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Hypothetical: Mid-tier Intern Concerned About Breaking News to Her Firm About Big 4 Internship

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Welcome to the Justin-Bieber-is-trending-on-Twitter-again edition of Accounting Career Emergencies. In today’s edition, a young collegian has an internship with a mid-tier firm next busy season but still dreams of the Big 4. Currently, she’s in talks with one B4 for a shot at a coveted summer internship. If she lands it, how does she break the news to her firm?

Does your partner get bent out of shape over weddings and other fun things? Are you single, fat and a hypocrite? Looking for a big change in your career? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and we do know of a terrorist organization that’s probably taking applications.

ANYWAY:

Hi GC,

I signed to do an internship with a mid-tier firm next busy season, and I’m pretty grateful for it. That being said, I still want to go the Big 4 route if possible. I have one recruiting season left before graduation, and I’ve been in some talks with one firm in particular that suggests I might have a chance at interviewing for a summer internship.

Should they make an offer, and I accept, how do I go about sharing (or not sharing) this with the other firm come next January? Should the mid-tier make a full time offer, how long can I wait before telling them yay or nay, just in case the summer one falls through? Am I shooting myself in the foot on this one?

Dear Two-timer,

We should all be so lucky to have a shot at two internships. Although your chances with the Big 4 firm aren’t a lock, this situation could prove tricky so I’ll go on the assumption (per your request) that you get the offer.

Now, then. My inclination is to advise you to not tell the mid-tier firm that you have a summer internship coming up, as it does not really your ability to perform work for them. Plenty of people have done two internships, so your case is not unusual and in my opinion, not necessary to tell them that you’re doing another internship in the upcoming summer.

That said, if you do decide to tell your mid-tier suitor about your Big 4 summer internship (I’m sure my advice has been ignored in the past) it could go one of two ways: 1) The firm likes you and they try hard to convince you choose them over those smug Big 4 bastards; 2) They’re on the fence and they reason “she’s got another opportunity coming up” and you’ll get cut right away.

So assuming you’re a likable, hard-working and don’t look like an absolute troll (you’ve got the internship, so this is unlikely), you’ll be in the enviable position of being able to choose exactly what you want. If the mid-tier firm makes you the offer, you won’t have a lot of time to decide (e.g. 30 days), certainly not before your summer internship is over. So if your experience at your mid-tier firm wasn’t so great, then your decision is easy. If you – gasp – really enjoyed it, then you’ll probably write us another email. And I’ll tell you to read this post.

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Intern Concerned About the Quasi-Exodus at His Firm

Welcome to the first (maybe second, depending on your CPA overlord) busy season hump day edition of Accounting Career Emergencies. In today’s edition, an intern 2.0 is concerned that everyone he knew from year one has disappeared. Has the exodus reached Old Testament levels? Were they abducted by aliens? Or can we chalk this up to a serial killer of CPAs?

Need survival tips for your first busy season? Are you an auditor getting a flood of requests for tax advice? Are you a tax pro suffering from nightmares of killer tax forms chasing you around a maze of cubicles? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and we’ll provide some snappy comebacks or a good therapist.

Back to intern 2.0:

Hi Caleb,

I started my 2nd internship recently, with a national firm, and I quickly noticed that everyone I worked with last year has left the firm.

By everyone, I mean all 5 of my seniors and another staff member. Is this common? At this rate I shouldn’t even bother learning people’s names, as I’ll work with them once and never see them again.

Thanks,
Concerned intern

Dear Concerned Intern,

Truth be told, this mass disappearance of your superiors can only mean one thing – they found out you were coming back for your second tour and concluded that they would rather take their chances with the job market than spend another waking minute with your amateur ass.

Okay that’s probably not true at all but depending on the size of your office, six people could be a lot or a little. Offices like New York, Chicago, L.A., San Fran, Silicon Valley can lose six people in one day and no one bats a green eyeshade. If you’re in Kansas City or Memphis, six people could be the staff from an entire line of business and that can cause some managers and partners to have a nervous breakdown. So generally, there should be a inverse correlation between your concern about colleagues disappearing and the size of your office. But to put into an even broader context, you shouldn’t worry about people leaving PERIOD. Why, you ask? Cries of “It’s going to mean more work for me!” or “Busy season will suck even worse!” are common but people need to realize – this is the nature of the beast. People get burned out or laid off OR find a great job in-house somewhere OR suffer death by bindering (akin to stoning).

In other words, this is the business, kid. People leave. You’ll meet them, you’ll work with them, you may hate or love them but eventually most people jet. It’s just a matter of when and how.

Job of the Day: Fannie Mae Needs a Senior Accountant

Fannie Mae is looking for an Senior Accountant – Debt, Derivatives in their Washington, DC/Metro location.

The position requires a minimum of six years experience, with exposure to FASB 52, 91, 133, 155, 157, 159 a plus.


Company: Fannie Mae

Title: Sr. Accountant – Debt, Derivatives

Location: Washington, DC/Metro

Description: Operate with considerable latitude in performing highly complex duties related to preparing and analyzing financial information to record transactions, prepare financial reports, and review and verify accuracy. Provide value-added expertise to consultants, auditors, and others in development of new concepts, techniques, and standards. Utilize wide-ranging experience to conduct research and problem-solving. May operate in a lead role within the team.

Responsibilities: Compile, review, analyze, and record financial information to the general ledger; Complete monthly closings; Prepare balance sheet and profit and loss statements, consolidated financial statements, and other accounting schedules and reports; Prepare daily, weekly, and monthly reconciliations to ensure general ledger account information is accurate, consistent, traceable, and auditable; Execute and manage timely and accurate transactions; Identify control weaknesses, communicate to management, and operate in a lead capacity in making remedial changes to tighten and enhance controls and mitigate risk; Design and produce reports; Conduct research and analyses on highly complex issues. Devise creative and effective solutions; Provide requested information to auditors, consultants, and others on highly significant matters requiring coordination; Design, modify, install, and/or maintain accounting systems to ensure adequate recognition of financial transactions; May perform highly complex projects or participate as a team member on projects at the highest level of complexity.

Qualifications/Skills: Bachelor’s Degree or Equivalent required; 6-8 years; CPA preferred; Knowledge of financial instruments (debt, derivatives, short term investments) and/or familiarity with financial statements of financial services companies; Knowledge of any of FASB 52, 91, 133, 155, 157, 159 a plus.

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