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Grad Student Wants to Know if Previous non-Accounting Chops Will Help Him Land Big 4 Gig

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Back with another edition of “Help! My career is in shambles,” an MSA student has a background in “project management” and wants to know what their options are upon graduation. Will the professional experience make a difference?

Have a question about your career? Need ideas on how to improve the prestige of your firm? Thinking about running for office on the lawyers suck platform? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and we’ll get you the prestige or public office you so desire.

As for our seasoned soon-to-be MS grad:

I’m currently in a one year MSA program. I am in my late 20s, so not exactly a professional spring chicken. I went to a liberal arts college for undergrad, and I got really good grades there. Prior to enrolling in the MSA program, I worked for 5 years doing Project Management. I (finally) realized that line of work wasn’t for me and didn’t see where I could go with it that would make it for me, and so decided to go back to school in something more practical than my undergrad. Right now, I’m beginning to explore my options for after I get out of the MSA program. Ideally, I want to try to get to a place where my previous experience is appreciated and valued right away, but am wondering if that is possible if I go Big 4. On the other hand, I keep seeing on job boards that previous Big 4 experience is a crucial requirement for many experienced accounting openings.

My questions are: will the Big 4 look favorably or unfavorably on my previous experience? Are they more likely to fill their entry level positions with younger graduates as opposed to those that have many years of professional experience behind them? If I’m a more attractive candidate, can I leverage that into better starting salary/benefits? Finally, is it worth it to do Big 4 for a couple years knowing that in the long run it will probably help with job prospects, even though in the short term I might be giving up potentially more lucrative possibilities because of my past experience? How can I use my past professional experiences to my advantage as a “non-experienced” hire – Big 4 or otherwise?

Interesting dilemma. We’ll do our best here and invite our readers to share their thoughts on this particular situation. We’ll address the questions one at a time.

Is your experience viewed as favorable or unfavorable? – In the opinion of this blogger your experience is valuable, no matter what it is. Dealing with stupid people, managing various resources and being familiar with a professional routine puts you light years ahead of any grasshopper that just did half a dozen keg stands over the weekend. That being said, a Big 4 firm (via a recruiting professional) might not share our perspective. Depending on what your “project management” experience entails, it could be viewed favorably or unfavorably. Have you managed groups of people? Do you have any client-facing experience? Any leadership roles? These are all good (and partly addresses your last question) and can be perceived as key strengths. If the answer is no, no, and HELL NO, then your experience is less meaningful.

Are they more likely to fill their entry level positions with younger graduates? – Yes. YES. YES. It isn’t unheard of for the Big 4 to hire someone with your background (i.e. older) at the entry-level and in fact, we’ve seen instances where non-traditional types skip ahead of others in their class but as a general rule, you’re at a big disadvantage here.

Can I leverage previous experience into better starting salary/benefits? – The Big 4 firms have plenty of options for benefits packages. The “super-secret project management experience benefits package” does not exist. As far as salary is concerned, you can leverage your experience by applying for jobs that require previous experience. If you go after an entry-level position you will end up with an entry-level salary.

Is it worth it to do Big 4 for a couple years even though in the short term I might be giving up potentially more lucrative possibilities because of my past experience? – Look friend, we hate to be the one to break this to you but in the short-term, your life at a Big 4 firm could quite very well be hell. The Big 4 provides professional services; is that the kind of job are you looking for? Do you really want to be an auditor? God, I hope not. Tax? Again, you’re looking at quite a bit of pain here and your experience could be marginalized. A position in the advisory practice would be ideal for you but without more details on your experience, it’s hard for us to gauge if that’s a realistic possibility.

How can I use my past professional experiences to my advantage as a “non-experienced” hire – Big 4 or otherwise? – Like we mentioned above, push any leadership, management and client-facing experience. These are crucial for an aspiring Big 4 rock star.

Bottom-line here is, what is it that you’re trying to achieve with this MSA? Is a Big 4 firm the ideal place for you to land out of school? Maybe. Maybe not. Finding the right fit of your past professional experience combined with your brand-spanking new advanced accounting knowledge will take some work on your part. While a Big 4 firm on your résumé will open a few doors down the road, a job in-house may make more sense with your PM experience. Choose wisely.

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Job of the Week: Taxes Aren’t Going Away…Ever

hire me2.jpgFortunately for you tax people anyway. It was a rough week for a lot of you out there. Luckily, in our selfless nature, we’ll kindly remind you to check out the GC Careers Center for your next career move.
Hopefully, we’ve found someone their next job, because we’re sure some of your severance is blown already:
Details, after the jump


Company: John Hancock
Location: Boston
Title: Senior Accountant – Investment Tax Accounting
Description/Responsibilities: Manulife’s US Taxation Department within the Corporate Division is responsible for the tax compliance and financial reporting for Manulife’s operations within the US tax jurisdiction. Maintaining timely and accurate tax basis inventory of U.S. jurisdiction investments to support financial reporting and IRS audit work.
Assisting in the implementation of appropriate process improvements and technology solutions for the ongoing tax accounting and controls to support tax return preparation and financial reporting.
Assisting in analyses of investment tax positions taken and proposed to support ongoing valuation allowance analysis and tax planning initiatives.
Experience/Skills Required: Minimum Bachelors degree in accounting required, experience with tax accounting for investments preferred.
CPA or M.S.T. or M.S.A. would be preferred but not required. 3-5 years’ experience with: life insurance company financial reporting for NAIC and U.S. GAAP, experience with Canadian GAAP is a plus.
Must have expertise in Federal and State taxation laws as well as a strong knowledge of accounting for investments.
See the full description at the GC Career Center and if this position doesn’t get you amped, go to the main page and find something that does. We can’t do everything.

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Should a Big 4 Loverboy Request a Transfer to Avoid a LDR?

Welcome to the Bachmann 2012 edition of Accounting Career Emergencies. In today’s edition, a Big 4 acceptee’s beloved is moving across the country while he’s stuck with his job in New York. Does he request a transfer, stick it out or simply choose love over money?

Does your career need a wake-up call? Got the busy season blues? Jealous because you’re not in Davos hobnobbing with great minds like yours? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and we’ll remind you why you’re stuck in a broom closet somewhere in Iowa.

Back to our ockquote>Hi Caleb,

I graduated from a west coast college and moved to the New York after graduation with a few friends. I ended up going back to school out here (NY) and am getting my Masters in Accounting in June. I went through the accounting hiring process this past Fall and did much better than I expected, receiving offers from a few mid-tier firms and two from the Big 4. I ended up accepting an entry level audit position in a New York Big 4 office and am starting in the Fall (2011).

However, my girlfriend, who I am serious with, is getting transferred for work to the city I was born and raised in on the West Coast. I had always planned on working in New York for a few years and transferring/moving back closer to my family. Now I wish I had gone through the interview process for the specific west coast office where my family lives but I have already accepted my offer for the east coast office.

I know there are a lot of politics in the Big 4 and I don’t want to be viewed as a problem child/uncommitted by asking if I could transfer to the west coast before even working a day at the firm. And if I start in the New York office and want to transfer: first, I have no idea how long I would need to work there for for a transfer to be appropriate (both to ask for one as well as how long it would possibly take), and second, a long distance relationship would be stressful and not ideal (duh).

So, my two options seem to be:
a) Ask my HR contact at my firm or my manager I interviewed with about my situation and see what they can do.
b) Suck it up and work (a while? how long?) at the New York office until it’s an appropriate time to transfer.

Thanks in advance,
Lost but in Love

Dear LbiL,

I never thought I’d actually delve into relationship-cum–Big 4 career advice but luckily for you I have a similar experience so here goes nothing.

I know the LDR situation all too well, so we feel your pain. It can be good if you like space but it can be bad, well…obviously. What’s missing from your story is your better half’s side. Is her company requiring her to move to the west coast or is this her choice? If it’s the latter, did you discuss the potential ramifications of such a move? You say, “I wish I had gone through the interview process for the specific west coast office where my family lives but I have already accepted my offer for the east coast office,” but this is meaningless since we get the impression that you accepted your Big 4 dream job (with the intention to work in New York for “a few years”) prior to your girlfriend’s transfer.

Assuming you’ve talked this over with your g/f, she certainly has an opinion on the matter. If she can’t live with you being so far away, that sounds a bit needy (but maybe you like that). If she’s indifferent (i.e. she says, “do what you want” or “I don’t want you moving because of me”), perhaps she’s passive-aggressive, incapable of emotional intimacy or a little freaked out about the seriousness of the situation and doesn’t want to held responsible if things go wrong. If the two of you have actually sat down, talked it over and she says, “I’ll support you in your choice, whatever that may be,” you have a winner. But remember, ultimately it is your decision.

Now, then. Your firm. Odds are, they won’t be impressed with your request for a transfer straight out of the gate but situations similar to yours have surely come up in the past, so hopefully they’ll be sympathetic. Problem is – as you mentioned – transfers do involve the intricacies of the Big 4 bureaucracy so you’re looking at a slow process and they could just say, “no” or “right now we need you here but we’ll continue to work on it.” That being said, if moving back to to the left coast is really what you want to do, then you’ll never know unless you ask. Sooooo, ask the question (being prepared for “no”) and then go from there. If your firm isn’t accommodating you and you’re still head over heels in love, you can always quit and hitch it west. I hear they have accounting jobs out there. It may not come to that but we’d be remiss if we mention it as an option. Good luck.