Life of an auditor

Could you suggest a smooth way of dealing with my workaholic managers who expect me to work as much?  Can't say I've never expected people to work hard. Ask yourself, if you were your manager, is your work adequate? Your manager has to answer to the partners if her review isn't adequate, which is never good. Now, if your manager is truly being unreasonable, then there are ways to deal with it. Tell him or her in a humorous way that they're expecting too much, so as not to be too direct. If you want brownie points, work just as hard as them to a point where they truly appreciate your work, then they'll be okay with you not working as much once in a while. Or work efficiently to make sure you achieve what they want you to achieve. Or convince the manager that you have other important clients and so you need to balance your workload. Try a combination of these...it'll most likely help. Now, if you're just average and it's more like your manager's exp...

Finally onto the September questions. Also, keep in mind that if I've answered certain new questions in past blogs, I'll usually refrain from answering them again. What are some examples of the above-and-beyond work performed by staff at the associate level?   Here are a few traits that will get you a better performance review as a staff associate -  a) Everytime you finish a task, ask for a new one, don't just surf the web. Reach a point where the senior associate runs out of work to do. b) When the senior associate complains about something, ask him or her how you can help reduce their workload. c) Volunteer for coffee runs, etc. Don't complain. d) While you are at other clients, if your senior reaches out to you to help with something, make time to help. e) Be social, but don't yap your tail off too much. Let everyone focus. f) Listen and take notes when you're asked to do something g) Don't tell the senior associate you've don...

How long do you actually work during busy season? I've heard 60 on average but I worked that much doing a Product Control role this summer at a bank. Alot of ex-Big 4 auditors worked there and told me the work was NOTHING compared to audit.  Regardless whenever I hear about how many hrs busy seasons involve I hear it's like 55-65, which to me at least...doesn't sound bad...  do you also work weekends, etc??? It really depends on your client and your industry. I'd say, on average, you work from 8:30 am - 8:30 pm monday - thursday, a normal workday friday, and then 9-1 on saturdays, which comes out to 60 hours a week. Now, the operative word here is average. You could be on a team that works from 9 am - 11 pm monday-thursday, 9 - 7 on fridays, and then 9-5 saturday and sunday, that comes out to 80 hours for the week. If you get lucky, you work from 8:30-7:30 four days a week, and a 9-6 friday, which comes to about 53 hours a week. So basically, it really varies. 

After interning in tax, I'm not sure if a career in the Big 4, or even accounting, is right for me. I was wondering what career opportunities there are in tax after maybe 2 or 3 years at a Big 4 firm?  Also, is a career in consulting worth pursuing instead of audit or tax?    I feel like consulting can be a gateway to many other career opportunities, but what's appealing about audit/tax is that there is greater job stability. If I were to consider consulting I was thinking Deloitte would be my best bet since their consulting practice is more established. Like the old cliche goes, there are only two certainties in life - death and taxes. So there will be plenty of opportunities after tax experience at the big 4. Every company, heck, even those companies that are set up to not pay taxes, needs tax specialists. So you can go into tax compliance, or more the more lucrative tax consulting. Is a career in consulting worth pursuing? If you're looking for something broader fr...

Why won't they let you print CPA on your business card if you already have your license? Good question. And it's frustrating especially when a lot of your clients have the CPA tag after their names on their business cards or in their email signatures. But I understand the Firms' stance. Here's why I think this is the case - if the Firms start differentiating amongst their employees, clients will begin to demand only individuals with CPAs on their teams, and this isn't really right.  Heck, I'd do that if I was a client. The goal of the Firms is to say that every one of their employees is equally capable, so all clients are treated with the "best" service.

Can you talk about working at a big office versus a small office? I interned at small office, but will work at one of the largest offices in our area. I've heard the hours are worse and throwing peers under the bus is common. I'm kind of freaked out about some of the negativity I hear. Any advice on navigating a bigger office?  Working at a small office Pros a) you will get to know everyone at your office, including every partner b) there are a set number of clients with locations you are most likely aware of already c) potentially less red tape to get what you want Cons a) everyone will be aware of office gossip b) not enough clients and other industries to get a diverse experience c) you might have to travel more Working at a big office has its pros and cons. Don't worry about the negativity, it'll just give you a more diverse experience and more people to get to know. Plus there's more positions available so you can get promoted without much of a hassle. The...