| Topic Name: |
Acccounting |
| Message Name: |
Good stuff |
| Date Posted: |
02/25/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
Hello. I seem to be in a bit of a crossroads in my career and am looking for some advice. Here's my background:
I have a M.S. Degree in Accounting with a CPA license in Florida. I currently work in New York but am planning to move down to Florida for family reasons. I have about a year of private accounting experience when I was in college and half a year of public. The CPA firm I was working for was very small and could not offer me a competitive salary when upon graduation. I took a job at the NASD as a compliance examiner (auditor) because of better pay and diversified experience. Between 9/11 and the accounting scandals, the job market was dead in NYC and I was thankful that I had a job. I stayed with the NASD for almost 4 years and passed the CPA exam while I was there. Now I am a compliance officer at a broker dealer and while I am making good money, I feel that I need to get back into public accounting and use my degree and CPA license. I find it very difficult for me to even get an interview with a CPA firm that requires at least one year of experience which I already have. I understand that I have to take a cut in pay and am willing to do so. I am a single guy almost 30 years old and feel that now is the time to do it or else I will never have the opportunity again once I settle down. Can anybody please help point me in the right direction to make this transition?? |
| Message: |
It sounds like you have a strong background. I'm wondering WHY exactly you would be willing to take a cut in pay to go back into public accounting? Do you want to become a manager at an auditing firm or do you want to eventually become a corporate controller in private accounting?
If I were you I'd just aim to be a financial manager in a private company and climb the ladder ith my credentials. I don't understand the need to go back to auditing before you're too old. Make sure you are doing it for strategic career reasons and not just because of strong audit Kool aid.
That said - I think you should have a pretty easy time getting a job at the Big 4. Where I'm from the big four is hiring anybody with a masters in accounting - regardless of whether they have experience or not - so a guy like you should have no problem. Good place to start would be to tap your network and be persistent about getting your resume in the hands of big four recruiters.
|
|
