NRR : Accounting salaries

I agree with this and in a way it was part of what I was trying to communicate. You just said it better.

Now I do not know you at all so this may sound harsh - but part of me thinks your full of it going on about being more mature when selecting a small CPA firm. I'm sure saying that makes you feel better - but are you sure that part of the reason you went to a small firm is that you were not what the Big 4 was looking for. I will note here that I trained at a small firm - but that was cause I was concentrating on running etc so was too late for internships and Big 4 applications. Once I qualified though I got into the Big 4.

As to your comment about dealing with the Business Owner and your dig at the Big 4 - do you not think Big 4 accountants learn more talking to Senior Accountants at Fortune 50 companies than you talking to the Business ownder whose sales for the year are $100k. Again - I've been on both sides - and now being in Big 4 I could never go back. Big 4 is about assessing clients accounting treatment in respect of techincal issues, assessing significant judgements made by clients in respect of impairment, going concern, provisions etc. Workign at small CPA firm the concern is whether or not the Accounts assistant has posted the entry the right way. I felt like a glorified book keeper at the small CPA firm.

I do agree that after a year or so of auditing cash and AP at big 4 auditors may not be able to do their own taxes..but no way your telling me that once a big 4 auditors has their cpa and has 2-3 years experience they have not encountered more than the individual at the CPA firm.

Final point - think there is an argument that by working smarter rather than harder (kinda like running) the hours at Big 4 are not be as bad as people say. When I first started I noted people took an hour and a half for lunch - and a few hours for dinner. Get rid of that and your not wokring till midnight...

I assume your talking about the post I quoted even though you quoted me???? Since some of the stuff you mentioned I didn't even say.

Sounds great. But 40-50 hours a week (maybe more), I will be enjoying what I do. That's a substantial amount of time. A large fraction of my life. It's good you make enough money to enjoy what you do on your given days off and on your given vacations, but I enjoy my entire life, not just the days "given" to me.

Seriously, I'm glad you enjoy your life. Without you, we'd have a shit economy. But I'm sure glad I don't have to work without enjoyment. By the way, I started off at 35k and am now making about 250k. That's what I meant about "rising," dipshit.

Are there even any small businesses with 100k a year in sales that are needing an audit? I've never worked in a small firm, the smallest I was at was regional, and I can't imagine a company of this size even being able to afford our fee. Perhaps this was just an exaggeration.

The last few years my firm has hired a few x-big 4 accountants and of the 4 we hired at my office all but 1 was fired within a year because of their lack of knowledge/education. Although this could easily be attributed to the reason they left or were let go from the big 4 firm in the first place. But goes to show that they aren't always hiring the greatest applicants out of college.

When it all boils down to it for me it isn't about the money. I'd rather stay at a regional firm and have more personal time outside of work than stay at a big 4 and make more money.

To each their own but this is what is more important to me. I think I only worked past 7pm twice this tax season, and for less money and travel it's a good trade off for me.

Yeah - in the post above I quoted you but most of what I was saying related to what was said in the post above.

Agree about the quality of people at the Big 4. I guess this comes back to a wider debate about how in some instances how successful you are in 4 years at college can determine what type of job you get and how your career pans out. Without a doubt some people at the big 4 have a storng GPA which gets an interview and they are somehow able to blag their way through their interview. However, I know that this is an area my Big 4 firm has continued to invest significant amounts of money - ensuring that applicants are properly screened etc.

I think I'm in agreement with you anyway - you've probably made the right choice in terms of hours and money. And I'm sure it is def better for your running. However, whilst I still see teh pot of gold at the end of the road here in the Big 4 - I'll stay and give it a shot.

OP,

What are the starting years like in a big 4 in aussie for pay and hours? Is it the same across the different service lines?

Who'd have thought so many people were runners and accountants? Here's a questions - who are the best/fastest runners/accountants from over the years?

My actual question is: does anyone have an idea what average big 4 salary for seniors/managers in Boston is?

I'd have thought 70-80 for seniors - 90 plus for managers but can anyone confirm?

if you're talking big4 boston I may know who you are? Yeah those figures sound about right

sndskd wrote:

if you're talking big4 boston I may know who you are? Yeah those figures sound about right

Really? What makes you think that?

Thanks for confirming figures!

restauranteur wrote:

By the way, I started off at 35k and am now making about 250k.

And you run 120 mpw and ran 2:27 at your last marathon. Sure.

restauranteur wrote:

Sounds great. But 40-50 hours a week (maybe more), I will be enjoying what I do. That's a substantial amount of time. A large fraction of my life. It's good you make enough money to enjoy what you do on your given days off and on your given vacations, but I enjoy my entire life, not just the days "given" to me.

Seriously, I'm glad you enjoy your life. Without you, we'd have a shit economy. But I'm sure glad I don't have to work without enjoyment. By the way, I started off at 35k and am now making about 250k. That's what I meant about "rising," dipshit.

Don't be an idiot.

1) Not everyone can luck into doing whatever they want and making 250K. You are luck, not a shining example of what everyone should do.

2) A LOT of people enjoy the work they do in their 40-50 hour a week desk job. Don't assume everyone doing that is selling out their enjoyment for a steady job.

Some things here for both of you.1) afkarje - Not everyone who goes the entrepreneurial route "lucks" into big money. I wouldn't call what restaurateur did as "lucky". He took the risk and is reaping the rewards.2) restauranteur (misspelled according to me even thou some do accept that spelling) - You made a big leap from saying looking for a desk job isn't your wish (which is fine) to saying that this means a non enjoyable experience. As afkarje said, many people get LOTS of enjoyment out of their regular 40-hour a week desk jobs...actually WAY more people do than I would imagine, but to each his own. Maybe the accountant-to-be just loves it to death. I know a CPA who loves the work he does. Several here have said again and again that they want to work until they die and that they don't know what they'd do with themselves if they retired...and most of them have regular non entrepreneurial jobs.

A few things:

I know restaurateur is spelled incorrectly. I is one! I'm also an editor for a few authors.

Also, it was never luck for me. It was hard work, but since I enjoyed that work, it was easy to get up early in the morning and stay up late doing it. And now, let's just say some of the things you say you work "for," the fun things you do on the weekend, are what I get paid to do. This is not hard to manage if you tell yourself you don't want to be a guy at a desk crunching numbers.

No one enjoys crunching numbers unless they fool themselves into thinking it's the only way to make a lot of money and that they must enjoy what they do. This is the truth.

[quote]another question... wrote:

Who'd have thought so many people were runners and accountants? quote]

No joke. I am a little surprised too.

Get over it. I wasn't making any "dig" at Big 4 CPA firms. And I already said that I didn't go to a Big 4 CPA firms because it didn't offer what I personally wanted.

I'm just saying there is a difference between the two. And if you want to do all the accounting for something like a small solely owned restaurant, than yes working for a small CPA firm that works with that business is better experience. How does the experience of developing a proper statistical sampling of an Audit test for a big corporation help you with that?

Also, working for a small CPA firm means that as a practical matter, you are on your own dealing with your boss who will tend to be a little egotistical since he is the owner of the whole business. That is in stark contrast to a Big 4 firm, where you are part of a big organization but you get put into a very systematic development and support process. Thats all I meant by maturity. For legal reasons it can't be said, but the Big 4 deliberately look for younger 22-25 year olds who are more susceptible to be shaped and molded. Smaller firms in contrast tend to like people who have been out in the working world and are not just getting out of living at their college fraternity. I'm stereotyping and generalizing here, and obviously there are exceptions. But thats pretty much true.

restauranteur wrote:

This is not hard to manage if you tell yourself you don't want to be a guy at a desk crunching numbers.

No one enjoys crunching numbers unless they fool themselves into thinking it's the only way to make a lot of money and that they must enjoy what they do. This is the truth.

See, you had me going until you said this. YOU took a chance at doing something you loved, your put tons of work into that never felt like tons of work because you loved it, and you succeeded. All of that is awesome, truly. I hope that I derive that same sort of joy from my field (I'm still in college, for what it's worth).

However, the mistake you've made here is in saying NO ONE could enjoy crunching numbers unless they fool themselves. See, YOU don't enjoy crunching numbers. Which, of course, is totally fine. Nothing wrong with preferring your field to crunching numbers. That does not in any way, shape, or form mean that NO ONE enjoys crunching numbers. You might know some miserable accountants, of course. I'm not saying your opinion is from nothing. But just because your passions lie elsewhere don't mean anything regarding another person's passions.

I've done some student teaching, summer school teaching, daycare work, etc, before switching majors. I HATE teaching. You'll never hear me claim, though, that the only reason people become teachers is to take advantage of the summer vacations and invincible unions. My mother is a teacher, and she absolutely loves it. We do not even come CLOSE to having similar opinions on it; but even I, a snot-nosed undergraduate, can understand that people have different passions and preferences.

You're right, in a way.

First of all, teaching is something for which many people do have a passion. I was talking about accounting.

Now, if you're a mathematician with a passion for numbers and formulae and being on the cutting edge of a field, yes, you can surely have passion for that.

Your everyday, run-of-the-mill accountant, however, did not get into the field because they just LOVED accounting. It just doesn't happen. I know many accountants who are honest with themselves (and me) about this. But they look forward to the nights and weekends and having a nice paycheck thereby to spend on those days.

The only people I know with a passion for accounting are those who left the field to teach it in college or high school. Everyone else is living for the weekend, and if that floats your boat, more power to you. Like I said, the world needs those people.

I would never, never, never want to spend my life doing something five days a week that I didn't love to do. It just wouldn't make sense.