| Topic Name: |
What are the incentives? |
| Message Name: |
Speak for yourself |
| Date Posted: |
03/15/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
Independent yes, experts no.
Auditors are not experts on anything, in general. They know audit, how to perform samples and the ulitmate goal is to give an opinion on the fair presentation, not the correct presentation.
Last time I checked, auditors had to bring in people that were experts in tax, controls and technology to perform their work on large public companies. I should know, I was in two of those groups while working for PwC.
Can an auditor from PwC become a controller and implement even MAS 500 for a smalle 500 million / year company him or herself? Probably not without the help of consultants. So expert? On what?
Honestly, the people that complain the most about the hours are really those with outside experience. If you don't know any better you might think that the hours working at PwC are normal for professionals. They are not! As an experienced hire, I knew better and only did it for resume building. I would actually say people with only Big 4 experince know less than their peers in smaller firms. But they will get the job over others due to the recognition of the name.
Audit in any firm, Big 4 in particular, is good experience to go do something else. Two or three years in audit and obtaining your CPA shows that you have endurance, not expert skills.
Why is attrition over 50% within a two year period for new staff in a Big 4? Becuase after a couple years, with a CPA, a staff/senior auditor can go private or to a smaller/regional firmand make as much or more money and work less hours. Again, been there, done that.
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| Message: |
I have testified in front of a court a number of times and provided expert testimony on accounting and industry specific matters.
Each case I have testified in has resulted in a favorable outcome for my client. While I don't expect to win them all, expert testimony is viewed as just that.
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