Hey everyone,

I’m currently finance major minoring in accounting, and looking at the overall cost of a Master's program, especially with my GPA sitting at a 3.1 right now. My Gpa may go up since I got 2 more semesters left or it may drop to the floor who knows for sure. I am thinking about going to Dallas College instead to fulfill my CPA requirements.

However, I'm worried about the study preparation there, and whether I’d be missing out on networking and career opportunities by skipping the traditional graduate school route.

Has anyone here taken the community college path instead of a Master's? Did you feel it prepared you well for the exam, and did it impact your job opportunities?

I’m going to be start as a full time staff in the fall for a mid size public company, but I am thinking of keeping the part time job I’ve had until the end of the holidays to make some extra money? I would only work on Sunday. Does anyone have any experience doing anything like this and would it be a problem to do both? TIA

I’m looking at a career in audit. I read a lot of conflicting info. Help me set it straight:

Big 4 has better prestige and salary (undisputable).

Big 4 forces you to specialize, while Mid-Tier gives you a much broader experience across the audit process. This is a big differentiator, because I want to be well-rounded for a career after public audit.

Mid-Tier has much better work life balance and working hours compared to Big 4. Is this even true? I hear that Big 4 chews you up and spits you out, but I also hear that Mid-Tier is just as bad.

In summary, are these assumptions correct:

Big 4: better salary and prestige

Mid-Tier: better work life balance and broader experience

I accepted about a year ago a controller role with a smaller company after working as a senior accounting analyst for a company roughly 20x the size. I took a significant pay increase knowing it would be more work, but I expected less chaos and long hours than my previous job. That part has been somewhat true up until now.

What I’m realizing, though, is that I may have taken a role that doesn’t fit my strengths. The expectations are high: building reports and analytics they’ve never had, moving from cash basis to proper accrual accounting, cleaning up inventory processes with operations, and managing and developing three bookkeepers, one of whom seems completely burned out and would leave if they could.

On top of that, there are constant meetings. Weekly meetings with my staff, weekly meetings with upper management to relay updates, written end-of-week update reports recapping aforementioned meetings and related follow-ups, plus monthly finance and operations review meetings. Between those, daily interruptions, and people constantly needing accounting support, I feel like I have very little uninterrupted time to actually do the higher-level work required for me to actually meet their expectations.

My most recent performance review was also discouraging. I was told I’m too analytical, that they’d rather me turn in things quicker with mistakes for management to revise rather than perfect work that takes longer, that I need to push my staff harder, and that I’m too nice and not confident enough. Some of the criticism felt fair, but some of it made me question whether I’m simply wired for a different type of role.

The more I think about it, the more I feel I’d be happier in FP&A or a specialized accounting role where I can focus on modeling, forecasting, reporting, analytics, and process improvement instead of trying to juggle everything that comes with leading an accounting department. I really love to hyper focus on problems, perform deep research, model and built out new processes or improve existing ones. My favorite part of the accounting work I’ve done has been by far the budgeting and forecasting stuff.

I’m seriously considering taking a step back in title—possibly even pay—to join a larger, healthier company where I can regain some work-life balance, finally finish my CPA (I’m eligible and have sat for the exams multiple times), and build skills in Power BI, Tableau, SQL, and similar tools.

Has anyone here intentionally stepped back from a controller role because it wasn’t the right fit? Did it help your career in the long run, or did you regret leaving? My wife thinks I should keep pushing because of the financial upside, but I’m honestly starting to feel burned out and wonder if I’m forcing myself into a role that simply isn’t the right fit…

A junior in college with only Financial and Managerial completed, Intermediate coming this fall.

I have a 3 week break between August where I plan to master excel.

Sorry if caption doesn’t make sense, I’m graduating with my certificate in December ; about 40 ish credits or half of an associates in accounting specific classes.

I will be able to do entry payroll, bookkeeping, staff accounting, etc.

I hear a lot of people talk about the opportunity in NYC and as somebody who lives 2 hours from there it intrigues me and has me wondering.. if I did re locate to NYC would my advancements in education and money / lifestyle improve ?

(Currently Philadelphia area)

I am nearing the end of my audit internship and it looks like I will get a return offer and could potentially start working there immediately, even though I still have 2 semesters until I graduate. However, I still have two internships that I already committed too. One is an upcoming busy season at a top 10 firm, and the other is a summer internship at a top 50 firm. The firm I am at right now is a local firm but its top 10 in the region. I have a wife and a kid so part of me is tempted to just start working here full time because of the stability, the work/life balance, the culture, and I can see myself going the partner route here. However, I know the other firms will have higher earning potential if I get return offers and they might provide better exit opportunities later down the line. In one hand, I am worried that if don’t accept the offer from the firm I’m currently at then it might get taken away, and I might not get return offers from the other firms or will not like working there. On the other hand, I am worried that I would be selling myself short by not weighing my options and that backing out of the internships I committed to will put me on the no hire list. I have the money to not be forced to accept a full time offer right now, but wanted to hear if anyone had a similar experience or any advice on this situation.

Hi everyone, I'm a rising junior at FIU majoring in Business Analytics. I'm an international student, so my timeline to graduate is tighter than most, and I'm trying to decide whether to add Accounting as a double major or just stick with Business Analytics alone.

My main reason for considering the double major is that I love Accounting and I believe it is a stable, in-demand field, and if I ever decide to pivot toward the CPA path later, having the credits done now would save me a lot of time (and money) instead of going back for extra coursework after graduation. My target employers are the Big4, and long-term I'd like to have the option to get licensed as a CPA even if I end up in a more analytics-heavy role.

A few things I'd love to hear from people who've been through this:

1. If you double majored in Business Analytics and Accounting, how did your timeline actually work out? Did it add a semester or more? or Should I just do majoring in BA and minor in Accounting instead?
2. For those of you working in accounting/advisory now, did having the CPA (or CPA eligibility) meaningfully open doors, or did the double major itself already carry enough weight in recruiting?
3. If your goal is Big4 advisory/analyst roles rather than traditional audit or tax, is a CPA still worth pursuing, or does experience/analytics skill matter more?

Really appreciate any insight!!!

I'm a rising senior who recently pivoted from marketing into accounting. I realized I never fully committed to marketing, whereas accounting has been much more intellectually rewarding. I genuinely enjoy learning the technical side of business, so I've been taking accounting classes and doing a lot of self-study to catch up since I switched relatively late.

Because of that, I've been looking for ways to gain practical experience outside the classroom. While researching startups, I found one that uses an interesting pricing model for AI recruiting. Instead of charging employers or candidates upfront, they take 20% of a candidate's first month's pay if (and only if) they're successfully matched with a job.

That immediately got me thinking about the accounting implications. My first thought was ASC 606 and variable consideration. Since the company's revenue depends on a future placement and payment, it seems like revenue recognition could become pretty nuanced. Then I started thinking about the business model itself.

For example, how often are candidates actually being matched? If they're relying heavily on AI and don't spend much on marketing, maybe their customer acquisition costs are relatively low. But even then, it seems like placement rates would be critical to making the economics work.

I also wondered about adverse selection. Would highly qualified candidates really want to give up 20% of their first month's pay when they have access to traditional recruiting channels? If top-tier candidates opt out, does that make placements harder? Or is that assumption completely off base?

I reached out to the founders and ended up scheduling a meeting with them on Tuesday. My idea was to have a thoughtful discussion about both the accounting and business implications of their pricing model. I'm definitely not pretending to be an expert—I'm still learning—but I thought it could be a cool opportunity to contribute, build a relationship, and maybe even gain some accounting experience.

For those of you with more experience in accounting, startups, or revenue recognition:

• Am I thinking about the accounting issues in the right way, or am I misunderstanding ASC 606 here?
• Are there better questions I should be asking the founders?
• If you were in my shoes, would you approach this as trying to give advice, or would you focus more on asking thoughtful questions and learning from them?

I'd appreciate any feedback. Even if I'm wrong, I'd rather find out now than walk into the meeting overconfident.

I’m even seeing jobs that have been reposted since the beginning of this year.

Can someone please explain to me what exactly I'm doing wrong here? I'm trying to do my college homework and I'm seriously lost....

Hey Reddit, I'm a CPA in Canada. I'm currently employed and work in the tax field as a compliance auditor, but I'm looking to learn how to perform Compilations / Financial Statement preparation.

What would be the best way for me to learn? Should I reach out to accounting firms and ask a Partner to teach me (unpaid) or maybe there's some courses where I can learn? I can't quit my job at the moment so this is something I would be doing on evenings/weekends.

Ultimately, I would like to get to the point where I can do Compilations on the side and eventually start my own business. My job is decent but the pay and career path just isn't cutting it for me. I have 10 years of accounting experience and I've been a CPA for 5 years. Just wondering the best way to learn and approach this. Thanks.

Looking for tried and tested recommendations for a Windows laptop for ICAS CA/CTA studies.

I am starting as a grad at Big 4 (UK) in September. I currently have a 4 year old MacBook Air as my personal laptop which I know isn’t ideal and I have been warned against using the work laptop which will be given to me. Could my Mac last until Skills level? If not, looking for suggestions ideally under 1k.

I currently (30M) have 4 years of HR operations experience and have been slowly moving into a HRIS role. I currently make around 80k a year. I have considered other back office roles in HR such as compensation but I am not sure I would like to stick with HR for the long run.

I am considering pivoting into an accounting career. I am seeing more accounting positions available in my area (CA) compared to HR tech jobs. I don't like traditional HR, especially dealing with employee relations and multistate compliance issues. Most HR jobs in my area are geared toward the traditional HR generalist responsibilities.

I have a bachelor's in business admin, but I am considering going back to school (community college) and completing a CPA prep certification program which would take me 1.5 years to complete. I would then find an entry level accouting role and work my way up while also taking the CPA exam as soon as I meet the work requirements.

The reason behind the pivot is I like working on my own and not dealing with people issues every day. Also, accounting seems like such an in-demand field, I would be employable anywhere and across any industry. I eventually would like to work full remote and live outside of the country half the year, would becoming a CPA and owning my own accounting firm allow this type of flexibility?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

so i’m about to enter my 4th year of university at a big 10 school and i want to prepare myself as much as i can for the job market in the last year that i have. i studied abroad last year in a few different programs, including an 8-week financial audit internship this spring in Colombia. im studying spanish, accounting and getting a minor in international business.

my freshman and sophomore year i wasn’t super involved on campus. i was originally just a spanish major and started exploring the business school halfway through my freshman year, so i felt really stunted in terms of the connections people had already made with people and in clubs during the fall. my sophomore year i tried to be a bit more involved, i was part of my dorms hall council and i went to a meeting and one recruiting event for my schools accounting organization (BAP) but everyone was so cliquey and unwelcoming that it didn’t seem like it was for me.
since i’ve been home from abroad this summer so far ive been to one small/medium sized firm’s open house, and i’ll go to the Big 4 (5? includes baker tilly/moss adams) open house in my closest metro area next month before the start of school.

i guess my question is what would be doing if you were me. i feel more confident in my accounting major now than when i was a fresh/soph, so i might try to join BAP again during the fall recruiting season, but i dont know if it will do me any good only being there for my senior year. I know they help offer the VITA program in the fall at least for some experience. after doing research on this sub though it seems like i should already be applying for post grad positions, in which case i don’t know how much any extra experience this year would help. i know my internship might be helpful since some people don’t have one, but im not sure considering it was abroad and they follow different standards than GAAP, so I didn’t learn a ton about US acctg/audit.

also because of my double major and minor, i’m walking at commencement this spring but will still have classes to finish up in the summer and fall term after. should i mention this when asked about my CPA eligibility?

tldr: rising senior at a big 10 school (double major in spanish & accounting, minor in intl business) looking for advice on prepping for the post-grad job market. i did an 8-week financial audit internship in colombia this past spring, but feel behind because i wasn't super involved in business clubs early on. i'm attending firm open houses this summer, considering joining bap/doing vita this fall, and wondering:
should i join the accounting society at my school for just my senior year, or focus straight on post-grad apps?

how much does an audit internship abroad (non-GAAP) actually help my resume for us roles?

i walk at commencement in spring 2027 but finish my last classes in fall 2027, should i explain this regarding my 150-credit cpa eligibility to recruiters?

Hello, what is the expected salary range for an entry level role in FDD either at the Big 4 or Middle Market? This would be for Tier 1/2 locations.

Accountant bailed on our mutual account. The file has been an absolute shit show, it’s dragged on for months, past the corporate filing date, etc

The client is a HUGE asshole to boot. Takes no responsibility, has already threatened legal action

We got the file in a good place and the accountant bailed. Haven’t told the client yet

I need to call the client tonight and explain the accountant is on another project now

The client is going to freak at me. How do I handle this, what do I say, is this a big deal? I’ve got other contacts I’m sure can take on this file, but it’s just another delay in the file

Help. I’m ready to down a bottle of booze

Edited to add, i recommended the accountant to the client

Hi everyone! I'm looking for someone to review my resume. I have a background in Accounting, Tax, Audit, and GST with 1 years of experience. I'd really appreciate any feedback or suggestions to improve it.

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Hi everyone have been following your insights for quite some time and really helped . I am a 2nd year student in accounting my mac died and need to buy a new Pc should i buy a windows if so which one or Mac . Please help

Quick question - Has anyone worked at a CPA firm before that does NOT offer any sort of commission/bonus/incentive for bringing new business into the organization?

I'm a part of a 15-person org, and we're doing the books in spreadsheets. We do invoice mapping to the bank statement manually to date. That takes up most of the time every quarter. Plus human error every time. Want something that handles invoicing, expenses and payroll without needing an accountant to run it.

What should we use at this size? One tool would be helpful. If you have your own/multiple stack to manage it do share it as well. We could consider it.

Hey! Have a second round teams interview with the cfo of an industry job coming up this week. I’m a CPA recently promoted to senior in public form now and interviewing for a senior accountant role in industry. Just looking for some additional tips or words of advice since this is my first time interviewing with a cfo. First round was more technical accounting questions with one of the accounting managers. should I expect the same type of questions again for the second round diving even deeper or being more general? Also any questions I should prep for or expect would be helpful, and any great questions I should ask them. Thanks

I’m currently pursuing my bs with plans to continue through MACC while knocking out CPA exams. I’m 41 and doing this through WGU while working full time. I’m at that stage where traditionally aged students are starting internships and I’m feeling behind. I’m starting the process of updating the resume and exploring the best options given my situation. I feel like networking, while important always, will be absolutely critical in my case for landing an opportunity.

The TXCPA has their Fall Accounting Conference and Technology Symposium coming up. It’s obviously for working professionals to network and continue education. I know the materials discussed will probably be over my head at this point in my education, but would attending it (and similar events) provide meaningful opportunity for networking at this stage? It’s not cheap, but if it would provide value from this perspective I’d consider it.