Anyone gone down the accounting career pathway?

[Rickster]

I've studied my bachelors in business and majored in accounting. I studied accounting because I was good in it and because I was good I found it interesting. After a couple of subjects in accounting I started to despise the financial accounting part (which is what I initially liked). With the rest of my subjects that I had left, I took them in management and marketing. I soon realised I preferred management accounting/cost accounting with keen interest in production management.

 

Every person I've talked to in the accounting (or were accountants) field advises me that I should work a couple of years in the big four audit firms doing audit and if I don't like it branch out after that especially since the consulting sector is downsizing due to the GFC. I've heard horror stories in audit, and because I think financial accounting is a big pile of cr*p, I don't see myself enjoying working and supporting it.

 

Could someone who has worked in an audit firm put in some positive words about the job? Or at least advice on some possible paths?

 

Thanks

[Night Pumpkin]

Accounting is one of the best jobs that you can have. It is well paying, in demand, and even in recessions accounting firms are still hiring while other places are shedding people.

 

All accounting work, including but not limited to audits, can be tedious and boring. Also, there is a lot of going back and forth through your work changing things and it can be frustrating at times to get it right.

 

On the other hand, it can be fun and interesting if you like a challenge and enjoy being rewarded by seeing a difficult problem solved, or by coming up with a creative solution.

 

Audit work is too specialized to begin with. I work in a public practice accounting firm which serves around 400 clients. Public practice gives you a change to sample almost everything possible in accounting, and to gain very good general experience. I would highly recommend you start off in public practice, though in this economy it might be difficult to get such a position.

 

Hope that helps

[Rickster]

Audit work is too specialized to begin with. I work in a public practice accounting firm which serves around 400 clients. Public practice gives you a change to sample almost everything possible in accounting, and to gain very good general experience. I would highly recommend you start off in public practice, though in this economy it might be difficult to get such a position.

 

Public practice firm, as in a firm outside the big four but dealing with recording full sets of accounts? What I've heard with audit is that you can get a taste of different companies that you audit and then find out whether that is the field that suits you. It seems a lot of companies look for potential employees who have work experience in the audit line for some reason. People tell me it has to do with the good ground work and organisation skills the big four accounting firms trains you. Everybody who gets a degree in accounting gets chucked into the audit or taxation departments in the big four.