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Subject Topic: Overtime in big 4 accounting firm (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
  
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NewFloridaCPA!!
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Posted: 25 Feb 2009 at 14:05 | IP Logged  

gmeyers wrote:
If a
persons only motivation for being in public accounting is compensation, you
have entered the wrong profession.


LOL.  Preachin' to the choir, my friend.


Edited by NewFloridaCPA!! on 25 Feb 2009 at 14:15
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lelik
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Posted: 25 Feb 2009 at 17:46 | IP Logged  

dwarmstrong, working for the government doesn't mean being "inefficient". I am in auditing, and it's all about the efficiency. Though, some procedures are just too tedious, and paperwork can be quite unpleasant. I would not have any problems with the Big4 environment, but I have a lot of problems spending extra-time (over 40h) with my colleagues instead of my family. Somehow, my family makes me much happier than any job. :-)

Also, shopping at the stores doesn't mean "inefficiency". Some people just like to shop. Ha-ha, back to your example about the iron. Several weeks ago I was actually buying one. :-) And I looked on Amazon, I checked all the reviews on-line, found all top-ranking models, and... ended up buying one at Target. Just because $60-150 models didn't look too good after all, and many people had problems with them. Also, Target offers a lot of discounts and some prices are lower than on Amazon. :-) Some irons are just too heavy or uncomfortable, and sending them back to Amazon can be much more painful than spending $3 on taxes.
 
What is the moral of the story? Everybody has his or her own motivation. 


Edited by lelik on 25 Feb 2009 at 17:51


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GSRWSU
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Posted: 25 Feb 2009 at 19:43 | IP Logged  

Hey Lelik, I'm currently a grad student in MAcc...  I'm 25 and will graduating next December.  I was thinking about shooting for the Big4 but probably settling for a large regional firm. Lately, i have been looking at maybe being IRS auditor....  Can you give me any advice on what they look for?  Also how is the pay scale, promotions, and such?..  Do they value the CPA and higher education much ?   I have no problems working long hard hours so I wouldn't cut out those types of jobs but with this economy the way it is, I think it would be wise to broaden my employment options.

No offense but everytime I visit either the DOL or today actually I visited the IRS, I have noticed they are rude as *removed* and seem generally bored or unhappy..  Is this common theme? 



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2BlackLabs
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Posted: 25 Feb 2009 at 20:19 | IP Logged  

Wow...talk about perspective. Everyone looks at the
world through a certain set of lens I guess.

I hate to say it, but you guys have no idea how bad it
can get. I looked at the big 4 because the hours weren't
killer and pay was ok. Which is pretty funny because
everyone here thinks 60 hour work weeks are a crusher. I
look at that as lite. 40 hour work weeks are for people
in non-competition roles, like government or union work.
I'm not saying that is necessarily anything bad, just
that if you tried to run your own business using a 40
hour work week...odds are the dinner table would be a
little on the lite side.

I remember the first time I met an investment banker.
They were telling me that they were pumped because it
was the summer and things were on the slow side. Meaning
they only worked till 5 on Saturday and had off on
Sunday usually (this was only for a 6-8 time frame in
July-August though).

So how is this for sucking? Regularly working 80 hours a
week and sometimes pushing 100-110. Do the math on that
and you realize that there is literally no time to do
anything besides eat and sleep a little, let alone
commute, etc. And then...once you do that for 2 years
you have the privilege of going to an Ivy MBA program
(you are literally tossed out the door after 2 years)
where you will borrow about 200k and then wind up
competing for another banking position because there is
no other job on earth you can expect to make enough to
pay for your debt. Except management consulting in which
case you work more like 70 hours, travel cross-country Monday-Friday living out of your suitcase and still get
ridiculed by investment bankers. Then again, once you
get there you are looking at 350-500k for a second year
associate.

I am sure Big Law associates are right up there too with
100+ work weeks. The ABA did a study a short while ago
that said that something like 40% of lawyers either
wished they never went to law school or wouldn't advise
it as a career. Can't remember which. Probably wished
they had took a job making 40k a year teaching math in a
high school.

So all in all, I entered public because I thought the
hours were attractive and pay wasn't too bad.

I was just laughing because I think that is almost the
opposite of the majority of others here.

To each there own. But if you are young and fresh out of
school, you should probably put your dues in and at
least see how it is. At the least your salary for life
will probably be higher for it and when you work in
other industries you can laugh when someone cries about
a tough 50 hour work week.
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CPAKillah
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Posted: 25 Feb 2009 at 20:24 | IP Logged  

gmeyers wrote:
If a
persons only motivation for being in public accounting is compensation, you have entered the wrong profession.

So what motivation does that leave? For the love of the work? You mentioned stability, but honestly, that's really a farcical concept that people hold. Accounting is glorified overhead, which means business is always in a process of trying to simplify or automate it.
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