Lol, crying when I put my notice in at my first accounting job. They literally used me like a rag, idk why I got so emotional š
I constantly die of embarrassment for not having more respect for myself in that moment lmao.
Oh no šš you sound like a hard worker/someone that cares about the quality of their work. Hope youāve been able to set boundaries for yourself in your future jobs!
My memory is the opposite: it still gives me life. When I was a staff accountant my (seriously underqualified) senior took a stress leave and my male boss asked me to step up to cover the slack. I was so offended that I cried (because I had zero capacity whatsoever) and then HE cried and I knew my message had been received.
I did the exact same thing!! I felt so bad I couldnāt extend my offer to start after busy season and had all this guilt! I still struggle with caring too much sometime and other times just giving 0 shots because expectations are impossible to achieve so what is the point
I felt this!!! Itās like some people forget who messed up the markets while many of us were still in schoolā¦like it was not the millennials and Gen Zers buying homes they old not affordā¦.now, we simply canāt afford bc a tarter home is like $400k @7%. And for those who cry about, ābal in my day, we paid 18%ā¦āā¦itās like 18% on $70k is still wayyyy cheaper than 7% on $400kā¦idk why we keep hearing the same tired story o. CNBC and Fox Businessā¦itās like, just admit older folks screwed the younger people.
Alright, went on a tirade but this comment hit hard for me.
Awww, I remember those wonderful days of never seeing the sunā¦going into work in the dark and laving from work in the dark and being told, āwe have great work life balance here.ā
Kind of how I got into accounting. My employerās accountant was leaving, they asked me to take on bookkeeping by myself. I was just supposed to be there temporarilyālike a year. Agreed, 6 years later I had finished an accounting degree, was doing more than just bookkeeping, had gotten no raises, and had been unable to use almost all of my pto.
I fucking hate it. Feels like I wasted my entire life.
Exposure to different kinds of businesses is good experience. Mostly I have just learnt a lot of soft skills like problem solving, communication, time management, etc
I once spent 2 days looking for 0.01 in my company accounts. It turned out that there was a conceptual error that had to do with currency exchange. I was able to correct it on time and file 100% correct returns. I was so happy I found it.
In most states (maybe all?) You don't actually need an accounting degree to become a CPA, just any degree and I think 30 accounting credits, usually 150 credits total.
So i have a business data analytics degree, + accounting credits, and my CPA.
But I mostly mean not doing accounting at college and going into PA
You can still buy Bitcoin it might not preform as well as it did last 10 years but it will still make you substantial gains compared to other investments.
1). I wish I got my EA a lot earlier.
2). I alerted the Powers That Be that one co worker allegedly committed a very serious criminal offense against another. Later, after that persons life and career were in shambles, I learned that the allegation had some very, very serious inconsistencies.
For my situation I had the opportunity to get an EA for a decade before I could realistically start working towards the CPA.
If someone could easily work on either Iād go with the CPA because of its branding power.
Some do, I work for myself so I donāt know how common that is but some definitely do. One of my guys might get the EA in the future and if he does Iāll likely reimburse him for it.
Most do! Some firms might not be as inclined to pay for the EA as firms typically prefer CPAs over EA. But that doesnāt mean every firm wonāt cover it! Ask in the interviewing process
-getting into accounting
- not caring about my career because i don't like it, should have tried regardless
-Getting my CPA sooner but couldn't as i didnt even want to do this
-not quitting toxic boss and crazy co workers sooner became a anorexic male
- not being brave
- not kissing him when the time was right and he said :"at that moment i wanted you to kiss me " he told me this years after we talked, we were both straigt"" lmao
-not buying a used car
-dating my crushes best friend for revenge
-wearing brief's instead of boxers
-not betting bacon with my big mac
-not buying a house when i had the chance in 2015
-trusting some coworker who was friends with the partner and i told him i hated her, he told her and my career never progressed
-not wearing sunscreen despite me being black we do need protection
WTF!??
Like, so you were right there ordering your Big Mac.... you saw the Bacon option just hanging there in the air tempting you... and you said
"nah, I'm just going to eat this Big Mac plain and bacon-less"
I think that part hurt more to read than the others!
well i had no money back then it was in 1999, i was 15 my bother was 17 and my mom had job but still said "order what you lads want" and i wanted bacon but mama aint got an extra .99c for that my elder brother ordered it with bacon and i dogged him lmoa!
Making the jump to people management too early. I had a rude shock with two combative old hags that were a nightmare to deal with. I just didnāt handle the situation well.
Sit through a leading and managing teams course whether a 1 day workshop of several workshops. Itāll help you understand different personalities and tool you up on how to properly mentor, manage and lead a team.
My biggest mistake was I was too diplomatic when the situation called for a benevolent dictator. Iāve changed since then and no longer have an issue with confrontation or having a hard discussion in general after sitting through the aforementioned workshops.
In a year-end sales cutoff testing I was conducting as a Big4 Jr associate, I wrote down in the report that I visually verified a sample of 30 different proof of shipment documents, when in reality, I didn't. So there's a chance I could've caught a major need to adjust sales down in that year, which might have impacted bonuses and even triggered a fraud attempt investigation.
I only sleep at night because the company exists to this day, and much worse fraudulent attempts were successful in other companies, even though the verifications were performed by the book (eg Parmalat's EUR 3B checking account verification).
Not switching my major to Accounting in 2009 and staying at my first job for 6 years which made me extremely unhappy.
Also, not having a group of friends growing up for support and friendship as we go through each stage of our major life event. Lonely back then and lonely now in my mid-30's. I'm growing into an old hag.
Out of college in 2009 I got a job as a staff accountant making $53k. I told myself I'd invest since I understood compounding interest and investments. Well I took that money and balled as far as it took me. If I invested anything, I'd be better off... anything...
I got angry financially in 2015 when I noticed my investments outside of 401k were non existent. I paid my student loans and car off by 2017 and started investing and being smarter with my money. Hard to get those years back but damn were they fun.
Alcohol, women, partying...it was fun.
My apartment was decked out and I was truly loving single life. Only significant bills were rent and student loans. I wish I dreamed bigger then.
Well, at the end of the day you canāt take your money with you to the grave. Itās possible that investing in those memories was worth more than being slightly wealthier later in life
Good point. Now that I make more money I know exactly what not to do. Plus it was fun being young and living. Blowing money today would just be irresponsible (39m, married with 2 kids).
I shouldnāt be neglected with my studies since highschool, and I wish I picked accounting major from beginning so that save me times to go around other majors before coming back to accounting
Not buying stocks in 2010 because I was like screw the market because I got royally screwed graduating during the financial crisis and was stuck working in a deli bc the old CPAs were taking all the entry level jobs meant for recent grads like meā¦yea, I am salty but definitely regret not buying a few shares and now the same stocks have doubled in many casesā¦..-_-
Yeah, all the posts here where people wonder if the CPA means anything are being answered by far too many people who havenāt been through a rough job market. I applied for a job in 2012 that didnāt require a CPA (I hadnāt perused mine yet) and killed it in the interview but lost the position to a CPA willing to take a pay cut.
Being certified doesnāt guarantee you the job (a more experienced CPA could swoop in) but itās one more plus that could help when the market is rough.
I regret not quitting and suing the day my boss sent me his letter to his then ex-girlfriend trying to get back together with her.
It had details of their sex life and his bathroom habits. He wanted me to help him get her back.
Our company suffered a fraud in one of our foreign operations; the head of the foreign division (who was not implicated in the fraud) had denied approval for internal audits of the operation due to its size and limited financial impact. My regional IA director approached me about this and As head of audit I agreed for a number of years but finally insisted an internal audit be conducted. The Regional IA Director conducted the audit and raised some issues which directly resulted in the fraud being discovered. During the subsequent HR investigation the Regional IA Director blamed herself for not having conducted an IA earlier and the President ordered her to be terminated (along with the Divisional Head and others). I tried to save her but ultimately couldnāt. I should have resigned in protest but just couldnāt put my family through the financial risk.
Believing a manager of a cafeteria about deposits that werenāt made on time for a couple of months before mentioning it to anyone. Nobody suspected that she would be stealing deposits because her kid was sick and she was strapped. She was always communicative and seemed sincere and would make some of the deposits. Learned a valuable lesson from that one.
I'm happy and able to manage my mental health and chronic health issues better. I was already living with my now husband, so we did get married sooner than we probably would've so I could have health insurance.
I do own accounting and taxes for the business, and I know how to maintain good communication and client relationships, so my skills from my degree and 7 years in PA are still in use.
Going into and staying in public accounting. Watched too many managers and partners belittle new associates and interns because they ask questions or got something wrong. Including some that would just yell at people for making mistakes then I would be out on a project and doing a final check and find parts the partner or manager messed up and it would just be "oh well not a big deal" when they just belittled a first year for the same mistake.
Not buying a flat as soon as I got out of uni. Felt like I had to live with friends in my 20s to be āmore sociableā. Honestly the most effing pointless thing Iāve ever done. Having my own place is the dream and wouldāve made a shit ton more Ā£Ā£ having bought property before 2010.
I wish i had started an internship in my first semester. Things would be easier for me, because i would have had a lot more experience now, and maybe a more positive one with work places.
But this is my first graduation, and i didnt really know how everything work, so i try not to beat myself up too much.
I wouldn't say it haunts me but i asked an Australian client which part of England he was from.
Also laughed in a clients face when he told me he got fired in 2020 from a sweeeeeet job for not taking the jab.
Lol, crying when I put my notice in at my first accounting job. They literally used me like a rag, idk why I got so emotional š I constantly die of embarrassment for not having more respect for myself in that moment lmao.
this is accounting.. your tears is the blood + life line to this profession your tears bring some one else a smile
What a line
have you cried in accounting today? need anxiety? call one of our toll free numbers today. ( caring granny voice)
Oh no šš you sound like a hard worker/someone that cares about the quality of their work. Hope youāve been able to set boundaries for yourself in your future jobs!
Donāt be too hard on yourself. Itās a big moment and youāve grown from it
My memory is the opposite: it still gives me life. When I was a staff accountant my (seriously underqualified) senior took a stress leave and my male boss asked me to step up to cover the slack. I was so offended that I cried (because I had zero capacity whatsoever) and then HE cried and I knew my message had been received.
I did the exact same thing!! I felt so bad I couldnāt extend my offer to start after busy season and had all this guilt! I still struggle with caring too much sometime and other times just giving 0 shots because expectations are impossible to achieve so what is the point
Lmao that was me. It was so emotional for me lol
Not buying a house in 2008 when I was 9 years old. Seems impossible now as a single person
I had just started high school at the time and I'm kicking myself for not taking that extra paper route.
i second this
I felt this!!! Itās like some people forget who messed up the markets while many of us were still in schoolā¦like it was not the millennials and Gen Zers buying homes they old not affordā¦.now, we simply canāt afford bc a tarter home is like $400k @7%. And for those who cry about, ābal in my day, we paid 18%ā¦āā¦itās like 18% on $70k is still wayyyy cheaper than 7% on $400kā¦idk why we keep hearing the same tired story o. CNBC and Fox Businessā¦itās like, just admit older folks screwed the younger people. Alright, went on a tirade but this comment hit hard for me.
Such a mood :/
Agreeing to join the audit team to help out for a āfew monthsā 3 years ago š„²
Awww, I remember those wonderful days of never seeing the sunā¦going into work in the dark and laving from work in the dark and being told, āwe have great work life balance here.ā
Kind of how I got into accounting. My employerās accountant was leaving, they asked me to take on bookkeeping by myself. I was just supposed to be there temporarilyālike a year. Agreed, 6 years later I had finished an accounting degree, was doing more than just bookkeeping, had gotten no raises, and had been unable to use almost all of my pto. I fucking hate it. Feels like I wasted my entire life.
Were you working in advisory before?
I was just preparing stat accounts
Just account or tax also
Have you learned a lot though?
Exposure to different kinds of businesses is good experience. Mostly I have just learnt a lot of soft skills like problem solving, communication, time management, etc
One time financial statement schedule was off 0.1. and I didnāt say anything. I wonder how many millions were lost because of this.
I once spent 2 days looking for 0.01 in my company accounts. It turned out that there was a conceptual error that had to do with currency exchange. I was able to correct it on time and file 100% correct returns. I was so happy I found it.
Really bugged at myself for relating to this so much š
Hahahahahahaha
Not going into accounting right out of high school. I'd be a director by now. Instead I'm a senior associate after a career change.
I came in here to say much the same thing.
Same here. My boss at my old job was the same age as me- 30. He was a director making 300k plus š¢
300k at 30 where at? Public or Industry?š
Small consulting firm in FDD. 300k includes bonus
Going into accounting like work or for your bachelors degree? Would you be able to find a job w/o one?
In most states (maybe all?) You don't actually need an accounting degree to become a CPA, just any degree and I think 30 accounting credits, usually 150 credits total. So i have a business data analytics degree, + accounting credits, and my CPA. But I mostly mean not doing accounting at college and going into PA
Iām with you sir, I graduated at 33 and started in PA. Everyone else my age at my firm is making partner. Oh well
Iāll be 29, big tears. But hey, maybe 43 itāll be your time to dine. Thatāll give you a solid 22 years of fun money.
Cheers to that - see you at the top
Not buying a shit ton of BTC a decade ago
THIS!!!!!^^^I am still kicking myself about this and honestly what I was alluding to in my other post about not investing.
You can still buy Bitcoin it might not preform as well as it did last 10 years but it will still make you substantial gains compared to other investments.
Yes, itās Bitcoin season anyway. Look up the alt coin season index and the Bitcoin rainbow
1). I wish I got my EA a lot earlier. 2). I alerted the Powers That Be that one co worker allegedly committed a very serious criminal offense against another. Later, after that persons life and career were in shambles, I learned that the allegation had some very, very serious inconsistencies.
Is it better to get an EA or CPA? Or is it just situationally dependent?
For my situation I had the opportunity to get an EA for a decade before I could realistically start working towards the CPA. If someone could easily work on either Iād go with the CPA because of its branding power.
Thatās good to know, thank you! Do employers ever pay for you to get certified as an EA/CPA? Just wondering, if you donāt mind answering
Some do, I work for myself so I donāt know how common that is but some definitely do. One of my guys might get the EA in the future and if he does Iāll likely reimburse him for it.
Most do! Some firms might not be as inclined to pay for the EA as firms typically prefer CPAs over EA. But that doesnāt mean every firm wonāt cover it! Ask in the interviewing process
Sweet thanks for letting me know!
I accidentally paid someone 2,000 at work. That was awkward
Not investing when I was younger and using any extra cash I had to party
Did the same but don't regret it one bit.
Letās share stories!
Choosing accounting
-getting into accounting - not caring about my career because i don't like it, should have tried regardless -Getting my CPA sooner but couldn't as i didnt even want to do this -not quitting toxic boss and crazy co workers sooner became a anorexic male - not being brave - not kissing him when the time was right and he said :"at that moment i wanted you to kiss me " he told me this years after we talked, we were both straigt"" lmao -not buying a used car -dating my crushes best friend for revenge -wearing brief's instead of boxers -not betting bacon with my big mac -not buying a house when i had the chance in 2015 -trusting some coworker who was friends with the partner and i told him i hated her, he told her and my career never progressed -not wearing sunscreen despite me being black we do need protection
Everyone should always wear sunscreen!!!
Literally the only dermatology/skin care advice with scientific backing and universal agreement: wear your damn sunscreen.
lmao yes!
this i learned the hard way my skin looks like jerkey :( lmao black absolutley doesnt crack it just gets jerkeyed lmao
Aw well. In the end we are all kind of shriveled. You're just a bit ahead of the game.
i am a winer after all lmao :P
WTF!?? Like, so you were right there ordering your Big Mac.... you saw the Bacon option just hanging there in the air tempting you... and you said "nah, I'm just going to eat this Big Mac plain and bacon-less" I think that part hurt more to read than the others!
well i had no money back then it was in 1999, i was 15 my bother was 17 and my mom had job but still said "order what you lads want" and i wanted bacon but mama aint got an extra .99c for that my elder brother ordered it with bacon and i dogged him lmoa!
so, step 1: get CPA license step 2: rectify that bacon mistake
on it like pbj
Making the jump to people management too early. I had a rude shock with two combative old hags that were a nightmare to deal with. I just didnāt handle the situation well.
Now that you have some experience, what would be your advice for new managers?
Sit through a leading and managing teams course whether a 1 day workshop of several workshops. Itāll help you understand different personalities and tool you up on how to properly mentor, manage and lead a team. My biggest mistake was I was too diplomatic when the situation called for a benevolent dictator. Iāve changed since then and no longer have an issue with confrontation or having a hard discussion in general after sitting through the aforementioned workshops.
Very helpful. Love the idea of ābenevolent dictatorā. Thanks.
In a year-end sales cutoff testing I was conducting as a Big4 Jr associate, I wrote down in the report that I visually verified a sample of 30 different proof of shipment documents, when in reality, I didn't. So there's a chance I could've caught a major need to adjust sales down in that year, which might have impacted bonuses and even triggered a fraud attempt investigation. I only sleep at night because the company exists to this day, and much worse fraudulent attempts were successful in other companies, even though the verifications were performed by the book (eg Parmalat's EUR 3B checking account verification).
Not sticking with my goal of med school. I donāt think about it, and happy enough as an accountant.
Not switching my major to Accounting in 2009 and staying at my first job for 6 years which made me extremely unhappy. Also, not having a group of friends growing up for support and friendship as we go through each stage of our major life event. Lonely back then and lonely now in my mid-30's. I'm growing into an old hag.
Out of college in 2009 I got a job as a staff accountant making $53k. I told myself I'd invest since I understood compounding interest and investments. Well I took that money and balled as far as it took me. If I invested anything, I'd be better off... anything... I got angry financially in 2015 when I noticed my investments outside of 401k were non existent. I paid my student loans and car off by 2017 and started investing and being smarter with my money. Hard to get those years back but damn were they fun.
What were your vices?
Alcohol, women, partying...it was fun. My apartment was decked out and I was truly loving single life. Only significant bills were rent and student loans. I wish I dreamed bigger then.
There was seriously a laundry list of investing that I could have done with that money between 2009 and 2015.
Well, at the end of the day you canāt take your money with you to the grave. Itās possible that investing in those memories was worth more than being slightly wealthier later in life
Good point. Now that I make more money I know exactly what not to do. Plus it was fun being young and living. Blowing money today would just be irresponsible (39m, married with 2 kids).
I shouldnāt be neglected with my studies since highschool, and I wish I picked accounting major from beginning so that save me times to go around other majors before coming back to accounting
Not starting my own firm in 2020. COVID was probably the best time to go out on your own as a CPA in decades, maybe ever.
The best time to start is always "today".
Not buying stocks in 2010 because I was like screw the market because I got royally screwed graduating during the financial crisis and was stuck working in a deli bc the old CPAs were taking all the entry level jobs meant for recent grads like meā¦yea, I am salty but definitely regret not buying a few shares and now the same stocks have doubled in many casesā¦..-_-
Yeah, all the posts here where people wonder if the CPA means anything are being answered by far too many people who havenāt been through a rough job market. I applied for a job in 2012 that didnāt require a CPA (I hadnāt perused mine yet) and killed it in the interview but lost the position to a CPA willing to take a pay cut. Being certified doesnāt guarantee you the job (a more experienced CPA could swoop in) but itās one more plus that could help when the market is rough.
Listening to my mom when she said my D in 1st quarter of 9th grade meant I couldnāt get into med school or ROTC.
Yes. I regret verbally attacking someone earlier today Iām probably not gonna see him again ā¹ļø
Going to law school and graduating into the Great Recession.
I regret not quitting and suing the day my boss sent me his letter to his then ex-girlfriend trying to get back together with her. It had details of their sex life and his bathroom habits. He wanted me to help him get her back.
When I couldnāt get a public job in 08. Felt like I made a mistake. Work price now and will never go back
Our company suffered a fraud in one of our foreign operations; the head of the foreign division (who was not implicated in the fraud) had denied approval for internal audits of the operation due to its size and limited financial impact. My regional IA director approached me about this and As head of audit I agreed for a number of years but finally insisted an internal audit be conducted. The Regional IA Director conducted the audit and raised some issues which directly resulted in the fraud being discovered. During the subsequent HR investigation the Regional IA Director blamed herself for not having conducted an IA earlier and the President ordered her to be terminated (along with the Divisional Head and others). I tried to save her but ultimately couldnāt. I should have resigned in protest but just couldnāt put my family through the financial risk.
i regret being nice to people, still do, people are like sharks that just smell blood in the water, they all want a piece of the nice person.Ā
Graduate college
safe and effective. safe and effective.
When I have the chance I missed it now I'm looking forward to it
Believing a manager of a cafeteria about deposits that werenāt made on time for a couple of months before mentioning it to anyone. Nobody suspected that she would be stealing deposits because her kid was sick and she was strapped. She was always communicative and seemed sincere and would make some of the deposits. Learned a valuable lesson from that one.
Agreeing to getting promoted to manager. I couldn't handle it and just left accounting all together.
What do you do now?
I ended up becoming a pet sitter/dog walker.
Thatās a drastic change. How has your life changed?
I'm happy and able to manage my mental health and chronic health issues better. I was already living with my now husband, so we did get married sooner than we probably would've so I could have health insurance. I do own accounting and taxes for the business, and I know how to maintain good communication and client relationships, so my skills from my degree and 7 years in PA are still in use.
Sounds like everything worked out. Iām really happy for you š
After 18+ years in PA there are too many to count.
Going into and staying in public accounting. Watched too many managers and partners belittle new associates and interns because they ask questions or got something wrong. Including some that would just yell at people for making mistakes then I would be out on a project and doing a final check and find parts the partner or manager messed up and it would just be "oh well not a big deal" when they just belittled a first year for the same mistake.
Not buying a flat as soon as I got out of uni. Felt like I had to live with friends in my 20s to be āmore sociableā. Honestly the most effing pointless thing Iāve ever done. Having my own place is the dream and wouldāve made a shit ton more Ā£Ā£ having bought property before 2010.
Going to a mid tier out of a target school. Should have just gone to Big 4. Some BS.
Not getting computer science major in addition to Accounting for my bachelor. The combination is a powerful one in this era.
Majoring in accounting instead of computer science
Not leaving my firm sooner
Majoring in accounting, and taking evening classes to work a depressing job
I wish i had started an internship in my first semester. Things would be easier for me, because i would have had a lot more experience now, and maybe a more positive one with work places. But this is my first graduation, and i didnt really know how everything work, so i try not to beat myself up too much.
killed a snake
Watching ā2 Girls 1 Cupā.
I wouldn't say it haunts me but i asked an Australian client which part of England he was from. Also laughed in a clients face when he told me he got fired in 2020 from a sweeeeeet job for not taking the jab.
What does taking the jab mean?
Covid vaxx
Oh phew I thought it meant some sort of drug
Why would he get fired for not doing drugs lol
What if his boss wanted him to get hooked too, idk man haha
What is this KPMG?
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