And while we're on the busy season subject, just wanted to throw out there the intriguing culture within public accounting. Unlike most other jobs (consulting is probably the exception), we're all pretty much working in the same conference room. Which means we have to deal with personalities all the time. This can be painful at times, since people's sanities can only be maintained for a period. After this period, it's no-holds-barred. Arguments, kookiness..ah the fun of trying to manage all this and get people to actually work. I've probably tried 2-3 different managerial styles, which works effectively on one team member, but then there's the token i-have-no-motivation team member who you just can't get to work. What do we choose - personality over work or work over personality. Damn, can't we just get both?
I'm trying to decide whether to audit financial services companies or non-financial services companies. What would you say are the pros and cons of either industries? Do individuals who choose non-FS have less career mobility within the firm or if they decide not to stay with the B4 after a few years? Really depends on what you'd like to do after (unless you really love auditing). If you want to a controller,etc. at a p/e firm or a hedge fund down the road, you'd want to go into financial services. The pay won't be too bad, especially if you get a share of the insane bonuses they dole out. If you want to audit industries with tangible products and want to get a better understanding of the operations of such businesses, then other industries are the way to go.In terms of mobility outside the firm, auditing other industries is the way to go since you have plenty of options when you exit the audit world. For example, in 2008, after Lehman collapsed, it was incredibly hard ...
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This isn't related to your post but i have always wandered on average how many years do most auditors stay at big 4 before moving on and what position are they before they leave?
Thanks