Big4 experience vs CPA license, which is more valuable?
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I just found out that my corporate accounting team is using an external agency to hire a temp contractor for my exact level, and they are paying them $85 an hour. I am sitting here as a permanent fte making $92k a year, which breaks down to roughly $44 an hour before taxes. Should I use this to counter or should I just start looking for a new role?
Accountants: Would you trust AI to prepare an audit-ready workpaper? Not just a memo, a real Excel workpaper where every figure traces to its source and the math ties out. I’m working with a small team to build a tool that does this and I’m looking for accounting and finance professionals willing to provide feedback and potentially test an early version. If you’re willing to share your perspective, I’d greatly appreciate it. Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K85YXL2 What’s your biggest concern with AI in accounting today?
I asked for $125k base for an Assistant Controller role, and they came back with $110k base plus a $15k sign-on bonus. A sign-on bonus does absolutely nothing when next year's percentage raises are calculated. Plus, if the job is a nightmare and I leave before 12 months, I have to pay it back. Would you accept?
How do you highlight actual operational finance skills so you don’t get automatically denied? Staring at my resume trying to figure out how to frame "SOX compliance testing" so it doesn't immediately condemn me to a lifetime of Internal Audit roles. I want to pivot into general corporate accounting or financial operations. I actually helped design a workflow automation that cut our closing cycle down by two days, which is way more strategic than just checking user access logs.
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Big4. I had CPA, but it didn't open a door for me. So I went to big4. Then, I was able to get many opportunities. Anyone can apply and pass CPA at any time in his or her life. But big4 opportunity comes after you graduate from the college or build up good experience in other PA firms. Ideally, do both.
Strange to put them against each other but I would say Big 4 because I was a CPA in a local firm and it was hard to get hired in industry because my experience wasn’t technical enough for industry jobs (reviews,compilations, write ups etc.) You should aspire to have both because that’s the gold standard for industry hiring managers
Early in your career big 4 experience but later in your career CPA license.
You can only get so far without a CPA. Weird question, I’d say you “need” both