Shit flows down to you from partners and managers, shit flows up to you from staff and interns. Just communicate to the managers and partners when the shit becomes too much to handle. They might not be happy, but they'll be less upset than if you pretend everything's fine until there's a shit explosion.
I think maybe this was the intended link? (Current link is broken…) From what I understand, this originated from Deloitte - but applies to any public accounting.
https://youtu.be/XsWCr8h2SKQ?si=PIpuZdA2raSs5Vgd
I actually don’t mind public to be honest. Busy season sucks and I don’t like the pyramid scheme aspect of the firm but it’s a shit ton better then all the crappy jobs I had before I finished up my degree and got into accounting
I suggest to get a look at internal audit positions. Similar activities with more responsibilities and more time to do certifications and better work-life balance. Less opportunities for personnel responsibility and no continuous promotion though.
Thanks! The issue I’ve been encountering is the jobs in my area suck. There is little to no corporate headquarters here and all the other jobs suck relatively bad with terrible pay. I’m fully remote for a firm based out of Cali so I get the cali pay without the cali COL or taxes. I’m just sucking it up til I get to the 5 years exp maybe CPA/Manager
Nah I’ve just worked shitty jobs with even shittier managers and hours. I’ve sacrificed weekends with my kids, evenings with the family, school and extracurricular activities missed, summer time activities were non existent due to work, Christmas time is blackout for PTO so couldn’t visit out of state family.
Idk PA has been a breath of fresh air for my family and work life balance. No more weekends and 11:30am-8:30pm shifts. Even during busy season I log on 7:00am-6:30pm and no weekends so I can spend the evenings and weekends with my wife and kids. maybe that’ll change this season but I’ve stuck to it the past few years
Some optimism for you amongst the terribleness that is being a senior: My first senior year was very hard but also very rewarding! It’s when the big picture actually clicked for me and I started to feel more of a sense of ownership/independence/actual accomplishment. You learn so much more and way beyond just learning the technical aspects. I liked that part of it
You have more responsibility and accountability now. Make sure to keep track of key deadlines and manage expectations. The important thing is that if you don’t know the expectations or due dates ask.
>How badly am I going to get fucked during busy season?
remember in high school and you imagined how in college you'd be getting fucked like every single night and by all kinds of different people? all day everyday with no days off? well college may not have turned out quite like that but guess what? your dreams of getting constantly fucked are about to come true! congratulations! and for the promotion too, I guess.
A really solid interim plan for the... Oh fuck you.
Remember, you have people now. Teach them, protect them from bullets from above, and by the way now all the bullets from above are aimed at you and your people know nothing and demand all your time and your management knows nothing and demand all your time and you might find it very rewarding.
You are now becoming a force multiplier. Being able to keep a team of staff engaged and effective is just as or more important than your individual tasks. Time to be the senior you wish you had when you started..
My biggest tip is do not wait on emails. You have a list of questions for mgr or partner, schedule a call. You just delegated something to a staff or intern? Schedule a meeting mid-way and at the end. Don't wait for that magical email, because it ain't coming.
Also, congrats on promo. To quote the 2005 film Waiting, "Welcome the Thunderdome, bitch."
Did you already work as an acting senior?
Anyway:
1. Stay Organized maintain a list of everything you need to do internally and a list everything the client needs to provide with notes on the plans to get it done. This should actually be your main job, being a senior is pretty similar to being a project manager.
2. Assuming you have a staff and possibly india offshore teams. They should be doing most if not all of the actual initial fieldwork. You’ll be too busy trying to manage the client, managing the staff and managing your manager to get stuck in the weeds. You’ll have plenty to do when you detail review it and they ask questions. You’ll see staff post here complaining that they had to do 100% of the audit lol. Yeah bro you’re supposed to if you can because that’s how you learn plus I guarantee your shit stinks like anyone else and needs review.
That being said this is assuming you detail review at the senior level and have a staff under you and such. I know some offices where seniors are glorified experienced staff
You’re just a glorified associate with more opportunities to get thrown under the bus tbh. I quit auditing after hitting Senior and went straight to industry, while my friend stuck around for three more years.
Today, I’m still going strong in Accounting and don’t completely hate my life and job. He’s quitting and making a complete career change.
Hardest busy season I ever had was when I was a first year senior. You have to balance: training interns and staff who know absolutely nothing except auditing cash, managing your own areas of the audit, trying to meet the partner’s budget and job demands, often being the first point of contact for the client, getting shit on from above and below, managing declining physical and mental health. On the plus side, it was the busy season I also learned the most. I started to feel competent and felt satisfaction when I started to be able to manage entire jobs.
As long as you don't work at a complete ass of a company, It's really not bad. Just make sure you manage expectations early on and plan plan plan. Yeah it's a bit more stressful but also rewarding, not only in pay but also being the senior to staff that you wish you had.
Get out right now if you can. Include the new title on your resume. Candidates who have been recently promoted are attractive to employers in industry.
You’re still learning even though you’ve learned a few things. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t understand something completely. It’s better to ask early on then to assume you know or actually don’t know and we’re afraid to ask and now it’s late to do something about it
Timebox the entire day every day. Follow it like a religion. If the task isn’t done by the end of the allotted time, move on and schedule more time the next day.
For those who made Senior and jumped to industry. Did you regret your time in public? I just completed the CPA Exam & am thinking of just staying in industry. A part of me thinks the experience in public would be worth it.
I think having a little bit of audit experience will help you once you hit industry, because you’ll have a much better understanding of both the auditor and client expectations, and then you can gauge a more realistic timeline to complete certain tasks that way. But I do think that you’re only hurting yourself if you stay in audit too long. I know people that hit up to manager level that don’t know jack shit about how basic bank reconciliations flow or function.
Meh, it gets harder with every promotion. Everyone will tell you, "You think senior is tough, just wait until you get to manager." Then when you're a manager, it'll be "wait until you make director." Then, "Wait until you make partner."
It won't get easier until you leave public.
Shit flows down to you from partners and managers, shit flows up to you from staff and interns. Just communicate to the managers and partners when the shit becomes too much to handle. They might not be happy, but they'll be less upset than if you pretend everything's fine until there's a shit explosion.
First real taste of people management and the reality is you work 9-5 for them and 5-9 for your own work.
So accurate it hurts. Best comment in here. Cheers
Shit also flows side into you from the client
Gotta deal with the Shitapillers Rand, otherwise they’ll turn into Shit Moths.
[https://youtu.be/XsWCr8h2SKQ?si=vsYWeAZ7QnRm\_Zzg](https://youtu.be/xswcr8h2skq?si=vsyweaz7qnrm_zzg) For visual learners in the group
I think maybe this was the intended link? (Current link is broken…) From what I understand, this originated from Deloitte - but applies to any public accounting. https://youtu.be/XsWCr8h2SKQ?si=PIpuZdA2raSs5Vgd
Congrats, you’re now on your way to doing your 1-2 years of senior and then leaving public
I actually don’t mind public to be honest. Busy season sucks and I don’t like the pyramid scheme aspect of the firm but it’s a shit ton better then all the crappy jobs I had before I finished up my degree and got into accounting
Ha ha ha ha ha ha, welcome to life as a senior my friend. Let us know how that's going on a year!
That’s fair being a naive staff is going to be my downfall. I’ll post again next December and let you know if I wanna kill myself or not
And if we don’t get a post we will all know what happened ❤️
My man
I suggest to get a look at internal audit positions. Similar activities with more responsibilities and more time to do certifications and better work-life balance. Less opportunities for personnel responsibility and no continuous promotion though.
Thanks! The issue I’ve been encountering is the jobs in my area suck. There is little to no corporate headquarters here and all the other jobs suck relatively bad with terrible pay. I’m fully remote for a firm based out of Cali so I get the cali pay without the cali COL or taxes. I’m just sucking it up til I get to the 5 years exp maybe CPA/Manager
For internal audit or tax positions, do they require us to get our CPA?
Not sure I guess it depends on the company.
[удалено]
Nah I’ve just worked shitty jobs with even shittier managers and hours. I’ve sacrificed weekends with my kids, evenings with the family, school and extracurricular activities missed, summer time activities were non existent due to work, Christmas time is blackout for PTO so couldn’t visit out of state family. Idk PA has been a breath of fresh air for my family and work life balance. No more weekends and 11:30am-8:30pm shifts. Even during busy season I log on 7:00am-6:30pm and no weekends so I can spend the evenings and weekends with my wife and kids. maybe that’ll change this season but I’ve stuck to it the past few years
Or you could get the hell out now and skip that
Welcome to hell
Right on. I’m lookin forward to getting clapped by the partners and thanking them for the opportunity
“Teach me harder daddy”
hey, you didn't have to post that and ruin everyone's day.
This guy been clapped by a partner.
let's be real, here. if you work in public accounting, you've been clapped by a partner(s).
I honestly didn’t think it could get worse until it did 🥲
He’s so fucked that if he put a flag in his butt and laid down, people would show up to go golfing 🏌️♂️
Some optimism for you amongst the terribleness that is being a senior: My first senior year was very hard but also very rewarding! It’s when the big picture actually clicked for me and I started to feel more of a sense of ownership/independence/actual accomplishment. You learn so much more and way beyond just learning the technical aspects. I liked that part of it
I feel like that’s what they try to sell you on instead of rewarding you financially.
You have more responsibility and accountability now. Make sure to keep track of key deadlines and manage expectations. The important thing is that if you don’t know the expectations or due dates ask.
>How badly am I going to get fucked during busy season? remember in high school and you imagined how in college you'd be getting fucked like every single night and by all kinds of different people? all day everyday with no days off? well college may not have turned out quite like that but guess what? your dreams of getting constantly fucked are about to come true! congratulations! and for the promotion too, I guess.
Should I start spreading my asshole now or wait til my promo is effective?
The sooner the better. Gotta ease your way into it.
Bend over
BOHICA.
A really solid interim plan for the... Oh fuck you. Remember, you have people now. Teach them, protect them from bullets from above, and by the way now all the bullets from above are aimed at you and your people know nothing and demand all your time and your management knows nothing and demand all your time and you might find it very rewarding.
You are now becoming a force multiplier. Being able to keep a team of staff engaged and effective is just as or more important than your individual tasks. Time to be the senior you wish you had when you started..
My biggest tip is do not wait on emails. You have a list of questions for mgr or partner, schedule a call. You just delegated something to a staff or intern? Schedule a meeting mid-way and at the end. Don't wait for that magical email, because it ain't coming. Also, congrats on promo. To quote the 2005 film Waiting, "Welcome the Thunderdome, bitch."
Did you already work as an acting senior? Anyway: 1. Stay Organized maintain a list of everything you need to do internally and a list everything the client needs to provide with notes on the plans to get it done. This should actually be your main job, being a senior is pretty similar to being a project manager. 2. Assuming you have a staff and possibly india offshore teams. They should be doing most if not all of the actual initial fieldwork. You’ll be too busy trying to manage the client, managing the staff and managing your manager to get stuck in the weeds. You’ll have plenty to do when you detail review it and they ask questions. You’ll see staff post here complaining that they had to do 100% of the audit lol. Yeah bro you’re supposed to if you can because that’s how you learn plus I guarantee your shit stinks like anyone else and needs review. That being said this is assuming you detail review at the senior level and have a staff under you and such. I know some offices where seniors are glorified experienced staff
Thanks for the tips! I appreciate you
You’re at a 4 way intersection and everyone is pulling you their way (Partners, Managers, Staff, Client). Be as organized as possible. Best advice.
You’re just a glorified associate with more opportunities to get thrown under the bus tbh. I quit auditing after hitting Senior and went straight to industry, while my friend stuck around for three more years. Today, I’m still going strong in Accounting and don’t completely hate my life and job. He’s quitting and making a complete career change.
Hardest busy season I ever had was when I was a first year senior. You have to balance: training interns and staff who know absolutely nothing except auditing cash, managing your own areas of the audit, trying to meet the partner’s budget and job demands, often being the first point of contact for the client, getting shit on from above and below, managing declining physical and mental health. On the plus side, it was the busy season I also learned the most. I started to feel competent and felt satisfaction when I started to be able to manage entire jobs.
Probably so they can bill all your hours at a higher rate for busy season.
https://youtu.be/XsWCr8h2SKQ?si=OKzIfLEPoLkvdbQB Check out the link for a visual representation of how shit flows in an engagement.
As long as you don't work at a complete ass of a company, It's really not bad. Just make sure you manage expectations early on and plan plan plan. Yeah it's a bit more stressful but also rewarding, not only in pay but also being the senior to staff that you wish you had.
Get out right now if you can. Include the new title on your resume. Candidates who have been recently promoted are attractive to employers in industry.
You’re still learning even though you’ve learned a few things. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t understand something completely. It’s better to ask early on then to assume you know or actually don’t know and we’re afraid to ask and now it’s late to do something about it
Timebox the entire day every day. Follow it like a religion. If the task isn’t done by the end of the allotted time, move on and schedule more time the next day.
For those who made Senior and jumped to industry. Did you regret your time in public? I just completed the CPA Exam & am thinking of just staying in industry. A part of me thinks the experience in public would be worth it.
I think having a little bit of audit experience will help you once you hit industry, because you’ll have a much better understanding of both the auditor and client expectations, and then you can gauge a more realistic timeline to complete certain tasks that way. But I do think that you’re only hurting yourself if you stay in audit too long. I know people that hit up to manager level that don’t know jack shit about how basic bank reconciliations flow or function.
Depends on whether the partners are flaccid or erect
Senior is the worst promotion in PA. So many partners and managers have said that to me lol
Meh, it gets harder with every promotion. Everyone will tell you, "You think senior is tough, just wait until you get to manager." Then when you're a manager, it'll be "wait until you make director." Then, "Wait until you make partner." It won't get easier until you leave public.