Would it be out of line if I currently work for a private company to ask one of our Big 4 auditors if they are hiring?
The Firms are absolutely dying for people these days, so go for it. Definitely not out of line, but funnily enough, it's against policy if it's the other way around. I know of an auditor in an other office who got fired for reaching out to the client and asking if they had available positions. This is a breach of independence, and is thus a good reason to fire you. Yes, a lot of auditors go work for clients, but this is usually because the partners put in a good word for you, and the client is usually not the particular engagement you worked on. In fact, this is pretty common. There have been plenty in the past year. I know of many clients that are looking for senior accountants/assistant controllers with 2-4 years of Big 4 experience.
PS - Stay in private, public sucks.
Sunday, 23 December 2012
client size
I've got a question about the teams and who they audit. Does the size of the client you have audited make a large difference in future career prospects? And if so is is just a select group that gets to work with relatively large corporations? I mean, is it likely you'll end up with a team working on small accounts and never really advance into the higher levels of a career? Or well basically, how much of an impact does client size have on job prospects outside of the Big 4?
I'd highly recommend that you get on public company engagements. This is absolutely critical in order to open many doors for you post-audit. There are many reasons why - this includes a working knowledge of 404, SEC rules and regulations, and working under deadlines.
The size of the client doesn't matter as much as the industry type, so if you're primarily on software clients there will be plenty of doors open for you in the software world. At the same time, assuming you lack expertise on manufacturing clients, it may not lead to opportunities in the manufacturing world.
If you have high profile clients, like say AT&T, that definitely helps, but it absolutely dominates your audit life, and you barely have time to do any other clients. And you'll be a huge free agent in the telecom space, but probably not in certain other industries. One thing's for sure though, having such high profile clients will definitely move you up the ladder in the audit firms. This is because these clients are served by partners with significant influence, and so once they get to know and trust you, they will do everything they can to move you up the chain, and you will be favored over others. This is a fact.
I'd highly recommend that you get on public company engagements. This is absolutely critical in order to open many doors for you post-audit. There are many reasons why - this includes a working knowledge of 404, SEC rules and regulations, and working under deadlines.
The size of the client doesn't matter as much as the industry type, so if you're primarily on software clients there will be plenty of doors open for you in the software world. At the same time, assuming you lack expertise on manufacturing clients, it may not lead to opportunities in the manufacturing world.
If you have high profile clients, like say AT&T, that definitely helps, but it absolutely dominates your audit life, and you barely have time to do any other clients. And you'll be a huge free agent in the telecom space, but probably not in certain other industries. One thing's for sure though, having such high profile clients will definitely move you up the ladder in the audit firms. This is because these clients are served by partners with significant influence, and so once they get to know and trust you, they will do everything they can to move you up the chain, and you will be favored over others. This is a fact.
Excess documentation
Sorry for the delay, it's been a little crazy. Still on the questions from early October.
The amount of documentation required during audits seems outrageous to me. I must spend half of my time tidying up documents, making them look perfect, and get called out if one little item is not formatted properly. And so much of it seems redundant. Especially for workpapers that really go nowhere. Maybe it is just my organization, but can you touch on audit workpaper documentation? Thanks.
Some people are real sticklers for documentation, but that's the nature of the job I guess. As auditors, we're trained to be anal. So when you take people who are already anal in nature, the job makes them uber-anal.
You know the ones I'm talking about - notes shouldn't be in text boxes, fonts should be the same, columns should be set in a particular manner, absolutely no decimals, not more than two tabs per excel workbook, indexing your paragraphs, no uneven spacing, I could come up with 100 more.
Not going to lie, there are certain things I have pet peeves about myself. At the end of the day, it's "documentation, documentation, documentation". It's not how we audit it, it's what we document at the end of the day that matters. This job is basically a fear-based job. We are doing our best so we can look good in front of the PCAOB. That's why the bells and whistles matter. And the number of checklists and required templates, don't even get me started. Unfortunately that is the world we live in now. The pre-SOX 404 era - those were the glory days. No more. Makes you think, is it even worth being partner now?
The amount of documentation required during audits seems outrageous to me. I must spend half of my time tidying up documents, making them look perfect, and get called out if one little item is not formatted properly. And so much of it seems redundant. Especially for workpapers that really go nowhere. Maybe it is just my organization, but can you touch on audit workpaper documentation? Thanks.
Some people are real sticklers for documentation, but that's the nature of the job I guess. As auditors, we're trained to be anal. So when you take people who are already anal in nature, the job makes them uber-anal.
You know the ones I'm talking about - notes shouldn't be in text boxes, fonts should be the same, columns should be set in a particular manner, absolutely no decimals, not more than two tabs per excel workbook, indexing your paragraphs, no uneven spacing, I could come up with 100 more.
Not going to lie, there are certain things I have pet peeves about myself. At the end of the day, it's "documentation, documentation, documentation". It's not how we audit it, it's what we document at the end of the day that matters. This job is basically a fear-based job. We are doing our best so we can look good in front of the PCAOB. That's why the bells and whistles matter. And the number of checklists and required templates, don't even get me started. Unfortunately that is the world we live in now. The pre-SOX 404 era - those were the glory days. No more. Makes you think, is it even worth being partner now?
Monday, 8 October 2012
Accelerated aging
It's amazing how fast this job accelerates your aging. A majority of the senior managers and partners either have white hair or no hair. People with joyful personalities at 22 turn into numbed zombies after 5 years at the Firm. People who wanted to hang out with co-workers all the time now shudder at the thought of sharing quality time outside of work with their teams. People who used to smile naturally now force smiles or avoid eye contact when bumping into others. How many personalities have changed significantly from when they started? This job can really suck some of the life out of you. But hey, hopefully it's worth it (I hope).
Monday, 24 September 2012
Boomerangs
As a big four employee, lately, I've been hearing a lot about "boomerang" employees. Those who, for some reason or another, decide that leaving work when the sun is still out is not for them and alas, return back to the firm. Yes, the grass is not always greener on the other side, however, is this trending upward or about the same as it always has been? I think, also, that the firms really do a good job in highlighting those that do choose to return to make it appear more common than reality. Can you please speak about how you've seen the trend of "boomerangs" amongst the big 4?
Good question. A boomerang, as the commenter pointed, is one who quits a big 4 Firm and then decides to return (or boomerang) back to the Firm after getting a taste of work life in the non-public accounting world.
I have seen a few return this past summer, but didn't really notice a trend until you mentioned it. It's definitely been higher than past years, but not enough to stand out.
Boomerangs come back due to a combination of factors. The one great thing that you have at an accounting firm that you lack on the other side is flexibility. If it's wednesday at noon in the summer and you feel like taking a nap, or just don't feel like working that day, go home, and make up for it the next day. Nobody will notice as long as you get your work done. On the other side, even if you have nothing to do, odds are you'd still have to stick it out through the end of the day. For managers and above who've spent years getting used to the big 4 lifestyle, this is the biggest adjustment. As a senior associate, it's not that big of a deal since your flexibility is not that high. The other reason people come back is, surprisingly enough, the people. We work with many young motivated people who are willing to do what it takes to get things done. It's just the public accounting culture. But if you leave and work at another company, many of the employees are looking to get out at 5 pm, it's a madhouse to the front door. Takes getting used to, especially since you've been trained in a different world.
People also come back because you constantly keep moving up here and keep getting challenged, but on the private side, you usually have one boss and if he/she isn't going anywhere, you're not going anywhere. And that's a challenge. Heck,making partner before you hit 40, that's an attainable goal.
For those who want that 9-5 life, and believe me, that's something to be envied, you're not coming back if you ever leave.
It's factors like these that make many of us debate whether it's worth it to leave. The Firms used to spew fuzzy stats talking about boomerangs and how it's not a good time to leave until you make manager, etc..but that was only until 2008. I haven't seen any lately, or may have unconsciously deleted those emails if I did get them.
Good question. A boomerang, as the commenter pointed, is one who quits a big 4 Firm and then decides to return (or boomerang) back to the Firm after getting a taste of work life in the non-public accounting world.
I have seen a few return this past summer, but didn't really notice a trend until you mentioned it. It's definitely been higher than past years, but not enough to stand out.
Boomerangs come back due to a combination of factors. The one great thing that you have at an accounting firm that you lack on the other side is flexibility. If it's wednesday at noon in the summer and you feel like taking a nap, or just don't feel like working that day, go home, and make up for it the next day. Nobody will notice as long as you get your work done. On the other side, even if you have nothing to do, odds are you'd still have to stick it out through the end of the day. For managers and above who've spent years getting used to the big 4 lifestyle, this is the biggest adjustment. As a senior associate, it's not that big of a deal since your flexibility is not that high. The other reason people come back is, surprisingly enough, the people. We work with many young motivated people who are willing to do what it takes to get things done. It's just the public accounting culture. But if you leave and work at another company, many of the employees are looking to get out at 5 pm, it's a madhouse to the front door. Takes getting used to, especially since you've been trained in a different world.
People also come back because you constantly keep moving up here and keep getting challenged, but on the private side, you usually have one boss and if he/she isn't going anywhere, you're not going anywhere. And that's a challenge. Heck,making partner before you hit 40, that's an attainable goal.
For those who want that 9-5 life, and believe me, that's something to be envied, you're not coming back if you ever leave.
It's factors like these that make many of us debate whether it's worth it to leave. The Firms used to spew fuzzy stats talking about boomerangs and how it's not a good time to leave until you make manager, etc..but that was only until 2008. I haven't seen any lately, or may have unconsciously deleted those emails if I did get them.
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Delegation
1) Can you take care of this?
2) FYI
3) See below
4) No text, just a forwarded message
5) Please complete ASAP
6) Can you complete by X
7) We need to do this
8) Let's finish this
Sound familiar? This is basically the only text in an email, along with a forwarded message from someone else. Best part is when this is from a mobile phone during the day, so you know the individual is nowhere near his computer doing work.
Delegation at its finest. I'm sure everyone's received this. Partners to senior managers, senior managers to managers, managers to senior associates, senior associates to staff associates.
As much as it irks me when I get this, especially since I don't know how the reviewer wants this, I can't complain since I'm guilty of doing the same to my teams.
In a world where everyone speaks their minds, it should be something on the lines of this...
"I'm doing everything but work right now, but I still have every intention of getting you to do this task below for me. Yes, I am not giving you any color on how I want it, figure this sh*t out yourself. Man I love having the people below me doing the btch work. Excuse me for now, since I have to go on Kayak.com to figure out the cheapest flight for my vacation."
2) FYI
3) See below
4) No text, just a forwarded message
5) Please complete ASAP
6) Can you complete by X
7) We need to do this
8) Let's finish this
Sound familiar? This is basically the only text in an email, along with a forwarded message from someone else. Best part is when this is from a mobile phone during the day, so you know the individual is nowhere near his computer doing work.
Delegation at its finest. I'm sure everyone's received this. Partners to senior managers, senior managers to managers, managers to senior associates, senior associates to staff associates.
As much as it irks me when I get this, especially since I don't know how the reviewer wants this, I can't complain since I'm guilty of doing the same to my teams.
In a world where everyone speaks their minds, it should be something on the lines of this...
"I'm doing everything but work right now, but I still have every intention of getting you to do this task below for me. Yes, I am not giving you any color on how I want it, figure this sh*t out yourself. Man I love having the people below me doing the btch work. Excuse me for now, since I have to go on Kayak.com to figure out the cheapest flight for my vacation."
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
A new era
Summers at the beach or mountain house, playing with the kids, improving their golf handicap...work a little bit during busy season, schmooze at charity events in the fall, with the occasional appearance at the office. Gotta love the partner life....prior to the 2008 recession.
Now? With SOX and increased regulation and compliance requirements - (thank the PCAOB for this), we're working year-round, and so are the partners. Oh don't get me wrong, there's still the long summer getaways, golfing, schmoozing, sporting events, etc, but at a reduced level.
The stress levels have increased exponentially from back in the day. Sure, the money's better than the past, the benefits (at least in the US) are still unparalleled, but is it worth it?
That's the question on most managers' and senior managers' minds. Even the partners now admit that times are different now. Some believe that this increased regulation is just a phase, some think it's here to stay.
One thing's for sure,we are entering a new auditing era.
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