I have worked at my company for about 15 years, and we have grown from about $10 mil in revenue to around $100 mil. The entire time I have been the sole accountant, responsible for every single thing, including payroll, A/P, A/R, end of month closing, reporting the financials at all of the company meetings, forecasting and budgeting, literally every single thing that would fall under accounting/ finance has been my responsibility.

I have begged for the last five years to hire another accountant to be under me to share some of the responsibilities because I am drowning in the workload.

Got word today that they are hiring for a CFO, a Controller, and a Senior Accountant. I asked where that left me, and they said they would keep my title as "Accountant", but based on my past performance they wanted somebody else to fill these roles. Mind you, if my performance has been below expectations it is only because I have been doing the work of 4-5 people.

I'm not sure where to go from here, but I think it is time to jump companies.

Am 24 spoiled never worked in my life and only like to watch movies/play videogames.

I want to grow up and not be a burden anymore to my parents but at the same time I want to have time for the things I enjoy.

I know internships are everything and I need to have good grades and work on my interview skills.

Am willing to do that but my question is after I graduate and land a job hopefully will I be able to do the bare minimum? Will I have free time or i have to keep learning about the field?

Ps. I have went to a therapist, I knows it’s not normal to have no aspirations or being this lazy but the truth is virtual world is more interesting to me. I don’t need lots of money to buy a house, marry or go to vacation.

Just need a stable job to not be a burden anymore and enjoy the little time I have left in this world.

For context I’m an audit senior at a top 10 firm. My manager has basically told me I have to use my PTO soon (I have only taken like 2 days off so far this year). While this probably seems like a good thing, I genuinely don’t have any idea of what to do during that time.

Basically I’m a single dude who’s 28 and lives by himself. My hobbies basically include working out (daily), video games, and cars. I’m not to big of a traveler either. For the last few years my life has basically been, work, study for cpa, and gym. I often feel really bored when I’m not at work, and I’m the kind of person that just wants to be busy and have stuff to do.

Just trying to see what you guys do on PTO, or have any suggestions for someone like me.

cpa with 2 and half years at b4 in audit, a year and 7 months working as a senior accountant for a big entertainment company. All in NYC. My total comp is just under 6 figures. I’ve been applying and interviewing for months to even get back into public, other senior accountant roles $110k plus etc. seems like my interviews are going well. I either don’t hear back from recruiters or my interviews go great imo and I get rejected. WHATS GOING ONNN

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I've been trying to improve my excel wrokflow and realized there are probably a lot of useful tips I still don't know.

What's one shortcut, formula, or feature you use all the time that saves you the most time?

It can be something simple or advance-I'd love to learn from everyone's experience.

I am a first-year manager just shy of 5 years of experience, and I am coming up on the time where I should probably decide if I want to stick it out and try to make partner or plan my exit from PA. Making partner is never guaranteed and I am well aware of that, but I am set up with what I think are better odds to make it than some if I really work hard and put in the work (asked to help build a new industry in my office where we have no clients of that industry currently).

The only problem is that I know literally nothing about making partner and benefits of it. Higher up people in my office/firm are very hush hush about it all and the only thing I have really been told in the past is that its "life changing money". I know basics but I have no clue general salary range, vesting details, retirement details etc. and I would like to have a general idea of what I am working towards if I want to chase that carrot they dangle in your face in PA to not leave. Can anybody provide some general details that give some background? I am in a medium to smaller city that is probably MCOL to LCOL. Not a big 4 firm but still a top 10 PA firm.

I'm a sole practitioner in CA and did one compilation engagement for a client. I got my first peer review with 18 months of the first compilation engagement. My peer reviewer said I failed because I missed disclosing current liability vs long term liability on the debt balance. Also the peer reviewer asked for my preparation engagements because they need, at least, two engagements to review (didn't know preparation engagements are subject to review when you do compilation engagement). We didn't explicitly state the modified cash basis on the balance sheet and p&l so that was another failed item. Am I in trouble? What are the consequences of this failed report? Is the Board going to take any further actions that I need to prepare for? I won't be doing any compilation engagements after this. This is just not worth it. The reviewer says she sees this all the time with small firms.

Title says it all.

Just wondering what that’s like lol, I’m a student and working my first internship so now I really feel like I’m learning and understanding

Master's student with no prior internship experience but with some related experience, aiming for a full-time associate role. Scrolling this firm's career page every day, networking with people at the firm like crazy, and then the job finally shows up... lol, f**k me, I guess.

College student who wants to enter tax accounting but doesn’t want to get stuck in public accounting for an incredibly long time due to long hours. How hard is it to find a tax accountant role in industry i know its harder than general accounting but overall is it difficult?

Hello everyone!
I’m applying to a bunch of internships, for anything accounting, and have decided recently to also start applying for staff accounting positions as well. I am going into my last year of school and plan to sit for the CPA with 120 credits. I have applied to around 100 internships and only a few places for staff accountant positions and only gotten 2 responses for internships and nothing yet for staff. Is it something with my resume? Could I improve anything?

I'm currently a controller at a PE port co making $160k base + 20% bonus in a MCOL city. The job is a lot but has progressively gotten better. By that, I mean it's closer to 50-55 hours instead of 60+.

I just got a job offer from a family office in the same location as a controller. Pay will be $160k base and 10% bonus but I was vocal about WLB and they said they provide much better WLB. No way to know if true but they mentioned it several times.

I'd say I believe them as I would have an assistant controller under me and a team of 5 accountants with them. They also have BU controllers as well who would be my peers. I would essentially be looking after 1 BU. My current role has me more of a corporate controller looking after 3 companies that manually roll up into our Portco. I have no accounting manager/assistant controller but have good people under me for the most part. The big thing to me is I have to look over the accounting, finance, treasury, and payroll stuff at my current gig. The FO has separate teams to handle that which makes me believe the WLB will be much better. Additionally, they only have lender reporting requirements so MEC is only due by the end of the month, not 5 business days like at my current place.

My biggest hesitation is I've been at this role less than a year. I don't want to make the jump and realize the grass isn't greener and now I'm looked at as a job hopper. I also have no clue if I just have Stockholm syndrome because we're so understaffed/underequipped. While the FO sounds nice, I don't know anyone that's gone down this route and can give their experience. Things I've seen online is it's hit or miss and it kind of silos your career moving forward.

A great example of this is my current place doesn't have an IT team and has a very mid office where my AC doesn't work despite having a corner window office. The new place just moved to the top floor of a well known skyscraper in our city and did a lot of nice things during my interview process.

Just a random thought as I'm 3 weeks out from FAR: imagine the day - likely in a few years - where the AICPA has tests graded on the spot, so candidates will know if they pass or fail right when they're done. I doubt Prometric exam centers are ready for some of the reactions that would create (a mixed bag of crying and joy). Anybody else wonder how soon we are to this?

I’ve heard others say the benefit of the CPA is not with your current firm but more so your next firm — you can use the CPA to negotiate for better pay at your next job. Is there any merit to this?

Hi everyone, I'm 31 and currently a manager in audit at a Big 4 accounting firm. My annual package is around $110,000 (+/- 5%), and I’ve spent roughly 9 years in the profession, with short stints in internal audit and financial reporting under secondment arrangements.

My busy season is packed in the first half of the year, but the second half is much calmer, giving me more time for family. The thing is, many of my friends have moved into commercial roles as finance or senior finance managers. They earn about 20 to 50% more, but they also work extremely long hours, often 9 to midnight plus weekends and travel. Some are earning even more at higher positions and C suites as well (not sure how they made it so fast).

I know job hopping every one or two years can bring bigger pay jumps, but I'm not sure if it's worth the trade-offs that i am currently having like work from home, flexible hours as long as I complete my tasks..

My wife is already in a demanding commercial finance role with heavy workloads and long hours, so I’m wondering, should I prioritize higher pay and move into commercial myself, or does it make more sense for one of us to maintain a role with more balance, especially if we’re thinking about family and kids? Having children is part of our plans.

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who’ve faced a similar situation, especially couples where both partners are in finance or accounting. Was it worth having both chase the higher pay despite the stress, or was balance ultimately more valuable?

Hi so I work at medium size public accounting firm, I just started about 2 months ago. My salary is $60,000. My plan was to start studying for my CPA exam this coming september. I recently got a call from one of my dads friends and talked to him, he asked me about an opportunity he has which is sitting under a CFO for roughly two years until he retires and then taking that position over. It feels like an opportunity I can’t miss but also just don’t know if I would have the experience for that. He knows I just graduated in May and don’t have my CPA yet but still wants me to think about it. My second thing is that my uncle also wants me to come join his financial firm where they do a great amount of business and are starting to veer out into the tax side of business too. He wants me to come be their tax guy. Any suggestions on what you would do?

I work in tax, I left my prior job because it was tough for me to fit in but I always did my work and got good reviews. Just wanted to start somewhere new and improved my commute by 30 minutes both ways which was the main reason.

I got a new job from a local firm, the people are amazing, they offered me more money, better retirement match, benefits, etc. But theres a big issue…

I am a very tech savvy person, always have been and always will be. When I interviewed for this job I asked them if there workflows and processes are up to date with industry standards, and how it works. They said some areas may be lacking but for the most part everything was upto date, they explained the process, so I figured it was pretty standard.

Fast forward to me starting, I am given my first assignment and its all the tax documents. I ask where to scan it in and they say “We dont do that, we just do all our workpapers by hand.” It felt like they lied to me in the interview, because this wasnt the process they explained. I asked a few of the seniors like “Is this really how its always done” and they said yes. I also got confirmation from another partner thats how its always done. I asked if there was an alternative and the partners said it would create more work for them.

They had me work on a business client next and said the same “All workpapers we do on paper” so I had to print out a balance sheet and tie out retained earnings by hand on a quickbooks report. I could have done this so much quicker in an excel spreadsheet.

My last job taught me so much, but I feel like I am two days in and this place is going to bring me backwards in my career if I stay here. It seems like Im being taught how to do taxes 20-30 years ago, instead of today. Ultimately what frustrates me the most is that I asked them about this in the interview and they told me differently. I also truly believe they think their way is better and I am the one stuck in my ways.

Am I crazy for wanting to quit? My parents told me to if I think its best and not pay rent until I find something new. I think I will be able to find another job quickly and if not probably do seasonal work. My last job told me they would love me to come back if things do not work out, but I dont want to go back. I wish I could like combine the positive culture from the old firm, with the good workflow and processes from the shitty culture.

At the end of the day this was the first time in my professional career I said “I really do not want to go to work tomorrow.” and I dont want to waste both my time and the firms time on something that wont work. Am I crazy?

Edit: I appreciate the advice, its making it tough because its so many mixed opinions. Ultimately I think I am going to quit because I will not be happy at this place. I understand the improve processes angle but they do not seem to be willing or able to do so. I am a staff accountant, it would take me years of building their trust and teaching them the ways of my last firm and who knows if it will truly be worth it in the end?

Edit #2: I landed up telling them it was not a good fit. It was really tough for me, the advice you gave was very mixed. But I think this is what was best for me. I would never have been happy, Im a very stressed out person and feel like I need to start prioritizing my mental and physical health over my job. I was not in the mindset to step up and be the person to change their ways or wait to see if they would even let me.

Hello everyone,

My husband was offered a job in Phoenix, AZ and we are planning on moving there but first I need a job over there. I have 2.5 yrs of public accounting experience at a California firm (I think its around #110 firm per Accounting Today), so not a big 4 for sure.I just took my first CPA exam (FAR) and studying for a 2nd exam (AUD).

Would that make me competitive in the Phoenix job market? Should I apply for staff or senior position?

I am currently an associate at the firm and I don't think I will get to senior prior to moving because the firm I work for (specifically the office location I am in) never gives promotions.

All advice appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Hi not sure if this is the best place to ask, but I was wondering if any accountants/CPAs could review my resume? I’ve been struggling to get an entry level role and I was wondering if anyone had any tips to help get over the hurdle. Thanks

Hello Everyone, I have passed my Core 1, Core 2, Assurance and Taxation this year in 1st attempt back to back. Recently i got my Taxation result and i passed it July 17 2026. Today i got an email from the CPA for Plagiarism in one of the assignment in EXCEL sheet for not using Formula and doing copy and paste for a small part of it. Now CPA gave me 1 week time to explain this before they take any action or decision.

Is there any one who knows this process and guide me through. It will be a great help.