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Heresy: Dennis Nally Says Money Isn’t the Only Motivator for Recruiting Millenials at PwC

Apparently, things like “mobility” and “skill development” are important too. If you can believe that.

Having a competitive compensation base is really important. It’s [also] about how to create an environment where people want to be. This millennial generation is not just looking for a job, they’re not just looking for salary and financial benefits, they’re looking for skill development, they’re looking for mobility, they’re looking for opportunities to acquire different skills and to move quickly from one part of an organization to another. How you manage that sort of talent and how you deal with their expectations is very different from what’s been done in the past.

So I guess that means that none of the London recruits will be stuck at the Embankment Place dump. That doesn’t sound like an environment where anyone would want to be.

PwC Chairman Aims to Keep Millennials Happy [WSJ]

Accounting Salaries Mapped by Region

Back again to decipher more of the data that you so graciously shared with us on our salary thread from December.

After noting that average Big 4 salaries and non-Big 4 salaries were essentially even, we now present the average regional salaries for you enjoyment or dismay:

Mid-Atlantic– $88,831

Northeast– $72,024

Southeast– $56,000

Midwest– $65,124

Southwest– $73,185

West – $64,706

Some analysis and the map, after the jump.


Surprisingly the Mid-Atlantic boasted the highest average salary based on the data collected. This was due primarily to two salaries that were reported from “JDs” working in “Washington National Tax.” The Mid-Atlantic average also included an Associate Director that reported a considerably higher salary than the average. If these three salaries are removed, the average salary is $76,254. which may be more in line with your expectations.

Another surprise that we saw was the higher than expected Southwest average salary. Again in this case, a brave Senior Manager in an advisory practice reported a much higher salary than most submitted. When this is removed the Southwest average comes down to $68,134, again, probably closer to what you would expect.

The Northeast, Southeast, and West all seem about right to us although we might have expected the West salaries to be a bit higher but then again we’re going with what we’ve got.

The map below shows how we grouped the states in the respective regions, with a few additional details on the regions.

Accounting Salaries Are Dead Even; Is Big 4 Work Experience the Difference?

Last month we opened a thread on your salaries and your response was impressive. Just for fun, we found some poor soul to crunch some of the numbers so that we might share some information on the data we gathered.

We’ll start off with a post facing off the Big 4 salary against non-Big 4 salary. Here are the average salaries for each based on the data we collected:

Non-Big 4 – $72,136

Big 4 – $71,166


If you getting worked up over less than a $1,000 difference, then you’re more shrewd than we imagined. For the more reasonable of you, the discussion is, what are the unmentionables here? Both Big 4 and non-Big 4 firms have their advantages and many of you have made the jump from Big 4 to non-Big 4; non-Big 4 to Big 4; Big 4 to non-Big 4 back to Big 4, whatever.

A popular argument is that the Big 4 work experience is irreplaceable on a resumé but is it? Will potential employers really pick someone with a Big 4 background the majority of the time?

Most people would agree that auditing is auditing and the tax law is the same no matter where you work. Smaller firms have just a many unique clients as large firms so there’s experience to be gained everywhere.

Now before you start shouting, “if you want a job at a Fortune 500 company, blah, blah, blah” how many of those jobs are really out there? Enough so that everyone that has left a Big 4 firm will be able to find a job? Let’s not pretend we all have the same ambitions here.

Ready to Do the Unthinkable and Work for Less Money?

office-space-402a-061907.jpgWith all the blood being spilled in the past year, you don’t have to be a math wizard to know that: Fewer People + Same Workload = People Working Like Dogs
It has gotten to the point that many of these people that are doing more work, for the same amount of money are ready to move on for, GASP, less money.
More, after the jump


Rick Telberg, at CPA Trendlines quotes a recent survey they did that says that nearly half of the people polled so far were ready to move on to a different job, ‘even if it meant a paycut’. No surprise really since doing the work of two or three people loses its luster pretty much instantly, especially when it becomes the expectation.
He also mentions that regardless of this emerging trend of people willing to turn down big (or mediocre) bucks to get their lives back, the enrollment on campus in accounting programs is at record levels.
So after giving it very little thought we came up with the following approximate timeline: Everyone in college thinks accounting is sexy; It takes 1-2 years to find out that it’s not; 3-6 years to actually get out (one way or another); Then, well, WTFK? Become a hack blogger?
Recession Adds to Workloads, Stress; Sends CPAs Looking for New Jobs [Rick Telberg/CPA Trendlines]