Will the public accounting industry ever change? It seems like everyone hates it, but we're stuck here for one reason or another. Are any firms truly adapting to this millennium's work-life balance needs?

likefunny
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Well the current changes in the industry are that you will work just as hard (maybe even harder) to no longer have the ability to be an owner. It’ll just be a training ground in the future and not a viable long term career

likefunny

No. Some people just manage it better than others.

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Its changed for the better, new hires have it much better than 15-20 years ago

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In my experience anyone who is feeling good about work life balance has someone else on the team who is picking up all the pieces… So are you going to be the one dropping the pieces or picking them all up and can you make that choice with a clear conscience.

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It has actually changed a ton over the years. I am a Partner nearing retirement, but when I started, busy season was far busier. Then in the spring a large % of staff would be let go. Summers were really easy if you made it to them! The intense hours do not happen as much, work has smoothed out but the downside is there is not as much downtime. I do agree work ethic is no where near what it used to be. Prospectively, it will continue to change. AI, more GDS, more automation will continue to reduce US headcount needs. Yet to be seen if the industry accepts fewer hours per person.

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Sorry I don’t know the BDO culture. At EY the demands are far less than they used to be. No question at all. Don’t get me wrong, it is for the better. But it has changed a lot.

Yea some industry jobs.

It has changed quite a lot from when I started in the 80s in the big 8. It may not be as apparent to you due to your frame of reference. Busy seasons were more intense, but at the same time, the summers were lighter. We now have a constant somewhat busy state all year round, rather than the ebbs and flows of more seasonal work. My current teams (I'm a big 4 partner) don't work the extreme hours (for example, there are no more staying up all night at the print shop reviewing copies of paper 10k forms before filing) we used to during crunch times. On the other hand, the menial jobs we used to give to staff to keep them busy (making deliveries, binding hard copy reports, rotating paper files in the workpaper warehouse, leading coffee runs, making copies) no longer exist - that's actually a good thing. Things will continue to evolve in public accounting, like they always have.

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