I just got fired today from my first Accounting job that I’ve been at for a year and I didn’t feel any type of emotions when they did it. I was placed on a PIP earlier this month and I did everything I could to work my way off of it. I would check in with my managers and supervisors when work got done going the extra mile. I would show up to work very early and stay late to get work done. I would even help other peers with their work just to show I’m improving and they still fired me. I cleaned my cubicle out and when I got to my car I just started laughing because at the end of the day these job do not care about you and I came to that realization lol.

Hi- I'm a CPA who spent 10+ years in Fortune 500 accounting/finance/audit roles. I started my own (non accounting) business, while employed as an accountant.....it took off and I've been out of corporate America for a few years now (thank God).
Looking back, the most important piece of advice I would give to any student, new grad or fresh accountant: It is extremely easy to get pigeonholed into an undesirable career path in this field. Usually, you are stuck in a path you don't want long before you realize it.

In my experience, the best way to prevent this is to do the right research and ask the right questions when interviewing. Not just that- find ex-employees on Linkedin and get their opinion. I've worked for companies with good reputations, but were incentivized to make deadend jobs seem like they offered growth and opportunities. This is not uncommon. In my experience, the best sign you are interviewing for a good company is to see the career/job trajectory of people who worked a similar or same job at the same company. Also easily found on Linkedin. The company will promise anything to get you in the door to work a deadend job. Don't trust them. Verify.

My best was four pages taped together because the client didn’t know how to format, but the part that had me literally laughing out loud was the adding machine tape stapled to each column. Totals were not in the spreadsheet. I introduced the client to AutoSum and blew their mind.

Well I've had a crazy year.

After an injury that left me partially disabled, I was unable to continue the structure of my corporate job. In September, I quit that job and went into working for myself.

First 30 days and I got a 5 figure cleanup contract. Behind the scenes, for the last year, I've been in talks with another bookkeeper about her exit plan. Well she's selling her business, and I brought the idea to the president of the firm I joined. After a lot of conversations, modeling, and one final really anxiety inducing call, we came to an agreement on price and timeline.

I'll be buying my first book with the president of my firm at the ripe age of 26. Holy fuck.

I'm not worried about maintaining the level of service these clients are receiving, I'm worried they won't trust me. I'm wondering if anyone else has ever bought a book of business, how that went for you, what you did to prove yourself to your new clients, etc?

Returning to in-person work 60% of the time.

Im a senior Accountant and have been corporate accounting since i graduated college 9 years ago. Im CPA eligible but never pursued it cause I learned after a few years this field isnt my forever career. I have been with my current company for 5 years and in my role for 4, but the burnout is starting to hit me hard. I've been doing the same thing for all this time and it got boring three years ago. Ive tried laterally transferring to another role but this company has great benefits and our team is mostly remote so turnover is basically non existent. I don't think finding a new job in accounting will fix the burn out, it might be a bandaid depending on the role, but would really love to switch to a finance/FP&A role (which ive applied for dozens of them).

How do you help the burnout when your doing the same thing every week and month?

Those of you that switched fields, what did you change to and how do you like it?

Call me crazy but I miss public… I left public after a year in tax b/c I received an offer for 40k more, better benefits and is at a cheaper cost to me and obviously way more WLB to be home more with my wife and kid but I still miss tax so much. Obviously I will never go back unless salaries drastically improve so I’m in the process of getting my CPA and opening my own tax shop on the side until I can replace my current income.

Do any of you miss public?

Senior accountant resigned and I got the promotion. Boss requested a six month probation period then we would revisit comp, job title and other benefits. I requested it in writing and I was told no. Plus no comp until we revisit.

thoughts?

Hi all- long story short, I’m needing to start looking for a new job in the next few months. I have been working for a private mid-sized company for the past 7 years. Originally started in AR, promoted to AR, AP, and treasury manager with 6 direct reports 4 years ago. Long story short, company was recently sold. I went out on maternity leave in September, but right before I left I got some news that I essentially took as writing on the wall that I will most likely not have a job when I return in February.

I’d like to use my leave to start perfecting my resume and applying for jobs, but it’s been a while since I’ve had to go through this process I need some advice on where to start. For specifics - I have almost 10 years in Workday Financials. Have not worked in any other ERP systems in quite a while, which I can see limiting my options. Additionally, I just bought a house in a mid-sized city without a lot of accounting job opportunities. I’ll need something full-time remote.

Specific questions:

- Is linked in still the place to start ? If so, should I update my job description on my profile with current responsibilities? I have several connections at my current company, and I’m worried doing this will signal that I’ve started looking
- Is using a recruiter a good idea? And if so, any suggestions on who? I used Randstad in the past, but that was more for entry-level positions straight out of college
- Any other sites that companies post job listings I should check out?

This has got to be a joke at this point.

I'm graduating in about a month with my MAcc after a BS in accounting and getting my AA in high school, yes, I am quite young compared to the average grad with a 3.9ish GPA. I've worked at a small family business and have taken care of the accounting there since I was about 17 - I have been *the* accountant there so I've done a bit of everything. I don't really get paid much at all though and need a new job.

Fast forward and naturally, I've sent out exactly 212 applications, 56 denials, 6 failed interviews - I keep a spreadsheet so I don't send multiple resumes into one place. My resume has been reviewed by a couple managers I know who said it's "good". I made a few connections to firms in my area - they all have been in the tune (and one outright said) "I would sooner hire someone out of McDonald's" because why? They're cheaper?

I hate to say it but I don't think I can do anything more. My interview skills are decent and definitely better than the competition in my area. I prepare proof and descriptions of all the projects I've done from taxes to budgeting to automation - it's not as if I even get that far in the interview process however to show it. I network to the point that just about every firm in the area personally knows and recognizes me. They all know that I need a job but very few of them will even give me a chance at an interview. They would rather hire someone who doesn't know what they're doing, stays around for a couple weeks, quits and then the firms want to complain about how they can't find qualified candidates.

Pardon? I'm not sure if I'm a "qualified candidate" and all but it's not like I'll ever know without a chance. At the very least, you can't complain *to me* about how you can't find prospective employees when I can see the resume I gave you in the trashcan over there. I still think my header design looks pretty, even with it sticking out of the can there FYI.

I've also been applying to every industry job I can find information about. The only one to contact me back was a business that instead wanted me to work as a forklift operator - I'm not sure how they got that from my education but oh well. It's not really worth discussing that side of this with how much I just get ghosted there.

I feel like the only chance I have left is Robert Half. I have no idea how this works and I've always heard bad stuff from recruitment agencies. I've also seen a lot of good stuff on here about Robert Half specifically so I have no idea what to think. They have something like 14 active postings in my area last I checked but I have no idea what that really means. I guess I just contact them and ask for a handler? Does anyone have any other ideas or any advice on how to handle the Robert Half pathway? Will they likely assign me to a firm or an industry job? Because I would theoretically like to get my CPA but the firms in this area seem to be far too elitist to actually offer positions to fulfill work hours to people who are eligible.

That is all.

I'm 22 and I've spent the last four years in post-secondary pursuing a degree that I don't even like.

I started in accounting, switched majors a few times during second and third year, and eventually came back to accounting because it seemed like the most practical option. The problem is that I've only recently started to understand the material after 4 goddamn years, and even now it's by far my weakest and most difficult subject. Since I've already used up most of my electives, my semesters are now almost entirely accounting courses. Every term just reinforces the feeling that the thing I've chosen as a career is the subject I'm worst at.

My real passion has always been art and design. Hell, I even found law more interesting than anything I've learned in business school.

But I've always been terrified of the "starving artist" reality. I'm aware that I'm not some exceptionally talented artist who can effortlessly make a living doing creative work. When I was choosing a major in high school, accounting felt like the safer option. I wanted stability, decent job prospects, and a career where I could clock in, clock out, pay my bills, and still feel somewhat fulfilled.

Now I'm not sure I've found any of that.

My college offers a Business Administration Accounting diploma, and I'm only one semester away from completing it. Part of me wants to take the diploma and run. It feels like my ticket out. At the same time, I know how important a bachelor's degree can be. If I ever want to pursue a CPA, I need to keep going. I also recognize that I'm in a really privileged position. I'm still young, I live with my parents, and I don't have major financial responsibilities. Logically, it probably makes sense to stick it out and finish the degree while I have the opportunity.

But mentally, I'm exhausted.

I feel trapped between finishing a degree I don't enjoy because it's the smart thing to do, and walking away because I genuinely can't see myself doing this forever.

What the hell do I do?

TL;DR: 22, four years into an accounting degree (will take me 6 to complete) that I don't enjoy and struggle with. I'm one semester away from an accounting diploma and tempted to leave, but finishing the bachelor's would open more doors and allow me to pursue a CPA. I feel stuck between doing what's practical and doing what I'd actually enjoy. What would you do?

I graduated this spring with an Econ degree and I’ve struggled to land a job in the finance and Econ fields as I don’t have any internships and my GPA was mediocre.

I’ve thought about going back to school for accounting as it looks like getting a CPA opens a lot of doors. Would you guys say that it’s worth it for someone like me? Or is there more I should do to get into the accounting field?

Currently working in corporate accounting as in-house Senior Accountant, but the same applied when I worked in Public Accounting for small and medium businesses. I spend so much of my time having to explain to people why they can't commit financial fraud. No, you can't create fake invoices. No, you can't pay your workers late. No, you can't bypass our internal controls or policies. No, you can't do X illegal thing because it makes your life easier. It's so exhausting and the worst part is that people will argue will me forever about "but why can't I do it???!!". I'm tired y'all.

Just accepted an offer at a mid sized regional firm for spring internship rolling into summer, which I’m pretty stoked for, as I will get to do tax busy season and audit in the summer. I am taking the semester off from classes and am a bit lost on exactly how this whole overtime/seasonal work stuff works.

I only have corporate accounting experience which was pretty standard 9-5 environment, but understand that hours become a bit more amorphous in public. The firm mentioned flexible schedules for students who take limited credits during their internship, but are willing to have people on essentially full time if they choose to.

Is working OT done typically when you need to finish a project, or are asked by management to stay extra, or how exactly does the request get communicated?

Hi everyone, I'm currently a Junior in college and I'm in my Intermediate Financial Accounting course.

I just got the second (of three) exam back and I got a 98, and I got a 100 on the first exam. With how much I've had to study for this course I'm very proud of how it's gone and how well I'm doing (hence I just wanted to brag). The second exam especially was hard, so many in class didn't finish.

I also have a busy season tax internship next semester with a top 10 firm that I'm really looking forward to as well!

Lock in and good things will come to you! Make sure you understand the material - practice and if you get it wrong, understand why you get it wrong, fix it for next time!

Just wanted to brag. Y'all are awesome :)

Hi everyone! I’ve been put in charge of coming up with office superlatives! We are a huge team of fund/investment accountants and I’m trying to come up with some funny accounting superlatives so please help me come up with ideas. Nothing is off the table we like to have fun so they can be crazy.

When comparing expense apps for QuickBooks Online, what would you use if being able to find the receipt later is the main requirement? If someone asks about a purchase six months later, I'd want the original image attached to the expense instead of having to search another app or an email archive.

Ive been at my company for almost 2 years. I had literally just gotten pregnant when I started and it was rough. So because of the terrible pregnancy, .maternity leave, then studying for my cpa, I never really went to company events or socialized much.

I planned on going to any and all after I finished my last test but corporate just announced no more funding for parties/events. Including this year's holiday party.

After 2 years of not socializing, and now not having much chance to socialize with higher ups (they dont cross path with the non management side of the building), how screwed am I if I want a promotion within the next year?

I recently finished a MAcc in taxation and left an accounting clerk job to start a new job as a staff accountant for a small industry company (in June).

I did VITA last year and got my EA so I am interested in tax, but got (what seemed like) a good offer for my current job so I accepted it to learn and make more.

This new job is not turning out to be what I expected at all, even though I tried my best to vet the company and position before starting. It feels like I’m doing everything but accounting, including payroll, HR, sales admin, operations, financial analysis, and the accounting work is mostly limited to AP/AR so far.

The person previously doing this work quit right after I started, and they didn’t replace her. I’m worried about bringing this up because they have been doing layoffs and are still doing some. (The company stays afloat by the owner personally investing money)

There are other issues and concerns I have about the company as well, and overall I’m just feeling exhausted. I definitely wouldn’t have taken this job if I knew what I’d be getting into.

I’m studying for the CPA right now, and am considering reaching out to firms for busy season. I’d honestly consider leaving this job even for a temporary tax job (permanent/FT would be the goal). That would leave me with roughly a 6 month stint at this job (previous jobs were 8 months then 2 years) but it shows progression in title.

Anyone been in a similar situation or have any advice?

I currently have a very big dilemma as I am deciding between two mutually exclusive options of a tax internship or resident advisor position. I'm a sophomore accounting major and I just received an offer to join as a Tax intern for Busy Season 2028 (my junior year). However, I have already accepted an offer for a Deloitte Summer 2028 audit internship. Thus, I am trying to discern whether or not to accept this tax internship for the experience or apply to be a resident advisor instead.

I would save about $15,000 if I were to be an RA (housing, food, etc.) compared to the $11,500 I would make as the Tax Intern. In addition, I wouldn't find out the RA results until March which could throw a wrench in upperclassmen housing if rejected (~30% acceptance rate). What do I do? Do I accept the tax internship or reject it and apply to become an RA? I could also accept the internship AND apply to be an RA...then renege the offer in March if given the RA position.

I'm so conflicted because I obviously want to work at Deloitte post-grad (not this other firm), so this decision is just a matter of finances and personal development. Please help!!!

I need some finance friends/associates! And before you saw to network in my area….. this is me networking!

I feel stuck in this field and I want to progress. I debated going back to school but I just don’t think that’s in the cards for me right now.