up that aren’t supported by the law. We don’t take a position unless we’re at a “more likely than not” level of surety. You can get creative with tax positions but they have to be supported by the law. I would not take any positions that you know are wrong otherwise it’s your license on the line. If the positions are that bad the clients would have a hard time finding a reputable CPA to file that way.

Thanks for the heads up.

Funny story: this morning my boss said, “I didn’t get [client]’s return done on time because they way he reported the crypto wasn’t right and I didn’t feel right sending it.”

I snorted and said, “Since when do we do things the ‘right’ way?”

This firm. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Boss updated the router and now I can’t get on indeed through the WiFi.

Related Posts

Which would you rather? Internal at MBB or client-facing at Big 4/ACN?

like

My company is under merger with ACN. Will I get a boost in my salary after pairing my level with ACN? Current role is senior engineer with 7+ years. Which level will I fit into ? And my current salary is much lower (20k) than ACN standard. Thanks.

like

Hi! I was wondering if anyone here works at @Patreon (doesn’t seem like I can tag it so maybe not)? Wanted to chat about what it’s like to work there, etc. PS: this post also doubles as a plea for likes so I can DM (please) Thanks in advance!

like

Hi, I am new here as well, and need to get some likes to start DMing people. :)
Cheers!

likeupliftinghelpfulfunny

Anyone work at Coinbase ? Saw a Data Scientist opening there I’m excited about (Brand Marketing) and I would love the help !

like

Trying to get my dream starting job as a program assistant at the INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE, can anyone help with a referral? I currently am a program assistant, just not in the area I want.

like

Hello everyone am looking for Side hustle , anything works driving ,plumbing ,construction etc anything works just hit me up and I I’ll make time to get it done for you thnx 💪

likehelpful

Has anyone else had a mentor (assigned to them by the Company) who seemed to have it out for you? I mean downright sabotage to make you look bad left and right. I didn’t realize it at first. She was fake friendly, but she was discrete too. Some of the executives thought she was amazing, but I had to clean up her work all the time. She wasn’t above me either on the chain of command. Later I found out she had tried for the exec assistant role and they didn’t choose her, they wanted me instead.

like

Share the most interesting/spammy DMs you have received in Fishbowl

Post Photo
funnylike

What are the opportunities in DI or D USI for Semi Qualified CA in Risk advisory or Internal Audit department? Also what is the range of pay scale. Please suggest whether I should apply for the job in deloitte?

like

Had an offer for 30% more , a promotion to manager, extra week of vacation to switch firms. I love where I am at with my clients and there is a lot of potential there. Should I stay the course?

like

Anyone recently filed a I539 application and how long it took to approve?

like

Hello All, My employer doesn’t seem to be sharing i140 approval notice. I need it for H1b transfer to new employer.
Anyone faced similar situation and got a copy from USCIS directly? How long it takes and process for it please?

Appreciate your suggestions. Thanks.

like

Which one of the big 4 hires the best law firm to do the immigration?

likesmart

How likely is it that blanket L1 gets rejected? I will be having my interview soon and quite nervous that I don't get approved.

like

What’s the best way to make your email stand out to a recruiter?

So, it’s been two weeks since the last response from the HR recruiter (they said my resume and tests were shared with the team). Should I send an email? It’s normal that some process take this long, but I’m getting a little anxious.

like

I cleared Accenture interview and today got an email to upload documents on their portal. Also, got a call from HR and she asked about the salary expectations and other details. And few minutes later I found that my profile has been put on hold.

question is, they will negotiate with me or they have rejected my profile ?

like

Hi All, How is SAP Hybris projects in DXC Technology. I got an offer from DXC , Years of experience 8.7

like

Additional Posts in Tax Bowl

Processing time for cpa license in MA?

like

How often do you come across Schedule F? I have prepped 3 tax returns for farmers this busy season? It’s interesting. I’ve worked for large and small firms. I never had to deal with Schedule F until now.

like

I am curious how Onesource Income tax stacks up against it's competition.

What’s the bonus percentage for ITS senior managers in a normal year?

like

International tax senior associate- Deloitte

I have an interview with Deloitte next week for senior associate Internacional tax in California. How much salary I should expect? I am sure this question will come up and I don't want to underbelly myself. Currently I am a senior at other Big4.

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

PWC phone question - started at pwc last month from a non b4 firm. If I order a new phone off the if pwc website, can I switch it with another phone? My current phone is about to die so I was...

People that have small children - how do you deal with your child’s stress and separation anxiety when you go to work? My 4-year old goes berserk almost every day at some point relating to me having to work. The worst part is that I’ve been working from home bc of Covid and I’m literally just walking upstairs after giving hugs and kisses and saying see you soon 800 times. My spouse is a stay at home parent, but that doesn’t seem to matter to my son. A piece of me dies everyday because of this.

likehelpful

What is the average senior tax salary in the south Florida area?

like

Can you apply for a per diem tax job besides your full time tax accountant job? Both are public

like
likehelpful

For a 2-year associate now tasked with senior-like roles such as reviewing and training, does anyone have advice on how to review individual hnw tax returns?

like

Interested in Joining PWC.
Senior at mid range firm
Just passed the CPA Exams. Going through the last portion of the process, I.E waiting for everything to process and NASBA to send documents to the state board.
Live in Houston
Should I apply on the site or would an internal referral be better.

like

Anyone else been told that for non-promotion years to expect an average of 5% raise and an average of 10% raise for promotion years? This is at a Top 25 Midwest accounting firm. Calculated my projected salary for the next 5 years and decided to find another firm. Much happier now 😊

likeuplifting

Do you all see a compelling future in your tax career? I’ll go first, I don’t see a compelling future working for a large PA firm in the long run because you have to work more as you move up. However, I do see a compelling future by using my knowledge and skills to open my own firm/business and work less hours as long as I make enough money which is $75k, or if I do work long hours, it’s because I want to.

like

Compliance question here, I have always thought of the SALT deduction on the fed return as a perm item & have treated as such in such sch M-3. I see that some people put it as a temp on sch M-3. What is the justification for treating it as a temp on the M-3. You don’t set up a deferred on the def RF for the state tax deduct & it is also a rate impacting item (I know that some temps can be rate impacting). But this all leaves me to side with perm. Does anyone know the logic behind temp treatment?

like

Does anyone have any career insight for a tax associate in corp dev? Is it as lucrative as regular corp dev? What do you do on a day-to-day basis?

like

How bad is it to leave an understaffed team right before fall busy for a job in a new city? Part of me doesn’t care at all b/c it’s a business decision, part feels like I’m totally screwing the team.

likehelpful

Thinking of starting and Only Fans account for extra side money. Don’t know what it would be yet though. Sounds wild but my salary barely covers the cost of living and I’ve been living with school debt. Anyone have one on the side? Serious answers only please!

likesmart

I’m having trouble working in Tax. I’m overwhelmed and am feeling like I’m not producing my best work. I want to talk to someone at work about it but a) I don’t know who to go to and b) feel like it’s not worth it because there’s nothing that anyone can do but tell me to get a different job. I feel like I SHOULD say something to someone though, right? Idk. I’ve been on the job hunt for a while now and am not really having any luck, which is just adding to my despair. What should I do?

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