Life of an auditor

As a big four employee, lately, I've been hearing a lot about "boomerang" employees. Those who, for some reason or another, decide that leaving work when the sun is still out is not for them and alas, return back to the firm. Yes, the grass is not always greener on the other side, however, is this trending upward or about the same as it always has been? I think, also, that the firms really do a good job in highlighting those that do choose to return to make it appear more common than reality. Can you please speak about how you've seen the trend of "boomerangs" amongst the big 4?  G ood question. A boomerang, as the commenter pointed, is one who quits a big 4 Firm and then decides to return (or boomerang) back to the Firm after getting a taste of work life in the non-public accounting world. I have seen a few return this past summer, but didn't really notice a trend until you mentioned it. It's definitely been higher than past years, but not enough...

1) Can you take care of this? 2) FYI 3) See below 4) No text, just a forwarded message 5) Please complete ASAP 6) Can you complete by X 7) We need to do this 8) Let's finish this Sound familiar? This is basically the only text in an email, along with a forwarded message from someone else. Best part  is when this is from a mobile phone during the day, so you know the individual is nowhere near his computer doing work. Delegation at its finest. I'm sure everyone's received this. Partners to senior managers, senior managers to managers, managers to senior associates, senior associates to staff associates. As much as it irks me when I get this, especially since I don't know how the reviewer wants this, I can't complain since I'm guilty of doing the same to my teams. In a world where everyone speaks their minds, it should be something on the lines of this... "I'm doing everything but work right now, but I still have every intention of gettin...

Summers at the beach or mountain house, playing with the kids, improving their golf handicap...work a little bit during busy season, schmooze at charity events in the fall, with the occasional appearance at the office. Gotta love the partner life....prior to the 2008 recession.  Now? With SOX and increased regulation and compliance requirements - (thank the PCAOB for this), we're working year-round, and so are the partners. Oh don't get me wrong, there's still the long summer getaways, golfing, schmoozing, sporting events, etc, but at a reduced level.  The stress levels have increased exponentially from back in the day. Sure, the money's better than the past, the benefits (at least in the US) are still unparalleled, but is it worth it?  That's the question on most managers' and senior managers' minds. Even the partners now admit that times are different now. Some believe that this increased regulation is just a phase, some think it's here to sta...