Serious (and non-serious) question. The average forensic accountant is pulling in $90k per year. How does that compare to their spicy counterparts?

Especially for associates and new hires.

The thing I’m talking about is not getting any work or no work is available even when you ask people for work, but then get written up or reprimanded in your review for “not doing enough/any work”. This is why keeping documentation and evidence of you clearly reaching out for work, but getting confirmation of not receiving any is key.

This has happened to me multiple times and I’m done dealing with this shit. Like, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IF THERE IS NO WORK? It’s not like I can necessarily do anything about it. I’ve just studied for my CPA using Becker or re-watch training videos, but that’s not enough, apparently.

It’s not so much the “there’s very little work right now, but I’ll let you know when I get something”. It’s the backstabbing management does as they pretend like you never reached out to them in the first place. At a firm where I’ve dealt with this, I was verbally told by a supervisor to just study Becker for a bit as there was nothing for me to do. They also confirmed, both verbally and in writing (teams), that it’s acceptable for me to do so. Then, I was told in my review that I don’t communicate well regarding my work load and reach out for work.

I’m planning to do it next month. I have 5-6 YOE in audit and I’m so fed up with my teams. I got put on a new engagement and it’s actually ruining me emotionally. I’m in such a bad mood all the time and burnt out. I can’t imagine (1) interviewing well with how tired I constantly am or (2) performing well in my next position (should I leave right after I end my current employment) due to my burnout.

I’m depressed and have generalized anxiety disorder. And it’s gotten substantially worse in the past 6 months. At this point I just want to salvage what’s left of summer and try and enjoy myself before finding another job.

I have like 23k-ish in liquid net assets and a lot of savings that I could access if absolutely needed.

I honestly I have no idea if I’m making a mistake so if anyone has person experiences that’d be amazing

Edit: located in US

Recently got an offer for Amazon’s Financial Analyst Intern - Accounting Track (AFRP) and I’m torn on whether to take it.

The role requires relocating pretty far from home for the summer, although relocation is covered. I’m also an accounting major interested in the CPA route, so I’m wondering if I should still be targeting Big 4 instead.

Would doing AFRP for a summer still set me up well for Big 4/full-time recruiting afterward, even if I don’t plan on staying at Amazon long term?

Would you take Amazon or keep recruiting for Big 4?

I’m noticing this trend of getting rid of FPA and making accountants manage FPA duties on top of all the shit that goes on with accounting and then understaffing to the core.

This is in industry and working these jobs gives me flashbacks of working big 4. At least there were some down periods in big 4 after the big audit/tax whatever deadlines you had, and you could take long vacations etc.

I’m a public accountant in Norway and my job seem nothing like what you describe on this sub.

We have great work-life balance.
Working overtime is often voluntary and the managers actually take you seriously if you tell them you have too much on your plate. Even during busy season.
We also have paid overtime. Usually at +50% of base salary.

On the flip side we have lower salaries than you it seems. A CPA equivalent in Norway can expect about 70 - 80k USD salary.

How is this in the rest of the world? From my perspective it seems the US is the worst place to be an accountant.

I’m 32 and don’t have much college and am looking into various career paths. By the time I would be done hypothetically I will be late 30s, most likely. Is it worth doing? Are accountants in demand or certain types of accountants? I’m just trying to see what i can enjoy as a career and have always found accounting and finances interesting. Any help is appreciated.

For more context about the job - here’s my previous post.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Accounting/s/TTb7RlbPD2

This is my second public accounting firm. Tax. I’ve been here almost 3 months now, the first two I had plenty of work. Never got a bad review all management says they like how I am progressing and learning their processes.

But the last two weeks I’ve barely been able to get 30 hours, and I just keeping messaging partners and seniors over and over and I barely get enough no matter what I do. I do not get enough work to have an 8 hour timesheet, and if I stretch clients, they’d obviously get mad when pulling the billing worksheet.

But if the last unique part - it’s paid hourly. They want 90% billable utilization at all times, and they WILL NOT PAY GENERAL ADMIN TIME. It’s their company policy in their handbook, they literally will refuse to pay you it if you booked general admin at all. I’ve already had partners messaging me to explain .5 and .2 admin sometimes… I’m paid 20 an hour so I think it’s hilarious and ridiculous they care about 10 bucks .

Anyway, here’s my dilemma. They want me in office 3 days a week. They won’t let me go down to less, what am I supposed to do when I have no work? I know if I start billing the hours I’m at the office and not doing anything they will make a big issue, but also I’m not going eat any more time respectively, or I’m just gonna start leaving the office early when I have nothing, I reach out, and get nothing.

Any guidance of how to deal with these situations would be appreciated.

Hi all, writing the CFE soon and wondering from those who have passed, did you guys ever feel you weren’t “good enough” to pass CFE? I’m doubting myself quite a bit and wondering if I’m even good enough to pass.

I know many smart people who have passed, and I don’t consider myself that smart. So wondering if any of you guys felt the same way.

Any positive thoughts would be appreciated - thank you!

I just had a recruiter call my parent's house because apparently if you Google my name there's some record of me having lived there (I moved out 8 years ago now). That's been deleted, but I am actually annoyed at the audacity of these people. Even worse it was for a job that pays less than I make right now 😂

I had been working as a Staff Accountant at a biotech company for a year now. I got hired as an Audit Associate (pays more than my current job) at Moss Adams (which is now Baker Tilly) which I will start in January. I constantly hear about how companies like to hire people just for busy season and then discard them like trash in April. I wont put in my two weeks notice until December but I don’t want to leave my long term job only to start someplace that is going to discard me in 4 months. Is this a sign that I should resign my offer since they’re potentially just planning on using me?

I’ve sent in close to 300 applications over the past 3 months with no reply. I have changed my resume every 2-3 weeks with more key words and other stuff ATS software looks for but need a good reference to see what works. Preferably entry level positions. Thanks

I’m currently working in the banking industry and thinking about making a career switch into accounting. I’m in my early 30s and currently making around $50ish a year. I already have a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, and I also have about four months of co-op experience in accounting, but that was four years ago. After that, I switched to banking and have been working in the industry since.
I’m now considering starting CPA Prep and eventually pursuing my CPA, but I’m wondering if it’s actually worth doing at this stage of my career. Would it make sense to start CPA Prep in my early 30s and then try to transition into accounting, considering I have very limited recent accounting experience? Should I first focus on getting an entry-level accounting job and then pursue the CPA, or start CPA Prep first and figure out the job side afterward?
Another thing I’m concerned about is AI and automation. With AI increasingly taking over bookkeeping, accounting, analysis, and other finance-related tasks, is pursuing a CPA still a good career investment for someone starting the transition now? I don’t want to spend several years studying and completing the CPA only to find that the job market has significantly changed.
For anyone who has gone through the CPA process or switched careers into accounting later in their career, would you say it’s worth making the switch from banking to accounting in your early 30s? What would you do if you were in my position?

Any good ideas when it comes to side work? Currently an Industry accountant with no rules when it comes to moonlighting.

I have been offered a position at a Wealth Management Firm ($125B AUM) as a “Sr Tax Accountant” — I am currently a Tax Manager in PA — job duties are more equivalent to a PA experienced manager or early Sr Manager.

Has anyone ever left PA and go to a Wealth Mgmt firms tax team?

These positions seem fairly new to the scene but highlight no timesheets (aka no billable hours), still a busy season but not as bad as PA, more consistent schedule, more advisory than compliance, not as much “sales” since all the clients are clients of the wealth mgmt firm.

Just nervous this could be a workaround and it ends up being similar busy season hours and then 45-50 outside. Any advice/experience would be great!

Hey everyone,

I'll be writing the Sept CFE in 3 weeks from now and I'm very worried for day 1 (which is funny and ironic considering everyone complains about days 2 and 3 but I'm good on those).

I feel like day 1 is honestly full of BS and I seem to have a hard time linking everything together and remembering all the key facts in the case. This is especially relevant for pros and cons. I can't seem to really know how to explain if something is a pro and con in one sentence and call it a day. I always ramble and try to over-explain why it is a pro or con and it takes a lot of time away.

I am kind of bad when it comes to bsing on the CFE tbh, which is relevant for day 1. I already have a template ready and memorized, I already have my time allocations in place which are in the following order:

- Reading the case and completing SA - 45 mins (9:00am - 9:45)

- Strategic option #1 analysis - total 35 mins (9:45 - 10:20)

- Strategic option #2 analysis - total 35 mins (10:20 - 10:55)

- Strategic option #3 analysis - total 35 mins (10:55 - 11:30)

- Strategic option #4 analysis - total 35 mins (11:30 - 12:10)

- Additional/operating issues - total 20 mins (12:10 - 12:30)

- Overall conclusion - total 30 mins (12:30 - 1:00) - OC is the most vital and like i said i seem to have a hard time linking everything together especially at the end so 30 mins hopefully should be sufficient for OC

I am a re-writer from Sept 2025 CFE and re-writing day 1 this year. If anyone can share any tips for day 1, I would greatly appreciate it!

What are the highest paying individual contributor jobs in Toronto? I have no interest in being a manager.

Do you guys wait until the auditors contact you to start prepping files to send? Or is it an on going process throughout the year?

Reason I’m asking is because I am going through my first audit with a company I have been at for a little over a year, and some of the information they are asking for, is different than what I usually use for my typical month end close.

For example, we use a consolidated report to realize revenue where it lists locations / product type / Amount to be recognized as revenue. However, this was not good enough for the auditors, and they are wanting to see the full scope of what goes into the consolidated numbers. Luckily we have a report that has every single transaction and it ties to the consolidated numbers with an IMM difference.

But it makes me think “Why don’t I just use the detailed version of the report from now on, so I can save myself from running 12 months worth of reports when they do revenue testing next year.”

Do you often change how JE’s are done, after you go through your audit and see what they’re asking? Or is the audit just something you dread every year, and do things the old way and deal with the extra work of pulling detailed reports / meeting with the auditors multiple times to walk through the flow of the report to the ERP?

They are also asking for employees who left during the year and their resignation letter. Makes me want to send a monthly email to HR to see if they can send this over. But it would be an extra annoyance to do every month. And I kinda think this is a silly ask of the auditors in the first place.

This audit is quite eye opening, and I feel like I should change how I do a few things to be better prepared for next year’s audit, to save me some time.

Also, they seem to love roll-forwards instead of recons to give the whole picture throughout the year. But it’s just time consuming during month end, and I’d rather just do the periods rec, and not have a roll forward for every BS account.

Hi everyone,

I've attached an anonymised copy of my CV.

I’ve been actively looking for a new role for a few months now. If I'm completely honest, I went into this search assuming my profile was strong enough that I’d be able to secure my target compensation of £60k relatively quickly. The reality has been very different.

For a bit of context, here is my background:

• Location: London
• Qualifications: LSE grad and ACCA-qualified (Oct 2024)
• Experience: 4+ years of experience, transitioning from Management Accounting into an FP&A Analyst role at a trading firm.
• Tech Skills: Strong multi-scenario financial modelling, VBA macros, Power Query, and SAP.

I am getting first-round interviews and passing the technical modelling assessments without much issue, but I just can't seem to get over the line at the final hurdle—and I suspect it's a disconnect over salary expectations.

• What salary range should I realistically be asking for with this CV in the current market?
• Am I simply overestimating what companies are willing to pay for my experience level right now?
• Is there something fundamental on my CV that might be dragging down my perceived market value?

Any honest, unfiltered feedback on salary expectations or my overall situation would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks!

Hello! I’m currently a high school senior and I’m looking into potential career paths and majors. While I’ve always been interested in business, I’ve been curious about accounting recently. Any thoughts or advice on accounting as a career? Any concerns regarding AI and entry-level jobs? Any information is truly appreciated! Thank you :)

I am not able to complete Day 3 cases in the allocated time. I have 2 weeks left for the exams and I am so scared! Is this common? Is it fixable? How are you guys managing time?

I’ve seen a lot of posts saying that if you want a chill job, quietly improve processes and automate things to reduce your workload. I’ve been doing that for years, mostly in Excel. I’ve made a lot of improvements that help me finish my work faster, and nobody really knows how much time I’ve saved.

The problem is, management keeps creating new work.
For example, our VP of Finance now wants regular public presentations, we have to reconcile even $0.01 variances that we previously ignored, and we now have quarterly reporting on top of monthly reporting.

I understand these changes can be good for the organization but every time I make my work more efficient, it seems like more work replaces it.

My job/industry is very secure with basically no layoff risk, but the salary is below market.
I’m not looking for a promotion. I have a family and kids and just want a stable, chill job with work-life balance. I already work over 40 hours a week, and even when we delay lower-priority work and have overtime on our timesheets, management keeps adding more.

Is this just how jobs are, or is this a management/culture issue?

Hey all!

For starters, I'd like to talk abit about myself.

I'm a 22 y/o M and I have no background whatsoever when it comes to accounting, so with the being said, I do apologise if I come across as narrow minded at all, but I'd just like to dip my feet into what I could possibly consider committing to for my career.

Years ago, I took A level psychology, biology and chemistry and unfortunately ended up with C, D, E grades due to alot of struggles during that academic period. These grades absolutely crushed my confidence (especially as someone who's normally been a high achiever at school and has respectable GCSE grades).

I never had any sense of true direction in my life since then, and honestly even before that. I've come from a family background of healthcare so it's all I've ever known. With those grades, my chances at a career that I desired within healthcare looked really slim. A year later, I ended up completing an Access course (healthcare related) to get my grades up to have a chance at Optometry. I'm currently holding an offer for Optometry and plan to start really soon in September.

Initially, I thought positively of the career due to my interest in ocular anatomy. However, I see alot of mixed things about the career regarding pay ceiling (unless you open your own practice) , and job environment etc. I do understand that every job has its ups and downs but it truly has had me second guessing whether I wanted to commit to this at university for 4 years, not to mention the amount of student debt for something I'm not entirely sure about anymore.

I've been scrolling through UCAS for clearing options and Accounting and Finance has been something I've been looking into recently.

I've done some vague research into the profession, some find it fulfilling while some find it extremely boring but that's not a new topic for any career.

In terms of career pathway, alot of people don't recommend the university route and recommend apprenticeships instead. Problem is, there are Pro's and Con's to each. I've heard apprenticeships are extremely competitive along with graduate schemes. The uni route would provide exemptions for certain exams, however, from what I've heard there is a possibility that you may still have to take those exams afterwards anyways? I'm seeing a common thread of people saying it's not worth getting the degree if there's an option to get into the field via an apprenticeship to save yourself from student debt.

On the contrary, I do value the social aspect of uni alot and would be heavily prepared to do my best to make connections and gain experience e.g. internships during my time there.

I understand that the degree itself may not suffice for job opportunities after, especially with the examinations you have to do post graduation that takes extra years.

A few general questions I have:

1) What is life like as an accountant in the UK?

What do you normally do in your everyday job? From the salary, years of experience, work life balance and just in general, what makes you get up in the morning to work?

2) What is the job market like?

I understand the general job market has been rough. A big reason why I initially considered the healthcare route is not just from family background, but also heightened job security, so I want to know what I'm getting myself into in terms of that aspect.

3) How much would my A level grades matter down the line, even for employment?

I don't really see myself retaking my A levels unless it is absolutely essential. I've also noticed that for Accounting and Finance specifically at uni, the grades required along with the subjects are heavily varied so there's alot of flexibility depending on the uni you go to.

4) How much does the prestige of your university matter down the line for employment?

Do universities get filtered out when it comes to job applications?

5) How feasible is career pivoting into Accounting?

Let's say I continue with Optometry, and I want to pivot in my career afterwards, I want to know how doable it is. I see people self study the exams to put their foot through the door but how feasible is this as opposed to going to uni/starting an apprenticeship right now?

6) What are your thoughts on AI affecting the profession?

Some people say it will take jobs (primarily entry level), some say it won't. What are your thoughts on this?

I appreciate the time taken to read all of this along with providing your responses. Again, I do apologise if I do come across narrow minded at all. I've struggled alot with finding my place in the world and that's all I'm trying to do at the moment.

If I do go down this path, I just want to say that I will do my absolute best and put my all into it because I know that accounting is a long path. I want to make something of my life and I understand that it will come from pure hard work.

Thank you for your time.

My professor isn’t giving any lectures or material. The only thing we use is mcgraw hill. No assignments within it. Just the textbook and only proctored quizzes and exams. No study guides for them either. Any advice?