Life of an auditor

Thought this question in the comments section was a good one to blog about - " What is training week like as a new associate like at a big 4 firm. I have heard some crazy party stories and was wondering if you could share your experience with us. I have also heard is lame with a bunch of "team building" exercises. I'm especially interested because I start next fall with a NYC big 4 firm in the fall and want to know what to expect." My training weeks prior to officially starting work were my best weeks at the firm. Sad, isn't it. All downhill from there. We went off-site for an entire week, and that played a huge role in increasing the levels of debauchery. Think about it, a bunch of kids right out of college are put up in a hotel for an entire week, and we don't have to study in the evenings. It's a thing of beauty. If you're 21-23, your energy and tolerance levels are at an all time high. A huge group of us went out every single night, even pul...

This is in response to the question about trainings that we receive... most of what we learn about auditing comes from on-the-job training. The formal trainings, honestly, sucks. Don't get me wrong, I love the formal trainings, but the only reason I do is because it gives me a chance to catch up with my peers. During our formal trainings, I'm either on the internet, playing pc games, or, if they make us shut down our laptops, I have no choice but to zone out. And trust me, I am not alone, so is 60-75% of my class. Funnily enough, I look at our trainings as a break from auditing and so I love it. The best ones are the offsite ones...Chicago, Orlando, etc. Imagine putting a bunch of 20 somethings in a hotel for a week, it's usually a blast. Once you get your CPA though, these trainings actually count for something since they count as CPE credits and thus keep your license active. How periodic are these trainings? Probably around 2-3 weeks a year. Since it actually costs them ...