Life of an auditor

Is it possible for auditing work to one day be outsourced like some of the IT sector has? Or do the various exams, credit hours etc prevent that?  We've slowly started outsourcing work already - the testing of documents clerically, the testing of journal entries for completeness and filtering the entries using certain criteria, independence work, rollforwards of prior year schedules,financial statement tie-outs, etc. I'd say about 10-15% of our work is being outsourced, and I can probably see it keep going up. At the same time, I can never see it fully being outsourced since there is still a matter of face to face conversations with your clients to discuss accounting issues, to build relationships so as to increase the Firms' revenues, to make inquiries of key client personnel. Plus, in order for staff to go through the heirarchy and become partners, they'd probably need to understand all the procedures that an audit entails. Are we completely immune from globali...

I am graduating in December and it seems the big hiring season is in September. I don't know if I should apply in Sept. or after I graduate. The thing is, I only have like a 3.2 GPA so I don't know if that would get me an interview at a Big4. So I was going to start studying for the CPA exam and hopefully pass at least a couple tests so that I can put that on my resume when I apply. Would being able to put that you passed two sections so far help land an interview?  A 3.2 GPA is tough, but it depends on the school. If your college has a reputation for strict grades, recruiting lowers its GPA requirement. Otherwise it's usually 3.5 and up. The GPAs below 3.5 are usually references or have something unique that caught the individual's eye. So in your case, you can always apply in september, and if you don't get an interview, try again in december - this time with the CPA sections under your belt. I also was looking to distinguish myself more since I have a light l...

A partner recently told me that she thinks a certain individual is on the partner-track, and somebody who she would mention to leadership amongst a few others. I was flabbergasted by this, because I worked with this individual for many years, and would not ever pick him voluntarily again, or hire someone like him if i start a new business. But why did this person have such a good reputation? Because he was very good at manipulating perception... There are many individuals who possess this trait. They spend a lot of their time chatting with others instead of working, and taking work from other engagements and calling it their own. They hear other people bring up issues on their engagements, and decide to bring it up to the partners without doing the research themselves. Look, I have to problem with making sure you look good. To succeed, you sometimes have to do it. I just don't like it when you can't back it up with actual work, but convince others that you do.

I'm an Accounting major going into my senior year. I was wondering if you could touch on resumes, when to submit them, and interviewing. How early is too early for submitting a resume for entry level? I've heard some firms look for them the beginning of your senior year and for others that's too early. Any insight would be great. Sophomore year - Submit your resumes for the Firms' special programs geared for Sophomores. These programs range from 1 day to 2 weeks depending on the Firm. If you get in here, it gives you an automatic interview for an internship. Junior year - Submit your resume for a summer/winter internship during your junior year. This is key. You should do this if you have every intention of trying to get into public accounting. Interns are almost guaranteed job offers unless they do something stupid during their internships. Senior year - If you didn't get an internship, it's not too late. Try again, the Firms still have slots for non-...

Going to tackle some questions that related to my previous post -  What are the chances of a CPA finding work in the financial sector without an MBA? And is the learning curve manageable, going from accounting to investments?   It's really hard to do so unless you have contacts in the investment world. You can always become a controller at one of the hedge funds or investment bank and then use your political skills to get into the investments side. It is very rare to see someone go from public accounting to an investments type job without an MBA.  Don't worry about the learning curve. Heck, the ibanks love hiring from liberal arts colleges - most of these students have taken nothing in finance - just a few economics courses here and there.  If you really want to go into banking, get out - NOW! Do auditors place well as far as top MBA schools go? Life/Work experience is THE most important factor in MBA admissions.  You see banking/consulting people place...