Canadian CPA looking for career/life advice
I’ve been working at a Big 4 firm in audit for 2.5 years in Vancouver, BC since graduating university and want to leave this industry as soon as possible due to the absolute mundane (at some level even pointless) nature of work with very low salaries
What’re some career options I can pivot to that have:
- a decent salary ($150-200k CAD within the next 5-7 years)
- okayish WLB (60-70 hours a week max)
- work that is somewhat intellectually stimulating
I know the above don’t necessarily fit into the usual finance roles that most people on WSO are targeting for but I would value any opinion or advice
Been thinking of doing FP&A at an F500 and climbing the ladder (especially in tech since Vancouver seems to have a lot of that relatively) which would land me a decent salary and WLB but I’ve heard the work can be really boring.
Additionally, I’m willing to learn coding if it helps me stand out more (I already have experience with it as I took several coding classes in university before transferring from engineering to accounting, plus a number of math & physics courses as well. I actually enjoy physics & math a lot as a subject but not sure if that’s of much use in my situation
FP&A seems right up your alley. It should also tick most of your boxes.
You can also try and position for Corporate Treasury roles. Depending on the vertical within treasury, it’ll most likely be more interesting that FP&A.
No experience on the coding front.
Goodluck!
Big 4 advisory groups and some of the Big 5 mid-market M&A teams have serious hardons for CPAs. You probably won't get that range as base but could touch that all-in. Absolutely won't get that WLB.
The FP&A path is quite interesting because you could position for CFO track. You'll have better WLB but lower comp at the start.
The third track is kind of Vancouver / Victoria centric and quite interesting, an idea I've explored. There are quite a few what I like to call CFO nomads. They're part-time CFOs for a bunch of typically Series A/B/pre-IPO companies. They'll have one or two people on staff but generally lean on the in-house finance teams. These guys make bank because they take equity.
Let me approach this question from a different angle. Instead of considering accounting/CPA, more so just looking at your experiences and interests, it sounds like a consulting firm with a strong data analytics team is an ideal path forward. There are a few intersections of data analytics and accounting, namely, Economic Consulting which uses statistical languages (R, Python) and data visualization languages (Tableau, PowerBI) and Strategic Finance within Technology Firms both offer this type of work. For $150-$200k range, I understand that mid-level associates/senior associates within consulting firms often earn this at the all-in compensation after ~3-4 YoE. Strategic Finance is a common exit from Economic Consulting firms as it uses similar technical skills and gives exposure to operational analytical processes.
All of the above is a bit off-base from FP&A because I personally think FP&A would be too slow or boring for you if you're targeting intellectual stimulation as a requirement. FP&A work can be engaging, but most times, it involves aspects of accounting and project finance more than it does finance visioning and financial roadmapping.
If you're interested in the above, I can provide further details for Management Consulting within Data Anaytics or Economic Consulting in particular.
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