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9-5?

Sorry for the delay, losing the energy for this blog, I may give in soon.
Hey I'm curious what are the hours typically like during non busy season. Obviously busy season is brutal but do you ever get to work a mon-friday 9-5?
9-5 in the big 4 is dead for the foreseeable future. Under the PCAOB era and the  shift in focus to be more on the regulators that the clients, the amount of work we do is borderline insane. The current model as it stands is definitely being stress tested. The attrition level is back to high rates. But I digress...in the past (before I started, the summer hours were true summer hours). Now it's the time to bolster walkthroughs and control testing for 404 purposes, since the PCAOB is now focusing on 404 just as much as the financial statement audits.



Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi notfordisplay,

Hope you keep this blog alive for at least 7 more years..it is amazing!!

Thank you very much for the time and the effort you put to it. I am very grateful to you for that.

Best Regards from Portugal
October 6, 2014 at 6:32 AM
DK said…
I really enjoy simply reading all of your weblogs. This is really something that is very effective from what you state.
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October 11, 2014 at 7:15 AM
Unknown said…
The hours shouldn’t be your focus. Are you being effective and meeting your career and growth objectives? Not to be one to make a big 4 auditor leave the profession, but most internal auditors have higher job satisfaction and better work/life balance. Have you considered such a move?
October 16, 2014 at 4:25 AM
Anonymous said…
Hi!

Out of curiosity, what is the busy season like? How many hours on average do you work?

Thanks.
October 19, 2014 at 5:18 PM
Anonymous said…
Hope you keep posting for this blog. I just started the Big 4 auditing part of my career...can't complain thus far, but I feel that is largely in part to the fact that I haven't had a public client yet. I'm going to ride this nonpublic wave as long as I can!!
October 20, 2014 at 5:25 PM
City's Accountant Group said…
Hi, 9 - 5 isn't the word when you run your own firm. specially during deadline times.
October 22, 2014 at 4:21 AM
Anonymous said…
Hi. Can you please do a breakdown on how many years it took for you to get promoted from being a staff associate to where you are right now? Thank you!
October 25, 2014 at 2:31 PM
Anonymous said…
9 till 5 doesn't exist, but be aware, it doesn't exists at the other side either.

Please keep running the blog, regards from NL!
October 29, 2014 at 11:28 AM
itauditsecurity said…
9-5 does exist in internal audit. Depends on the company. More companies are paying more attention to work/life balance, but I can't imagine it in the big 4 or other firms that bill time.
October 30, 2014 at 2:33 AM
Farhan said…
I hope you dont stop this blog. It really is nice to read it. JIAYOU!
November 16, 2014 at 9:50 AM
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
November 20, 2014 at 4:14 PM
Unknown said…
I really want to become an auditor someday. I think that it would be a really fun job. They seem like they make a lot of money. I still have a lot of schooling to do. http://www.myphoenixair.com/services-residential.php
November 24, 2014 at 12:51 PM
internal auditor's corner said…
Nice blog, by posting your real audit live, give me a new perspective.
@internal auditor's corner
November 27, 2014 at 7:57 AM
tinkerbell said…
Hang in there. Truth is we auditors move from one assignment to the next with very little rest because we exist in organizations to sample, review, report.
November 27, 2014 at 5:25 PM
Anonymous said…
Nice blog!! I see in you r last post that you are thinking on giving up. That would be sad, many people enjoy it!
Thanks for the time and effort you have put to it.

Regards,
The desperate auditor
November 28, 2014 at 2:04 AM
Unknown said…
Nice blog, by posting your real audit live, give me a new perspective.
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November 29, 2014 at 10:23 PM
Anonymous said…
Hi, I am UK Big 4 and I work between 60-70 hours a week continually. Busy season is about 70 hours a week so the rest of the year is pretty much as miserable as the first 3 months.
November 30, 2014 at 10:19 AM
Anonymous said…
Notfordisplay, I absolutely agree with everyone else. I hope you keep this posting for this blog as you gave lots of great insight and tips for the past several years! It's the best blog about a real life auditor! Who else would understand us more than you.
December 7, 2014 at 12:30 PM
Tamsel said…
May I ask that does an ACCA graduate who works in Singapore Big4 audit firm need to take CPA while working? Is it compulsory?
December 12, 2014 at 8:33 PM
Anonymous said…
Hi
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December 23, 2014 at 9:39 AM
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December 29, 2014 at 10:11 PM
Anonymous said…
Hi I just had a question regarding private vs public sector auditing. I just finished my first year with a mid-tier sector auditing federal agencies. In your previous posts you said "PS - Stay in private, public sucks"

Could you elaborate a bit. I am currently debating on whether to switch to commercial audits, for a better exit strategy down the road.
January 15, 2015 at 10:56 AM
Unknown said…
A group of former colleagues and I have recently started an organization to educate interns, graduates and potential lateral hires about what life is really like in big four firms.

The big four have huge marketing budgets and often sell “the dream” to students before they graduate. If that’s the case, then why is the leavers rate so high at big four firms?

Exposing the truth about big four firms is a step forward for the wellbeing of future employees to see beyond the expensive marketing and hear the real story before they apply.

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January 22, 2015 at 3:10 AM
PBS said…
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February 9, 2015 at 10:47 PM
Anonymous said…
Hi!

You are doing a great job with your blog! Don't give up. Its useful, the things you write.

There is the QP thing to be a CA in Singapore. Is it useful to take that up? or would other certifications be more handy?

It would be great if you could answer the question dated 25 Oct 14 too!

Looking forward to your next posting.

Thank you!
February 23, 2015 at 9:19 PM
Anonymous said…
I work at a Big 4 and we have 5:00 Fridays on most of my engagements. Might have to work over the weekend, but it is great to leave at 5:00 on Friday. For the average work week, we are scheduled for 55 hours per week. Depending on the engagement team and filing deadlines, it can be more than that. Some teams have to work past midnight several days in a row, but in my experience this is the exception more than the norm. Of course, I work for the best of the Big 4, so might not be true for everyone.
February 27, 2015 at 5:02 PM
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March 10, 2015 at 5:37 AM
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March 10, 2015 at 5:38 AM
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My daughter is really good with numbers and wants to work with them for her career. I mentioned that she work as either a CPA or for the IRS. How hard is it to get into the IRS? She is still in high school. However, it is never too early to help her gear towards her career goals.
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March 18, 2015 at 2:48 PM
Anonymous said…
I am very grateful for all the posts you wrote during these last eight years, but checking old posts I found out just one that I wanted to remind you:
"notfordisplay said...
"How was this blog personally for you - why are you doing this?"

I'm going to save this for my last blog post, when I leave.
December 9, 2011 at 5:49 PM "
If you quit this blog, leave as we say in Spain for bullfighters after they made a great performance: " Through the big gate"
Thank you very much for your effort and hard work in your blog.
March 23, 2015 at 8:12 AM
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