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Busy Season Problems: You Deducted What?, Dumbest Conference Idea Ever, Clients Taking Ls

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez
angry stress ball

It occurred to me the other day as I was setting up my bullet journal spreads for next month that it is almost April. How’d that happen? As I was casually drawing out colorful little calendar boxes, checklists, and doodles without a care in the world I remembered that there are a good number of people out there for whom doodling is way, way down the list of things they have time to do (sorry). Oh right, it’s busy season.

It’s been a while since we’ve checked in with #TaxTwitter so let’s do just that and see how things are going.

This year just feels different. Professionals are standing their ground, making time for self care, telling bad clients to take a leap, and LET ME TELL YOU am I happy to see it. Oh and extensions are the hottest trend in tax for 2023 (no, not the Jersey Shore kind). It’s beautiful. You’re doing great, keep it up ❤️

Drip:

Ending on a positive note. Times they are a-changin’.

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Job of the Day: Asset Management Company Needs a Controller

An asset management company is looking for an experienced accountant to fill a controller position that will oversee its accounting department and report directly to the CFO.

The position requires a CPA with a minimum of seven years experience, including partnerships and foreign currency. This position is located in Kirkland, Washington.


Title: Controller

Compensation: $140,000

Location: Kirkland, WA

Description: The firm manages $1.8 billion of long-only funds invested in Japanese publicly-traded companies through three separate funds each having a focus area of large-cap, mid-cap or small-cap companies in Japan. The firm is planning expansion into other Asian markets in the near-term for which substantive discussions are underway. Currently located in Monterey, CA, the firm is relocating to Kirkland, Washington in July 2010. The firm is seeking a Controller based in their Washington Offices. The position will report to the CFO and work closely with the CFO on all matters.

Responsibilities: Responsible for the integrity and accuracy of the general ledgers of each fund and the fund management companies; Directly manage the Fund Accountant position, reviewing all work performed by the Fund Accountant; Oversee certain aspects of the Accounting Manager’s work with regards to payables and other general accounting matters; Manage the month-end closing and reporting for each fund, reviewing all journal entries prepared by the Fund Accountant ensuring that fund financials are prepared and submitted timely to CFO; Review all journal entries prepared by Accounting Manager for the fund management companies; Review and help prepare the computation of partner allocations; Oversee the Fund Accountant’s daily computation of NAV and daily trade reconciliation process, including the internal reporting of daily performance for all funds; Step in as a back-up for the Fund Accountant to complete Fund Accountant responsibilities as required; Prepare the annual financial statements and all supporting documentation for the auditors; Prepare tax supporting documentation for the fund tax returns; Monitor tax filing deadlines and FBAR filings and coordinate with tax firm; Coordinate and interface with auditors on year-end audits SAS 70 Type I (and possibly Type II in the future) engagement, and annual GIPS verification; Assist on special projects for internal or external reporting, as requested by the CFO.

Qualifications/Skills: CPA with 7-10 years of experience in investment management industry with strong preference for experience in public equities (including Asian public equities).; Experience in all aspects of partnership accounting for funds, including foreign currency experience; Strong experience in various financial reporting systems required. The firm currently uses Axys (Advent), Moxy and Peachtree. The firm is evaluating the potential for a technology platform for its accounting area which would integrate general ledger, investments, trade recording under a single solution. To this end, strong knowledge of financial reporting systems is a requirement; Experience in budgeting, payroll, general HR and accounting matters as they relate to fund management company; Experience supervising accounting team staff; Working knowledge of Advent Axys and Moxy software systems preferred.

See the entire description over at the GC Career Center and visit the main page for all your job search needs.

Mid-tier Manager’s Phone Blowing Up with Calls From Big 4; Is It Time to Jump Ship?

Welcome to the winesday edition of Accounting Career Couch. In today’s conundrum, a mid-tier manager is getting aggresively courted by three of the Big 4 firms and what’s to know the True Accounting Firm Story about them before dropping his current firm like a bag of dirt.

Trying to figure out your next career move? Getting anxious about busy season and need some new survival tips? Did you recently receive an email that you really want to share with other but it may or may not be appropriate? WAIT! Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and we’ll steer you in the right direction.

Back to our greener grass hunter du jour:

Caleb,

The recent improvements in the fortunes of the Big 4 have yielded some opportunities for certain of us in the mid-tier firms. In the past two weeks I have been contacted by Deloitte, KPMG and E&Y regarding open positions they are trying to fill.

I am an experienced manager at a mid-tier firm that has not quite recovered from the recession. The firm is struggling to bring in new clients and has had almost no success in this area. The Big 4 have aggressively cut fees and have a generally better reputation to rely upon. While I like the opportunities as they are advertised, what kind of situation am I stepping into at these firms? Should any of these firms be avoided? I could stay until promotion to senior manager, but the firms is currently very top heavy. I see limited benefit to staying as my share of the work increases and my pay has not kept pace. Any thoughts?

It’s pretty difficult to pick one firm over the other without details about your city (memo to advice-seekers: GIVE US LOTS OF DETAILS ABOUT YOUR PROBLEM) but we’ll take a stab here.

Choosing one firm over another is purely a matter of your own preference. If you’re a fan of yellow, this is an easy decision. Prefer blue? Your decision is a little harder, unless you’re a Phil Mickelson fan, in which case there’s no debate here.

But seriously – if you specialize in a specific industry, you’ll probably meet a partner that you’ll work for when you interview with the firm. Hell, if it’s a small enough office you might meet all the partners in your group. That should give you a pretty good feel for what you’re getting into. Like we wrote last to Jersey Girl, a partner’s behavior during the interviewing process can be a good sign of who to choose.

If you’re antsy about your current firm, then you’re probably not alone. Regarding your concern about your current firm being “top heavy” the parking lot at senior manager is pretty full anywhere you go, so can’t really help you there.

Bottom line – go on some interviews and feel the firms out. Throwing darts won’t get you anywhere. Get a feel for the people you’ll be working with and your decision should be easy.

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