Rothstein Kass Acquisition Rumors Survey
The Rothstein Kass acquisition rumors story has been hot since we posted it on Monday. And with 15k+ pageviews and over 200 comments, it's not showing any signs of slowing down. At the request of a reader, we pulled together a brief survey for those directly affected by the situation. It won't take long and […]
Stay on Top of Your Billable Time in Chrome with Tracker
We were sent this a while back but I'm just digging it out now. Tracker is a free Chrome extension that was developed by an ex-EY employee. He told us that he and his team found it "quite useful, and it spread through much of the West Coast EY offices." Here's the lowdown from Chrome: Tracker […]
Financial Accounting Advisory Services?
I would like to know more about FAAS (as it's called at EY, I'm not sure of the analogs for other firms). What kind of work does it entail? What are the hours like? How interesting is the work and how satisfied are the people working in this service line with what they do? How […]
Programmer/Accountant?
Hi all, I am researching on a career path in technical accounting which involves knowledge in both world: Programmer and Accountant. Is it a thing? are there demand for such skills? I saw some job postings months ago for system accountant, where they require knowledge in accounting and ability to write/read programming languages. 1) How […]
How much do they expect us to know as juniors?
So here it goes, I'm fresh meat, license and diploma still hot off the press, and I just got hired in a big 4 audit firm. In my first real field work, I was left alone. I had a month to finish the loans cycle and God help me, I don't know what the heck […]
What happened to the /r/accounting subreddit???
They used to post useful career questions, and now it's all about comparing actual slavery to Big 4. Don't get me wrong, I get that it's never been a serious subreddit. But all I see on it today is this thing about slavery compared to public accounting and a lot of questions from college students […]
Differences in hours across firms?
I am curious to get a better idea of the actual hours work both in and out of busy season for different firms. I realize they all suck but I would be interested to know. Of course I know this will differ across regions. I just want to see if there's any drastic […]
Best recruiter interactions/stories
It's reaching that time in busy season when the recruiters begin to feed on the weak and weary. We all know that recruiters are not the brightest bulbs, but sometimes they can offer a glimmer of hope, if not absolute salvation. I've heard a lot of funny stories about peoples' interactions with recruiters. What's your […]
Big 4/Mid-tier Internal Audit
I'm considering throwing out some applications for an Internal Audit practice (whatever it is called at the diff firms Risk Assurance/Risk Advisory/etc) at a Big 4 or mid tier firm – preferably in St. Louis or maybe Chicago. I have some industry experience, and am hoping to join as an Experiened Staff. A few […]
Time Tracking
You're on 3+ clients and billing a total of 11 hours each day. Hours distributed randomnly between the clients as you frantically field forest fires from each. Of course, one of the clients you're on doesn't have an expense code set up for it yet. Inevitably, weeks later when the code gets set up […]
Clients From Hell
Adrienne and I have been enjoying this site today and it got me thinking that it would make for a perfect thread. Whether it's the business owner who comes by with ski boot box filled with receipts, the controller who always loses the PBC list, or closetalker with coffee breath, we want to hear the […]
What’s your 401k plan like?
Just curious. We recently switched to a new 401k provider with much higher fees, so I'm wondering what the rest of you guys have: Firm: Local firm, less than 50 employees Match: 4% employer match, vests immediately Investment options: Plenty of investment choices, but even the index funds have extremely high fees (1% or more). […]
Difference between 1231 and 1245 property
Can anyone give me a simple, straightforward way to differentiate between 1231 and 1245 property? I don't mean the treatment of gains/losses, I'm just talking about being able to identify which category something would fall into. I know there are other types (1250, etc.), but the definitions of 1231 and 1245 seem to overlap somewhat.
Does anyone with experience care to review resumes?
Had a thought — I know it might not be the best time to ask this but would anyone care to help some kids out with their resumes? Consider it giving back, or something.
What is your health insurance package like?
Health insurance is just a guarded secret. No one talks about it. I think the reason is, most health benefit packages are a piece of crap! And if the employer ever divulged what the deal is, the offer would look less inticing to newcomers. Here is the format I want to see: 1. 1-49 […]
Best Forensic Accounting Firm
Which firm has the best forensic accounting group to work for?
Best Cities for Big 4?
Which cities do you guys see as the best to start out in the Big 4? I am curious about this in terms of reputation, resume value, etc. Any opinions? It seems to me that different cities are seen as providing more/less of a valuable experience and what not. For example, having EY in Des […]
Small Market vs. Big Market Big 4
So I interned at a Big 4 in a larger city (~1000 people in office), then had my full time offer transferred to a smaller city (~200 people in office) for family reasons. Anyone have any insight on the differences of working at a smaller Big 4 office?
What are the best career paths for a “2 and done” CPA?
Obviously a very subjective question but in your opinions what are the best jobs for audit seniors that want out of public?
can someone please explain to me how senior managers add value to their jobs?
Commenter question (presumably a serious one): can someone please explain to me how senior managers add value to their jobs? i've dealt with them for years now but i'm beginning to wonder what the heck they are doing all day. it seems like besides reviewing, they just run around like chickens with their heads cut […]
Friday Open Items: Valentine’s Day Edition
Go ahead and discuss anything and everything you like. Or nothing at all. Really I don't care. I mean, I care but, well, you know…
Big 4 in San Francisco.
Anyone have any experience with the market in San Francisco area? I am currently in the east coast and have been concidering moving to San Francisco where I have some family. Anyone know first hand what the market is like for accounting firms there? Here in the East Coast, Big 4 have been in a […]
How Do You Do Your OT?
We're in tax season, and it is interesting to see how different firms handle OT. 1) Some firms mandate a minimum number of hours each Saturday, and tell the staff they have discretion on when they get the rest in. 2) Some firms mandate a minimum number of hours each Saturday, and mandate a minimum number of […]
E&Y FSO Advisory Interviewing Experience
This is already after the fact for me already. But thought I'd contribute during my lunch break since I have been a long time passive GC fan. I interviewed with E&Y's FSO Advisory group (senior positions) last year, and it was the most ridiculous interviewing experience I have ever gone through or heard of. I was […]
How can executive recruiters be better at their job?
It's common knowledge that most executive recruiters are terrible at recruiting. As many in the GC community use the services of executive recruiters, what advice can we give them to be better at their job? A few pointers I can think of are: (1) let the recruit get a word in every now and then […]
Best US Accounting Firm to work for…
Keen to get any insight into the best US Accounting Firm to work any supporting reasons? All i hear is bad things on GC, spread a bit of positive love…
Personal effects all over your work area… annoying?
Maybe it's just me, but I like for my work area to look neat, efficient, and business-like. It already gets messy enough without pinning crumpled pieces of preschool art, dogs, cats, and whatever else all over the place. When I come by your cube to ask you about something, what am I supposed to say […]
Where do you *wish* you would have applied for a job?
Let's say that you turn back time and you're a recent graduate looking for your first job. If you could do things over again, what path would you take? Is there a particular firm that you think you'd be happier working for?
Is your school asking for donations already?
We've already spent a fortune on our educations, we have tons of student loans to pay off, so why on earth would they think that we'd be interested in donating money when we're still eating mac and cheese for dinner? If you have recently graduated from college, are you already receiving mail or phone calls […]
What’s the best phone game app?
I'm tired of Angry Birds, I'm tired of Candy Crush (or any kind of puzzle game for that matter!), and I'm looking for a new kind of phone game. "Under a Steel Sky" for the iPhone was brilliant, but I can't find another adventure game like it. "The Room" was also awesome, but I've finished […]
Which is the most difficult part of the exam?
For those about to take the exam, what was the most difficult part of the exam for you to pass? Based on that, which section do you feel is best to take first? In one way, I'd like to take the easiest part of the exam first as a confidence-builder, but I've heard that is […]
Are you genuinely happy with your job?
I'm sure that many of us feel as is we're miserable at our jobs, but would we really be happier doing something else? I've gone through the anguish and expense of changing careers in the past, and it turned out that it didn't really make a difference. I think that the problem is me! What […]
Will my offer be rescinded?
but I am worried about those two grades. Are they grounds for a rescinded offer?”