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Visual Storyteller
Got the call…
Hi Guys,
Can anyone refer me to BCG
TIA
Additional Posts in Accounting
Does insurance cover vision and dental?
What’s the dress code at BDO? Jeans eveyday?
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Manager seems scary to me. The answer is going to depend on how you define difficult. Hours? Stress? Pressure? Level of competency required?
Lol hours do not decline or get any better when you hit SM, there's a lot more to hours spent working than billable hours...
SM or Partner
Partner is incredibly difficult. It is a journey to get there, but even more of an effort to stay there. Most don't realize this, but partner responsibilities/requirements get more difficult as your experience level changes, which is why so many don't last. Being a partner now is also different than it was 20 years ago when I made it.
@bdo 1 there were several partners leaving my prior firm - audit and other practice areas over the past few years. I’ve also seen quite a few get let go (or whatever it’s technically called) over the 10 years I worked there.
The most difficult level in public accounting is typically Manager or Senior Manager, as it involves balancing client expectations, overseeing teams, managing multiple complex projects, and often working long hours under tight deadlines—all while ensuring compliance and accuracy.
Thank you chat gpt lol take your engagement grind bs to LinkedIn
Probably depends on firm. At my firm (national firm ~3,000 employees), hardest level seems to be manager.
M1 (though I've never experienced partner). The expectation shift with the title caught me off guard even though I thought I had been doing the work for over a year.
I left big 4 at SM level and that was the toughest level for me. M has a learning curve but you’re often the second manager on engagements. As SM, you’re leading engagements in addition to balancing staffing, project management, managing clients, technical review etc.
Manager/Senior Manager was GHETTO, and the reason I opted out of making it to partner. That being said, as a SM I looked at the partners I worked with and decided I didn’t want their life, even for the money. So maybe partner…
Difficult is relative, depending on what you mean by "difficult". This may seem counter intuitive, but I would argue that staff accountant is the most difficult. Obviously not based on work, but rather adjusting to what is needed to be be in public accounting. Once you understand public accounting, the higher levels have their issues, but there isn't a huge adjustment.
I am not a CPA, but I work very closely with all levels. It seems like the transition from preparing/associate/staff level to managing is the most difficult. You are straddling both worlds and expectations for one project can be completely different from the next.