Listen Up, Young Accountants: Career Advice For Sticking Out Those Early Years
Ed. note: enjoy some wisdom from a profession OG in this guest post from Blake Oliver. TLDR: Patience, intellectual curiosity, soft skills, and time management will take you far. Most importantly, advocate for yourself. Different generations in the workforce often struggle to understand each other. But experts say one thing that young professionals can do, […]
AICPA Unveils Its Most Desperate Pipeline Initiative Yet
Surely this will get the kids interested in accounting! She’s riding a skateboard because you can’t afford a car on a public accounting starting salary. Why’s there a bearded hipster hanging out creepily in the back? Some appropriate Twitter reactions: Vibes: pic.twitter.com/p9pqErdnyG — Matthew J. Cordes, EA (@cordes_tax) September 26, 2023 CPAs be like pic.twitter.com/FwlwKqi2s7 […]
A Tale of Two Business Majors Speaking to Young People About Their Careers
Under the “Teen Talk Tuesdays” category in the Milwaukee Community Journal there is a charming story about exploring career pathways written from the perspective of a young man who had three guest speakers come to his school and talk about their career paths. He writes: Two of the visitors were teachers at a University. The […]
Guy Who Works at a Firm Actually Named FML on Why Accounting Is a Great Career
So a guy named Brian Kelleher who works for the hilariously named FML CPAs has written an opinion piece for the Hartford Courant entitled “Opinion: Accounting is a fantastic career — despite common misconceptions.” Let me preface everything that is about to be said here with this: Accounting is a fantastic career and I sincerely believe […]
Withum’s Solution to the War on Talent Is to Throw Students Onto the Battlefield
Adamant that there is no way the burden of 150 units for CPA licensure will ever be rolled back to 120, the AICPA and NASBA have scored a second school-firm collaboration for their CPA Pathway Apprenticeship initiative: Seton Hall University and Withum. The program trades work in the field for credits toward 150. From Withum’s […]
Research: Why Students — Particularly Diverse Ones — Aren’t Pursuing Accounting
The Center for Audit Quality — the AICPA-affiliated “nonpartisan public policy organization serving as the voice of U.S. public company auditors and matters related to the audits of public companies” — has released a 63-page report entitled Increasing Diversity in the Accounting Profession Pipeline that tackles the historically under-reported and totally mysterious issue of why […]
Accounting Summer Camp is a Thing in New York
High school students in the state of New York have the chance to participate in the Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession program this summer, the deadline to apply is Friday, June 23, 2023 at 11:59pm which you can do at this link. Let’s skip the unnecessary commentary and get straight to the details. From […]
Big 4 Firms Are Noticing a Sudden Skills Gap in New Hires
It’s funny, I was just talking about this yesterday to a state society leader, how there’s been talk in recent weeks that offshoring and automation have reduced the “skills gauntlet” interns and new hires go through to learn the tedious details which in turn is making a crop of staff and associates who feel almost […]
PwC UK Has a Soft Spot For Students Who Got Wrecked By the Pandemic
It’s no secret the pandemic screwed a lot of things up. Firms suddenly had to figure out how to manage an entirely remote work force, CPA exam candidates couldn’t test for months due to Prometric closures, and let’s not forget the poor interns and first years who had to wait for answers in Teams while […]
Baker Tilly Banks on Celebrity Endorsements to Bring in Young Talent
In case you didn’t notice because who cares, Baker Tilly has engaged the help of filmmaker and adventurer Jimmy Chin and teenage tennis star Coco Gauff to brighten up the Baker Tilly name and recruit the youfs to this exciting accounting firm. Said Coco Gauff at gunpoint in a press release about the partnership: “I […]
Young Accountant Narrowly Misses the Tragedy of Working For Grant Thornton
Someone on r/accounting posted this over the weekend and I thought it worth sharing because it reminds everyone of two very important facts when it comes to recruiting: 1) never bank on a verbal offer and 2) don’t work for Grant Thornton. Oops wait, I meant 2) if firms recruiting on campus engage in any […]
We’re Going to Solve the Accounting Pipeline Shortage With 2013 Buzzfeed Quiz Results, You Guys
With the accounting pipeline drying up, the profession is throwing all kinds of things at the wall to recruit young people hoping just one of them might stick. One such venture is Accounting+, a Gen Z-ified recruiting site brought to you by the Center for Audit Quality that might give young people the impression that […]
YSK: AICPA Accounting Scholars Leadership Workshop Application Period Ends June 15
As Going Concern fully supports the profession’s diversity initiatives and various pipeline-filling activities (despite comparing the AICPA to an 80s anti-drug PSA creep giving away free drugs to children), we want to let everyone know that the application period for the AICPA Accounting Scholars Leadership Workshop ends on June 15, 2022. The workshop takes place […]
If the AICPA Offers You a Career In Accounting, Just Say No
With the AICPA making filling the CPA pipeline one of their 2022 primary strategic initiatives (see page 11 of the 2021 AICPA Trends report for the full list of pipeline-filling activities they will be going hard on this year), I thought now might be a good time to dust off the ol’ 1980s D.A.R.E. programming […]
Team With No Accounting Majors Takes On Another Team With No Accounting Majors For Men’s College Basketball Supremacy
Tonight at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, the eighth-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels will be taking on the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks for the 2022 men’s college basketball championship. After disposing its longtime archrival Duke and Coack K (thank god) on Saturday, the Tar Heels are looking to win their seventh NCAA men’s […]
ICYMI: The AICPA Legacy Scholarship Application Period Is Open Until March 1 (IOW Free Money For School)
According to the cute little countdown on the AICPA Legacy Scholarships page, as of right now (right now as in the date this post is published) you have 35 days remaining to apply for the 2022-2023 AICPA Legacy Scholars program scholarships. They include: AICPA Foundation Scholarship for Future CPAs $3,000 – $10,000 AICPA Scholarship Award […]
CPA Canada Congratulates 5,912 CFE Passers and Throws Some Cash at Top Performers
On December 3, CPA Canada announced 5,912 writers of the Common Final Examination — Canada’s version of the CPA exam — passed the grueling, three-day examination required for licensure. This is down from 6,371 in September 2020, an impressive 75.8% pass rate for first-time writers (note: they’re called “writers” not candidates up north, don’t ask […]
The Bar Has Been Raised For New Hires and There’s One Skill In Particular Firms Are Looking For
Although the old guard (read: Boomer partners who refuse to retire) might tell you that kids these days have it too easy, the reality is that today’s accountants are expected to possess a far more varied Swiss Army Knife of knowledge compared to the whittlin’ stick of yore. What’s our evidence for this claim? The […]
Accounting Student’s Faceplant Was a Sign of Things to Come For Ohio State
Poor Austin Bowman. The second-year accounting student and the first sophomore head drum major at Ohio State University since 2010 was hyped to run out onto the field at Ohio Stadium on Saturday before the No. 4-ranked Buckeyes took on the No. 12-ranked Oregon Ducks in the first football game at the stadium with fans […]
$58,508: The Average Starting Salary for New Accounting Grads
Accounting students who are graduating in 2021 are the beneficiaries of an average starting salary that has increased by nearly 11% over last year, according to the most recent salary survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). The average starting salary for accounting undergrads this year is projected to be $58,508, up […]
These Colleges Give Accounting Grads the Most Bang For Their Buck In the Real World
We’re less than two months away from the class of 2021 tossing their mortarboards high in the sky (either in-person with their classmates or virtually, not sure which at this point), thus signaling a new batch of eager beavers who will soon be starting their journeys in the meat grinder that is public accounting. But […]
Why You Should Just Read the Chapter Already
I had a dream the other night that I was back in managerial accounting. A few of my classmates back then would call it a nightmare. It was second semester of my sophomore year and somehow this general business course was harder than the first intermediate accounting that I was also taking at the time. […]
The Big 4, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Is it Just Corporate BS?
I am a Big 4 alum and I spent many years in the audit profession before I transitioned to academia. I teach accounting in the Southeast at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), which means that at least 25% of the students are Hispanic. I am also Hispanic. I grew up at Deloitte, the same as Joe […]
How to Absolutely Kill It at Virtual Recruiting and Interviews
Becker CPA Review wants you to master virtual recruiting and interviews, here’s how you do it. Recruiting season is anxiety-inducing enough in the most normal of times: making small talk, promoting yourself without coming off as self-absorbed, and let’s not even get into worrying about your lunch lingering in your teeth. As Covid drove the […]
Talent Crunch: There Are Far More CPAs in Korea Than Big 4 Firms Have Jobs
While we here in the good ole U.S. of A. are constantly talking about the “talent shortage” and industry concerns that not enough new accounting grads are taking the traditional CPA path, South Korea has a different problem: too many CPAs, not enough jobs. According to a report in The Korea Times, the Big 4 […]
Why Pretty Much Everybody Should Major In Accounting
I was not a good accounting student. Despite trying hard, always showing up to class, and doing most of the homework, my brain just didn’t seem wired to be a great accountant. Regardless, I still think everybody should major in accounting, whether they work in the field or not. Let me explain. My experience To […]
Attention Accounting Students, the AICPA Is Giving Away Money Because COVID-19 Was Such a PITA
At this point, all of us have been affected by the Rona in one way or another (or many as the case may be), and I don’t need to waste precious word count rambling on about it. For some, the hit has been mostly a financial one, as we’ve seen week after week in the form of […]
Three Out of Four Big 4 Firms Have Pledged to Honor New Hire Offers For 2020 Grads
While everyone is trying to balance staying healthy with having something to wipe your ass with these days, one big concern we’ve been seeing is whether or not accounting grads should count on their existing offer letters or consider printing out those recruiter emails to use as TP. It’s a valid concern, no one knows […]
The AICPA Is (Still) Giving Out Free Money For Education, Here’s How to Get Yours
Last year around this time, we gave you a heads up on the AICPA Legacy Scholars program, an AICPA initiative to make it rain on the future rockstars of the profession. Do people still use make it rain these days? Whatever, I’m old. Anyway, they give out cash, and that’s most definitely a good thing. […]
Attn Minority Accounting Students: The AICPA Wants to Send You to a Leadership Conference (Free!)
Setting aside the snark for a moment to let you younguns know about an opportunity specifically for minority accounting students interested in attending the AICPA Accounting Scholars Leadership Workshop, which is going down May 13-15, 2020 in fabulous New Orleans. The AICPA Foundation is covering the entire experience including the cost of student attendees’ transportation […]
Here Are the Top 25 Online Graduate Accounting Degree Programs In 2019, According to Some Site
Since Adrienne designated me as the “accounting school/program rankings guy” earlier this year, I thought I’d bring to your attention a new ranking of the best online master’s in accounting degree programs. This list was put together by the website College Consensus, which researched more than 600 schools in the U.S. and weighed three factors […]
AICPA Report: Accounting Firms Just Aren’t Hiring Accounting Grads Like They Used To
The latest Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits report came out this week, and I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been anxiously waiting two whole years for it. I mean, I didn’t save the date or anything, but all of us around here have been […]
College Students Would Rather Work at Walt Disney World Than at the Big 4
There was a time when the Big 4 used to dominate the top 10 companies in the business category of Universum’s list of the 100 most attractive employers for U.S. college students. But not so much anymore. In 2017’s ranking, only two Big 4 firms made the top 10 (EY at No. 8 and Deloitte […]
Party Animals at Irish University Accounting Club Suspended for Fratty Rager on Campus
Those who believe accounting students are all buttoned-up introverts obviously haven’t met the Accounting and Finance Society at Dublin City University, which was suspended this month after word of their wild and crazy activities got back to school leaders. At an October 4 “initiation” for first-years, committee hopefuls were asked to engage in a variety […]
KPMG Master’s Degree Program Admits 135 into Indentured Service in 2018
As a Big 4 alumna, when I saw the KPMG master’s degree program, I immediately thought, “What’s the catch?” But before we get to the catch, let’s look at the program itself a little more. The KPMG Master’s Degree Program Per Accounting Today, the cohort of 135 program participants for the 2018-2019 start class will […]
Are You Ready for the Next Big Step in Your Accounting Career?
If you’re ready for a promotion, but your career isn’t, it might be time to consider graduate school. When you first went to work for your current company, it was pretty cool. Your friends and family were excited about your new job. You were excited. You were meeting new people, learning new things, making a […]
Why Does (and Why Should!) Data Analytics Matter to Accountants?
Successful accountants and business leaders who have mastered data analytics can provide unique insights, making them bigger assets to their organizations. “What do the numbers tell us?” “Let’s dig into the data!” “Can we analyze this in real-time?” It’s very likely that you’ve heard these expressions around the office. Big data. Data analytics. Data science. […]
Protip: Don’t Give Your Bank Information to Anyone Claiming to Be an Accounting Firm Recruiter
Never trust anyone online wearing a hoodie. Good night, nurse, what is this: Executives at UHY Advisors are sounding the alarm about online scammers who have been impersonating recruiters at accounting firms, offering enthusiastic young job seekers new career opportunities and internships. All the applicant must do, scammers tell them, is sign an acceptance letter […]
AICPA Trends Report Finds Enrollment in Master’s Programs, Hiring by CPA Firms Taking a Breather
The AICPA released its much anticipated 2017 Trends In the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits (“AICPA Trends” or “TSAGDPAR” for those of you who can’t resist an acronym) report today, and it shows two major developments: 1) A dropoff in enrollment for master’s in accounting programs; 2) Slower hiring […]
Exposure Drafts: Attracting New CPA Talent Starts Early
Exposure Drafts appears every other Wednesday. Send suggestions to [email protected].
PwC’s Recruiting Will Take a Hit Over the Oscars Debacle
Forty-two years ago I sat down to make an important life decision, my second in two years. The first was to go to graduate school instead of accepting a commission in the Marine Corps. The second was to join Price Waterhouse. Marriage would come later. I was the first in my family to go to […]
5 Unique Master’s Programs That Might Not Be on Your Radar
Please enjoy this sponsored content brought to you by our graduate university partners. Googling online graduate programs can be a nightmare. First off, it will take a while to trudge through 25 million search results. Ugh… ain’t nobody got time for that. Why is it so hard to find a worthwhile program to make all […]
Let’s Talk MBA Specializations With Utica College
This is a sponsored conversation brought to you by Utica College. At some point in your career, you may have heard a self-deprecating quip from someone who claimed to be a "jack of all trades, but a master of none." It's a slight nod to the idea that someone couldn't decide what they wanted to […]
Sponsored: The CFO Track Demands More Skills Than Ever
Have you considered changing your career track or expanding your skills profile? Please enjoy this sponsored content from Georgetown University about their Masters of Finance program. If you’re an ambitious accounting professional, you might have the title of CFO on your career bucket list. Chief financial officers are quickly becoming the most indispensable and sought […]
Sponsored: Questions to Ask an Interviewer
Please enjoy this sponsored content brought to you by our graduate university partners. Interviews are one of those things that you either walk into with a little moxy or you walk in terrified. Ideally, you've done your research and know almost everything and anything about the firm and the person you're interviewing with, your resume […]
Starting Salaries for Accounting Positions Keep Going Up
If you're a college student studying accounting, prepare your gloat face. Starting salaries for accounting and finance positions are expected to go up 3%-4.3% next year according to Robert Half's new salary guide.
Let’s Welcome Public Accounting’s Summer Interns
Monday marks the first day of summer so I suppose we should salute the young men and women who will invade accounting firms for the next couple of months. To the Twitter! BDO is excited to welcome over 300 summer #interns! Check out some tips from former #BDO interns: https://t.co/2pEUkFzabk — BDO USA Careers (@GetToKnowBDO) […]
A Few Law Schools Come to Their Senses, Start Offering Accounting Boot Camps
“Lawyers, because they work for and with business people, think that they’re good at business. Lawyers are NOT good business people.”
AICPA Making it Rain (on College Students)
Since 2011, the AICPA's Legacy Scholars program has put much-needed scholarship cash into the hands of worthy students. The program also "uses service work to help them develop the soft skills, including leadership and communications, needed to maintain a successful career," which is something every accounting student could use scholarship aside. Let's take a look: […]
Let’s End the Big 4 or Bust Myth Once and For All
It’s recruiting season on campuses all across America; that special time of year when accounting students get a taste of what it’s like to be a five-star middle linebacker — minus the “hostesses,” envelopes stuffed with cash, and any semblance of athletic ability. For you soon-to-be graduates deciding on your first employer, however, recruiting season […]
The CGMA Blog is Excited About the CGMA Exam
Because of course they are. Excited? About an exam? Seriously? Yes, seriously. As studious and determined people with big dreams and ambitious life goals, we’re used to being tasked with reciting formulas, choosing the best answer and memorizing large quantities of information in order to prove our aptitude in traditional school subjects. But how do […]
Why are People in Public Accounting So Ridiculously Good Looking?
Alright, now this one definitely has to be a troll. From Reddit: As a student going through recruiting season, I can't help but notice that all the people I'm meeting, whether or not they are interns, associates, managers, or partners, seem to be extremely charismatic and attractive. The men seem like husband material (especially the […]
LinkedIn Ranks the Best Undergrad Accounting Programs Based on Employability
Another day, another ranking. This time, LinkedIn did the math and figured out which accounting school tops the list in jobs. Makes sense, isn't that why you go to college in the first place? Here's how LinkedIn analyzed the ranking: First, we identified the top companies where Accounting Professionals are choosing to work. Next, we […]
EY Admits They’ll Still Take You Even if Your GPA Sucks
In FT's Test results can define young careers, we learn that EY will give you a chance even with a 3.0 if you can explain your crappy grades: At Ernst & Young, the global accounting firm, good grades are a key qualification for entry-level jobs and a reliable measurement of “technical ability and work ethic”, […]
(UPDATE) Which School Tops U.S. News Rankings in Undergrad Accounting?
Ed. note: U.S. News and World Report has issued a correction, stating they "incorrectly loaded peer reputation scores." The corrected ranking may be found below. Sorry, University of Illinois! RANKINGS. Love them or hate them, how else are we supposed to know who we're better than? The 30th edition of U.S. News and World Report […]
Davenport University Guarantees Employment for Accounting Students
Well, this is interesting. Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan announced that it will guarantee employment for its accounting students. If, by some chance, someone doesn't get a job in six months of graduating, (s)he can get up to 48 more credits from the university, tuition-free. That's a value of nearly $30,000. Students would have […]
This Year’s AICPA Accounting Competition Will Double as CGMA Advertising
If you're into cut throat competition among the country's best and brightest accounting students, you already know what's up with the AICPA Accounting Competition. We write about it every year unless something far more interesting is going on, like a ginormous fraud or some shady partner giving insider tips to his golfing buddy. Or, you […]
Ex-Accounting Professor Invited Students Over to Party, Secretly Filmed Them Using Bathroom (Allegedly!)
This kind of reminds me of that very special Golden Girls episode where Blanche went to college to finish her degree and was propositioned by her professor to get some "extra credit." Even though she was a total slut, she was completely offended at the very suggestion. At least in that case, though, the professor […]
Master’s in Accounting Grads Becoming More Popular With Employers
According to the latest AICPA Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits report (2013), demand for accounting grads is up. But we knew that. Also according to the report, demand for accounting grads with master's degrees is up. We knew that as well but did we know just […]
Deloitte Survey: Millennials Ready to Change the World But Still Need to Borrow a Few Bucks for Rent and Bills
According to a study by the ironically named Take Charge Institute at the University of Arizona, more than half of young "adults" age 23 – 26 rely on their family for financial support. Half! Of those, nearly half of them are employed full-time. No worries though, it's just that Millennials are taking an extended break […]
These 50 Colleges are So Desperate for Students, They’re Putting Education on Sale
June is a little late for schools to be thinking about filling up their freshman and transfer spots but the National Association of College Admissions Counseling says 470 schools — some of which you've actually heard of — are telling them they're in need of warm bodies: NACAC’s new 2014 “College Openings Update” list is […]
Trends in Campus Recruiting: Never Trust a Big Starbucks Card and a Smile
As we all know, firms of all sizes spend a lot of time and effort cruising campus to pluck the best and brightest from top accounting programs using all sorts of tactics like free dinner, tchotchkes, and even buttering up students' parents. Now, there is a new form of campus predator: your fellow student. We […]
For Just the Cost of 125 Cups of Coffee, You Can Sponsor a Future Leader in Need
NASBA's Center for the Public Trust is soliciting donations to sponsor a future leader, and boy is it a bargain. Cancel that $18 a month you're throwing away for the ASPCA and get on this, stat. If you want to make an investment that’s guaranteed to grow, buy some stock in the character index. Recent […]
Math-Challenged Future Barista With Law Degree Seeks Clue
Let's not all point and laugh at once now, kids. I did the math and I'm willing to go to school for 3 years after my undergraduate to make 6 figures out of law school. — Cadillactica Pimp (@RaganGotEm) April 21, 2014 h/t Law School Lemmings via ATL
Accounting Grads are More in Demand Than Ever, But When Does it End?
Like most topics, we've discussed this ad nauseam but it's a slow Tuesday so why not attack it again? Here's our jump off point from CPA Trendlines: Bolstering reports of a suddenly surging profession with a high demand for top talent, CPA firms are hiring a record number of graduates. At the same time, the […]
No Shirt, No Shoes, No Accounting Degree, No Probl– Actually, Small Problem
Remember Part 1 of this where a few of you asked "what was the point of this post?" Welcome to Part 2, where I explain that very point. Let’s recall a few details from Part 1, as this article is really only relevant to two unique groups of students: Double majors who declared a first […]
No Shirt, No Shoes, No Accounting Degree, No Problem!
In this week’s accounting issue, we're going to examine the void between requirements in a public university’s accounting program and their state’s CPA requirements. The equation should look a little like this: Seems simple enough; CPA requirements are set by the given state board of accountancy. Universities set their program curriculums. One might assume, of […]
How To Be a Master of Excel From the Master of Excel
You can go complain to the bartender about your problems or you can come over here and let us take a stab at making everything all better. No matter your trouble, we're here for you, just reach out. GC, So I interned at a Big 4 firm this summer in Advisory and was fortunate enough […]
Let’s Exchange Heated Words About: The Top 30 Accounting Undergrad Programs
This is the closest we'll get to a BCS ranking of accounting programs. Accounting Degree Review mashed together the lists of US News, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and Public Accounting Report to come up with their own 30 Best Accounting Schools for Undergrads. I suppose we'll have to live with this until a playoff system is developed. […]
Accounting Student Gets Stumped by Journal Entry Exam Question; Doodles Boat
Profession, meet your future. Grading exams, I'm overflowing with confidence in the next generation of CPAs. @going_concern pic.twitter.com/OzFNkUStAN — Brad Kendrex (@bradkendrex) December 19, 2013
Recruiting Season: Be Wary of Accounting Firms ‘Looking for a Fit’
And then Jesse said, "YO! MR. WHITE! LOOK OUT!" Hahaha. No, no he didn't. But here's something interesting not related to Breaking Bad that we read on Twitter this morning: Spoke to @UChicago MBA students Sat. about patsy "rogues". Surprised when I said walk away from recruiters looking for "fit". #RedFlag — Francine McKenna (@retheauditors) […]
How To Talk to Public Accounting Recruiters Without Coming Off Like a Tool
Found this gem on Reddit: I have a recruiters reception coming up soon where I will meet many recruiters from various firms. I'm only a student so my accounting knowledge is limited to textbook material. What type of questions do you ask? Although we've covered this before (repeatedly, at that), it is that time of […]
Kids Don’t Say They Want to Grow Up to Be CPAs Because Kids are Dumb
This Way to CPA has stooped to a new low, insulting children. Sure the little snot-nosed brats aren't very smart but do we really need to say that out loud? We all know the youth of America is pretty doomed as is but I'm fairly sure little kids saying they want to be CPAs when […]
Beta Alpha Psi Recently Got a Crash Course in Free and Fair Use
Per BAP: FYI: We made the Annual Meeting video private until we get a version with standard music. The music on the first version is copyrighted. Thank you for your patience. Here's the video proudly posted on Facebook on August 14th: And then the oopsie news two days later: Yeah, that's only slightly embarrassing. But […]
KPMG Is Going To Like the Way You (Interns) Look
Not only is KPMG trying to help their interns dress better at this year's National Intern Training in Orlando, they've got to brag about it on Facebook: "To make things even better for our Summer 2013 Interns, KPMG gave each male a $200 giftcard to Men's Wearhouse and each female a $200 giftcard to Ann […]
The Definitive Guide to a Successful Public Accounting Summer Internship
Hey, INTERN. Yes, you there wearing your hangover like a scarlet letter on this lovely Friday. Down your third gatorade and listen up. This is everything you need to know to not completely waste your summer away in your internship. You earned a coveted internship, but I am not going to stroke your ego […]
Teen Mom-cum-Porn Star Farrah Abraham Is Going to Concentrate on Internal Auditing Because of Course She Is
After getting on a MTV show more or less because she had sex with a dude with a bad overbite and then getting paid $1.5 million for having sex on camera, it only makes sense that Farrah Abraham would pursue an academic path that involved auditing of assets. In an e-mail interview, Abraham, 22, […]
The Only Thing Better Than Working an Eminem Lyric into Your Accounting Paper Is Your Professor Calling You Out For It
I haven't written anything for academic purposes in quite some time, but it's nice to know that some of the profession's future have some creative thoughts bouncing around the grey matter. The following was sent to us from a student who told us that "one of my buddies who was able to slip in a […]
Comp Watch ’13: This Year’s Accounting Graduates Will Be Resented More Than Ever
With an average starting salary of $53,300, the class of 2013 might have to endure some envious snipes from their Class of '12 co-workers: The average starting salary for accounting graduates this year is $53,300, up from $49,700 in 2012, Andrea Koncz, employment information manager for the NACE, told AccountingWEB. In 2011, the average starting […]
Let’s Bicker About: Top Undergrad Accounting Programs
According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, any burgeoning debit and credit artists out there would do well by attending one of the following schools for their undergraduate studies: 1. Brigham Young (Marriott) 1.067 2. Notre Dame (Mendoza) 1.076 3. UC Berkeley (Haas) 1.081 4. Cornell (Dyson) 1.089 5. Illinois – Urbana-Champaign 1.116 6. Tulsa (Collins) 1.118 7. […]
We Haven’t Forgotten About You, Public Accounting Winter Interns!
Sorry, winter interns — it's just that we've been, ya know, busy. Just like those senior associates who haven't had the time to take you to lunch. Or that manager who you thought wanted to get to know you better. Or that partner that never pronounces your name correctly. There's no shortage of love, just a […]
(UPDATE) Recruiting Season: Public Accounting Salaries for The Starting Class of 2013
~ UPDATE includes updated salary info after a flood of new submissions. Thanks to everyone that wrote in. Welcome to the final recruiting season roundup for 2012. Thanks for all your questions and freak outs this fall. If you ever encounter any interesting situations or simply have something on your mind that you want to […]
Recruiting Season: Is Inter-Big 4 Romance a Relationship Killer?
This week's Recruiting Season post is brought to you by the letters C, P, A and by numbers. Lots and lots of numbers. Have a question about accounting careers? Email us at [email protected]. All right, boys and girls, this is the last recruiting season post before we spill all the salary details on you. […]
Recruiting Season: Best of Big 4 in Beantown; Underwhelming Salaries; Second-tier Stepping Stones
Welcome to Tuesdays with More Anxious Accounting recruits. Have a question about recruiting season? Email [email protected] with "Recruiting Season Questions" in the subject line. Just a friendly reminder – if you have received an offer from a public accounting firm, by all means, share your excitement with us. We've received a fair amount so far, but we are […]
Russian National Is Feeling Rejected By Big 4
Welcome to a special Friday edition of Accounting Career Emergencies. Since Frankenstorm might sweep a lot of us out to sea early next week, let's get in all the good advice we can before the world ends. If you're having a career emergency and still have a charge left on your phone while you're waiting […]
Recruiting Season Reason: Meet the Firms Basics For Complete Morons
You'd think I made this up but I swear I didn't, it comes from an actual recruiter who attended an actual MTF and encountered the following actual horrors. Let's open the floor on what NOT to do at Meet the Firms momentarily: How about an open thread for recruiter horror stories at Meet the Firms […]
Recruiting Season: It’s Decision Time; Dealing with Radio Silence; Stalling That Eager Firm
Welcome to the latest Recruiting Season Q&A. This is where we answer several questions from anxious accounting students. Remember, you won't know if your question is stupid unless you ask. Email your query to [email protected] with "Recruiting Season Question" in the subject line. Just a reminder – we're compiling the starting salaries for new associates […]
Recruiting Season: Ascending to Public Accounting Royalty; Choosing Between 3 of the Big 4; Doomed to Depression?
Welcome to the latest edition of Recruiting Advice: Take it or Go Screw Yourself. Have a question about recruiting season? Email us at [email protected] and put "Recruiting Season Questions" in the subject line. One programming note – for those of you who are on the hunt for full-time offers this year, be sure to email […]
Recruiting Season: Some Social Media Basics For The New Accountants on the Block
Chances are at some point someone in HR with too much time on their hands is going to Google you. Unless you are a John Smith, it would be wise to be proactive when it comes to your Internet presence, lest your potential new employer dig up your Facebook album called "CANCUN PEED ON MYSELF" […]
Recruiting Season: Crossing State Lines; Starting Salary Disappointment; Choosing an Industry
Welcome to this week's roundup of baffled buckaroos. Each week we'll try to save some hapless accounting students from embarrassing themselves somewhere along recruiting trail. Have a question about recruiting season? Email us at [email protected] with "Recruiting Season Questions" in the subject line. We'll kick things off with a follow-up from last week when "Pissed […]
Recruiting Season: Planning Your Last Summer, Handling Rejection, and Pesky Friends Wanting a Referral
Good night nurse, we get a lot of emails during recruiting season. In order to answer as many questions as possible, we'll do a lightning round of sorts each week so none of the little grasshoppers out there feel left out. Have a question about recruiting season? Email us at [email protected] and include "Recruiting Season Questions" […]
What Accounting Program Would Jesus Do?
Are you the parent of a future accounting student looking for guidance as you sort through hundreds of brochures in the search for the perfect accounting program for your future CPA? You probably shouldn't email us, we're a bad influence. But if you still want to, go ahead and get in touch and we'll try […]
Top Ten Accounting Programs Are Spectacularly Unspectacular
It's that time of year again where U.S. News & World Report clings to relevancy by issuing their College Rankings List and, per usual, we'll present you with the top undergraduate accounting programs with indifference. The purpose of these rankings, as we all know, allows the alumni and current students of top accounting schools the opportunity […]
Recruiting Season: Dressing for Success Means Following a Lot of Garden Variety Advice
No more articles about how to dress for interviews. We see them every year, and we read them because the case for flat-front slacks is much more interesting than the case for private company GAAP. I successfully avoided Accounting Today's recent article, "Fashion & Finance: Do's and Don'ts for New Recruits." Then I got an […]
Recruiting Season: When an Accounting Firm Has Multiple Openings, Be a Decider
Is your career stuck in neutral? Looking for a way to convince your boss that Fantasy Football strategizing is legitimate billable hours? Need ideas for accounting-themed names for your two Pomeranian puppies? Email us your questions. Hi Colin, I'm going through campus recruiting as we speak and was curious what your opinion was on applying […]
Deloitte Campus Recruits to Imagine Olympians Naked While Listening to Their Stories of Inspiration
Yes, Deloitte is counting on college students being impressed with stories of determination, hope, competition, blah blah blah while gawking at the Olympic quality bods of Abby Wambach, Cullen Jones, Mariel Zagunis, Jonathan Horton, and April Holmes. And as long at they don't have any of them say something as awkward as Apolo Ohno's quote in that […]
Reminder to PwC Partners: The Firm Won’t Be Considering Your Deadbeat Relatives for a Job
As fall approaches, Big 4 recruiting for next year's crop of capital market servants will shift into high gear. This means lots of handshakes at catered events where students will make small talk, laugh awkwardly, and feign listening in order to land that all-important first job. There's a lot of preparation involved for these students […]
The Best Part of Ernst & Young’s International Intern Leadership Conference Had to Be When Jim Turley Laid Down Some Beats
Remember earlier this month when we showed you some images from the Ernst & Young International Intern Leadership Conference? It illustrated just how E&Y rolls out the black and yellow carpet for its interns from across the globe – charter buses, gorilla hugs, and a dude in a Big Bird Yellow tux. We've uncovered more […]