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Big4Guru
Contributor

Joined: 05 Feb 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 82

Posted: 07 Feb 2009 at 18:47 \| IP Logged

Hello,

Welcome to the Big4Guru board at CPANet.com. By means of introduction I am a CPA, career coach, Big 4 alumni and author. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about getting hired and working with the Big 4, current events in the accounting industry and life as a CPA.

Sincerely, The Big 4 Guru

hitrusha
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Joined: 06 Jun 2008
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 9

Posted: 08 Feb 2009 at 05:38 \| IP Logged

Hello,

I moved to US about a year ago with a Master's degree in Economics from Russia. I did not study in United states, nor I have any work experience here. I'm almost done with a CPA exam and I really want to get hired or at least get an internship in a big 4 company (or a medium sized cpa firm), but it just seem impossible to me, especially in this economy.
I would appreciate your advice.
Thanks in advance :)

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San Diego, CA

Big4Guru
Contributor

Joined: 05 Feb 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 82

Posted: 08 Feb 2009 at 20:57 \| IP Logged

Hello Hitrusha,

I understand that it can seem really difficult right
now. It is very true that we are in a difficult
economic climate. However, there are jobs out there and
the Big 4 are still hiring - though at a much lower
level than in recent years. Just a couple year ago, with
the boom of SarBox, firms were hiring very large classes
each year. This has been significantly scaled back.

The good news, if you can call it that, is that the
accounting field tends to weather the storm better than
Best of luck.

aztb
Newbie
Newbie

Joined: 09 Feb 2009
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 30

Posted: 09 Feb 2009 at 01:37 \| IP Logged

Hi Big4Guru!

I have been reading this forum for some time now. I have passed Reg section and am planning to sit for FAR in April. I decided to become a member of this forum after reading your posts.

I have done Master of Finance & Control and the education evaluation agency gave me 150 credits for my education from India. The California Board found me eligible to sit for CPA exam.

I am in USA on L1A visa, intra company transfer. I am working as Manager (Loans). I have approximately 7 years of banking experience at supervisory level, 1 year in USA and 6 years in India.

So, I have no experience in Public Accounting but I am a very quick learner and have always been a performer. I am 33 years old and will look for a job once I complete my CPA in about 1 year.

What do you think about my prospects? What is my best shot at gaining an entry in the accounting profession? Will my Bank experience help me in any way ? (I have seen 2 audit teams at my branch and felt that I can deliver the goods).

Thanks for your guidance!

Big4Guru
Contributor

Joined: 05 Feb 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 82

Posted: 09 Feb 2009 at 10:19 \| IP Logged

Aztib,

Welcome to the forum. While I cannot speculate on your
chances of getting hired as there is so much that goes
into that, I can give you some advice.

The fact that you do not have public accounting
experience will be a challenge, but it will not prevent
you from getting hired. The Big 4 firms focus a great
deal on recruiting fresh college-grads for entry level
positions, but they also must fill slightly more
advanced positions (known as "experienced hires").
These positions become available when staff leave for
opportunities outside of the firms.

Because you do not have formal public accounting
experience, my advice to you is to really dig in to the
current events that are happening in the accounting
world. There is so much that is happening and changing
right now, that there is an incredible opportunity out
there for those that are on the forefront of this
movement.

I would recommend reading everything you can on Fair
Value accounting, IFRS, etc. If you can become
knowledgeable in these areas, you can get the attention
of the Big 4 and make up for the lack of experience.

I've posted many free articles and blog posts on this
subject, as well an an eBook. Click the WWW below to
take a look.

Thanks and best of luck.

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