Having Second Thoughts About Sticking Around in Auditing

Hi everyone,

I've been reflecting a bit on my busy season and discussing with people at the firm what I want to do, and I think I'm coming to the conclusion that auditing might not be what I want to do long-term and am kind of second-guessing my decision to go with Big 4 vs a Rotation Program out of school.

I know that no entry-level work is fun, but I think what has really concerned me is that in speaking to people who are higher up than me at the firm, I'm not sure I'd really like what I'm doing in the future either. I thought that you do a lot more work surrounding complex accounting issues as you progress, but from what it sounds like, it ends up being a lot more compliance and even more mind-numbing stuff like budgeting for projects, signing off on expenses, booking time, etc. Being a senior associate is also no fun because you end up having to not only review the associates' work, but you have to do even more planning/completion work on top of it. Planning sounds interesting, but a lot of comes down to checking off whether or not the team has considered a particular regulation. Not exactly exciting stuff nor is it relevant to my future goals.

Therefore, I'm kind of in a sticky situation. I know that long-term, I want to either be a controller or FP&A manager (probably more on the FP&A side than controllership), however, I'm kind of wondering what the next step from here should be. I can feel my enthusiasm for the job, etc. waning quickly and my instincts tell me that staying in this industry too much longer might not be the best thing since it will lead to poor reviews/cause other problems since I just can't get excited about what I do.

As such, I'm thinking I need to explore other options, but what is there for someone who just has 1 year of Big 4 experience? Going in, I had expected myself to stay at least 3-4 years, but I'm not sure that's realistic anymore because I tried the job and it just isn't for me. if nothing better comes up, I think I can stick it out till at least senior, but I'm really hoping there may be an exit strategy sooner.

The first thought that immediately came to mind would be to apply for rotation programs, but would they take someone who isn't directly out of school? Even if I had to start at "entry-level" salary, etc., I would definitely be willing to take it because I'm moreso just looking for the right opportunity at the moment. I also could also apply for financial analyst type positions, but I'm curious about how quick the progression would be there compared to the Big 4 and how likely I am to get stuck.

I'm kind of rambling and all over the place at this point, but if anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate their help.

Thanks,
LF

 

Passively look for FP&A positions, but stay until you make senior associate; it's only another year (unless you're at PwC) and you'll be way better positioned. If you stay one more year, you'll also have a better chance at earning an above average rating which will help with competitive positions. Also, if you leave before a year, you'll have to give up your CPA bonus.

 

Start getting ready to leave ASAP. Update your resume, and start shooting off applications. I was getting interviews after 6 months in Audit- it really just depends on what your resume looks like and how you spin your experience. Everyone in FP&A values Audit experience, but that's because most roles generally are more FP than A, depending on where you go. Just have a coherent story about why you want to leave and any recruiter will get it. B4 turnover is so high, no one will question you wanting to leave- just why do you want to be at that firm. Good luck!

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
 

I'm at a Big Four myself. Are you on some sort of chartered accountancy training program or not? If yes, then I would personally finish that off and then move.

In any case it seems that you want to move into industry and fortunately industry likes people with Big Four backgrounds. Start looking around at job ads and speaking to recruiters to get a feel for what's out there and how much experience they'd like you to have. If you can go straight from where you are now then go for it. If they'd like a bit more experience then no harm in sticking around a tiny bit longer to build up your resume and then making the switch.

 

^ ^ ^ this.

You only have a year in audit. Still early enough to jump to a different function/role and making the switch to FP&A shouldn't be that hard, especially if you've got previous internships with some kind of financial analysis background. If you have less than a year of experience, a lot of companies will still consider you for entry-level positions; however, it might be more challenging since you're not going through traditional recruiting channels (on campus recruiting). I have seen several first year staff leave for different finance roles including, F500 FP&A and investment banking. Focus on your story and get out of audit sooner rather than later, otherwise you will get pigeonholed for mostly financial reporting roles (think senior accountant - preparing recs, booking JEs, month-end close, etc.).

Also, the best jobs don't necessarily come from recruiters. If you've developed strong relationships with your managers/senior managers, try to have them reach out to their network or see if they've heard of any openings for the types of jobs you're interested in. I've seen several staff/seniors use partner connections to get better jobs. That being said, hinting that you're interested in leaving to your audit team is obviously risky so do so only if you have a strong relationship with your manager. Another route would be to leverage your alumni network.

Good luck.

 

Hey,

Former Big4 auditor here - in an FP&A role now - left as a senior associate. Agreed the work initially is pretty boring but eventually gets interesting (which also depends on your clients/industry). My first year at the firm was a lot of "make sure the formatting is right" and testing some low risk sections which became more complex as I progressed. I can speak a lot to your point as I was at the same crossroads but will mention a few points below.

Good thing about audit - especially if you are in a junior role is use the opportunity to jump around (i.e. audit/review) a lot of industries (which I did), especially if you are Big4 to figure out which industry you like and focus on it (For me - anything FS). Literally a sample platter. And as you are jumping around, you are picking up your hours and learning a lot about various businesses.

With the CA/CPA, you do learn your accounting, which may not seem very exciting but you do have a very solid understanding of the nuts and bolts of financial statements which can be applied across any industry. And try to look at a job description for a controller/FP&A, a lot of them have a CA/CPA as a requirement. Also, who knows - 2 years down, FP&A/Controller may not be of interest to you.

In short, I would say 1 year is too short to make a decision to jump. Keep networking - keep talking - keep learning. If you are sure you want to jump, then Jump! Good luck.

 

Hi, may I ask which industries you have been exposed to during your audit? I'm curious what is in FS that you find exciting.

I have yet to graduate and am still exploring the various industries. If you could give a brief description (in your own view) of what you like or dislike about each industry, that will be great! Thank you.

 
Best Response
Camomile:

Hi, may I ask which industries you have been exposed to during your audit? I'm curious what is in FS that you find exciting.

I have yet to graduate and am still exploring the various industries. If you could give a brief description (in your own view) of what you like or dislike about each industry, that will be great! Thank you.

I can answer this, I've spoken to people working in different industries in audit.

FS is very different from auditing a corporate entity. In FS it's a lot about testing processes and controls in a huge organisation. You don't necessarily see the explicit financial statement captions that you're testing as you would when working on a corporate entity. Some people like that, I personally don't. Most auditors will tell you that they dislike controls testing.

In terms of industries, I'd say at the junior level it doesn't make that much difference where you are. You're not getting an indepth insight into an industry, you're just ticking through the nuts and bolts of accounting systems which really aren't that different. You might pick up some knowledge but you won't necessarily become an industry expert.

 

Hey, Some of the industries which I was involved in included mining, broker/dealers, entertainment (think broadcasting), Asset Management, construction, mezz lenders, insurance – and I covered most of these before making first year senior. When deciding which industry to focus on, it was based on what I liked about the business/industry as opposed to what I liked about auditing the business – big difference. By process of elimination:

Mining - too volatile, from a market and job standpoint. Entertainment/Construction: actually liked both a lot but there aren't many industry exit opps where I reside. Insurance - Didn’t like because (in my opinion) actuaries do most of the work and otherwise pretty boring Broker/dealers, PE Funds, mezz lenders, asset managers - I've always had a sweet tooth for finance/financial instruments – I don’t know why. And in most of these institutions you could actually see HOW the money works. Plus given the amount of dynamics in the finance world post-crisis, it was like having a front row seat to experience the impact of market factors on businesses. But mainly just a general interest in Finance.

Hope that helps!

 
KVS:

Hey,

Former Big4 auditor here - in an FP&A role now - left as a senior associate. Agreed the work initially is pretty boring but eventually gets interesting (which also depends on your clients/industry). My first year at the firm was a lot of "make sure the formatting is right" and testing some low risk sections which became more complex as I progressed. I can speak a lot to your point as I was at the same crossroads but will mention a few points below.

Good thing about audit - especially if you are in a junior role is use the opportunity to jump around (i.e. audit/review) a lot of industries (which I did), especially if you are Big4 to figure out which industry you like and focus on it (For me - anything FS). Literally a sample platter. And as you are jumping around, you are picking up your hours and learning a lot about various businesses.

With the CA/CPA, you do learn your accounting, which may not seem very exciting but you do have a very solid understanding of the nuts and bolts of financial statements which can be applied across any industry. And try to look at a job description for a controller/FP&A, a lot of them have a CA/CPA as a requirement. Also, who knows - 2 years down, FP&A/Controller may not be of interest to you.

In short, I would say 1 year is too short to make a decision to jump. Keep networking - keep talking - keep learning. If you are sure you want to jump, then Jump! Good luck.

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the reply (same for everyone else!). I've been doing more thinking and I'm actually leaning toward potentially staying again. I've realized that maybe I just got on a really bad engagement/manager and I'm letting that color my perception too much. After all, I can't really control who I work with and I could get stuck on a bad team anywhere.

Did you find it hard to move to FP&A after making senior? I guess my main worry at this point is that I might get pigeon-holed as just being an auditor and not be able to make the move. I think I still have a bit to learn in auditing, but I definitely don't see myself as being someone who tells people which A&C forms to fill out or discusses internal controls/compliance regulations for a living, and it seems like that's a lot of what auditing is. Maybe this is just because I'm at the bottom and get handed all the stuff managers/seniors don't want to do.

Also, in your opinion, which industry is more interesting between tech/manufacturing? I'm looking to switch offices/firms (I figure a change of scenery, being in a city I'm happier in, and having more opportunities to work in industries I care about will help my sanity 10 fold), and I need to decide based on that.

Thanks!

EDIT: Also, just as a side-note, I have finished my CPA exams but haven't gotten my license just yet

 

Hey,

That's an excellent point you raised - don't let one engagement bias your opinion of the profession and its benefits. As you mentioned, sometimes you just get staffed on a bad job (been on tons of those).

It was a bit more challenging than I thought to move into FP&A out of audit - but it wasnt because I was coming from audit. Its mainly because there is a vast difference in mindset of what is required in FP&A (which is more strategic) as opposed to the mindset in audit (which is getting A&C forms signed - your mention of these cracked me up), which is difficult to prove as an external applicant. You need to show that you can balance your thinking about the financial statements from a business/holistic as well as an accountant standpoint. Compared to FP&A, you will have an abundance of internal audit offers - but doesn't seem like you would be interested in those.

From an auditing standpoint I've neither done tech or manufacturing so I can't opine on that. However, based on personal interest, would have picked technology - but something like Intel as opposed to Apple.

Hearty congrats on finishing the CPA exams - just count down those hours now!

Cheers!

 

OP: I kind of hijacked your thread a bit but it seems like this would be relevant

KVS (or anyone in a position to comment) - I'm 2.5 years into big 4 and I'm in the "should I stay or should I go" phase. Is it worth it to stay until manager, if you don't want internal audit, financial reporting, and want FP&A> finance manager >VP finance type route? Would an MBA come into play here at all?

I'm not terribly unhappy here just want to make the right decision based on long term earnings and opportunity. I've heard mostly (though from recruiters) that it's better to get out now, as staying until manager really ties you into more of the roles I mentioned I wanted to avoid. Would it be reasonable to go from audit manager > FP&A manager or finance manager, without corporate experience? This is where I see the benefit of leaving now into a Senior FP&A or senior financial analyst role.

:Edit: Lets look at 3 scenarios - which is best for long term?

2.5 years audit (senior) > Senior FP&A/Financial Analyst > Corporate ladder 2.5 years audit (senior) > ~3 years mid tier transaction advisory (due diligence) and leave as manager > FP&A Manager(?) 5.5 years audit (manager) > FP&A manager/ Snr Financial Analyst(?)

 

In response to Soros: Generally the longer you stay in a particular role the more you'll be pigeonholed later on into similar roles.

If audit/Financial Reporting is not what you really want to do then I'd just get out as soon as feasible and move to something that is more in line with what you're interested in. I've seen people who leave after 3-4 years in audit to do somewhat different roles (corporate finance, banking, equity research, FP&A or even something non finance related). Those who have moved on when they were managers (so at least 5 years at a Big Four) seem to have gone exclusively into financial reporting/controller roles. I don't want to say making the move to something different later on is impossible but I do think that it does become harder.

 

Feel I should chime in with just a bit more than my brief word of caution above. Im a proud to be ex B4 auditor; by that I mean.....proud of the EX part. I left just shy of one-year in fs in NY. Now, I cannot pretend to say that this is will apply in your case but, from my own experience, if you are having issues with your managers it is likely a "culture" problem. This may very well vary from team to team but don't bet on it. As I mentioned, I left before one-year, but I already completed two busy seasons. Managers didnt care about anything beyond getting the audit done. Your sleep.....FU; your family.....FU( & them); your progression....FU; your life...well, you get the point.

If your thinking it will get better by switching to another team/industry, make sure you know what your getting into. On the bright side you are not an "auditor" yet. But stay in much longer and it will absolutely be a reality to future employers. I knew early on I had to get out. So, I did my homework, prettied up the res, and interviewed like a champ. What did I get out of all of this work? HAPPINESS, and a renewed feeling of self worth (from a career standpoint) I love my job now. I honestly wish this feeling to you. If audit does it, awesome. If not get out.

 

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