Should I quit my CPA articling student job?

[mattbe]

Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and would like some advice.

6 months ago I accepted a job at a mid-size CPA firm in Seattle. AT that time I also had an offer from a government auditing agency (which still lets me get my CPA) but I decided to go to the midsize firm because it is closer to my home and I don?t have to relocate.

6 months later, things are not really working out. My progress has been slower then other CPA students, partly because I am careless, and partly due to the file that I got was a lot more confusing then the prior year. My fellow coworkers have little respect for me, and I can feel the growing dissatisfaction from the partners.

I am concerned right now that I might be fired if my work quality does not improve dramatically over the new few months.

So, what should I do? I am inclined to call the government agency that offered me the job 6 months ago whether I can be in the short list again. (I notice now they have openings). If I get that job I will have a clean start. Also I would appreciate if anyone that had turned down a job offer but later got a job from the same employer to share his/her experience.

What about sticking to my current firm, is that a viable option?

 

[JS80]

Wait to get fired, get severance.

 

[mattbe]

Prior to to this job I was making 35% more at another job. The reason I quit was because CPA seems to offer a very promising career..

 

[Dr. Detroit]

My background:

Senior Manager at a local firm in the audit department with about 170 total employees.

Spent my first five years at a Big 4.




Have you been counseled about your performance?

If so, have you improved?

If not, they should counsel you first before firing you and put you on a 60-90 day improvement plan.

At a small firm once you screw up and don't perform as expected your name becomes mud in the audit department. Youo need to proactively go to your senior and explain that you are new, trying to learn, willing to work OT off the clock & weekends to attempt to get to the level you should be at. No one will make you better, only yourself. It's time that you research your issues at night, review other sections of the database at night, read a GAAP or AICPA book at night, to familiarize yourself with the guidance that you will need to perform the work assigned to you.

If your seniors or manager or working nights/weekends offer to join them so that you can ask them questions to help you get an understanding.

Prior to asking questions to your sneiors talk to your peers and see if you can leverage soemthing off their databases or work.

It is time that you become proactive and decide that either you want to do public accounting or leave. If you decide this is a career you want then step up and start putting in the extra hours needed to get up to speed.

If you don't change your lazy ways you will be canned! Guranteed!

 

[FoBoT]

any chance you could just start doing a better job?
like try to do your current job really good?

 

[mattbe]

Originally posted by: Fmr12B
My background:

Senior Manager at a local firm in the audit department with about 170 total employees.

Spent my first five years at a Big 4.




Have you been counseled about your performance?

If so, have you improved?

If not, they should counsel you first before firing you and put you on a 60-90 day improvement plan.

At a small firm once you screw up and don't perform as expected your name becomes mud in the audit department. Youo need to proactively go to your senior and explain that you are new, trying to learn, willing to work OT off the clock & weekends to attempt to get to the level you should be at. No one will make you better, only yourself. It's time that you research your issues at night, review other sections of the database at night, read a GAAP or AICPA book at night, to familiarize yourself with the guidance that you will need to perform the work assigned to you.

If your seniors or manager or working nights/weekends offer to join them so that you can ask them questions to help you get an understanding.

Prior to asking questions to your sneiors talk to your peers and see if you can leverage soemthing off their databases or work.

It is time that you become proactive and decide that either you want to do public accounting or leave. If you decide this is a career you want then step up and start putting in the extra hours needed to get up to speed.

If you don't change your lazy ways you will be canned! Guranteed!

Hi, thanks for your detailed response.

Here is the situation. Ever since I started at this firm I have been known as a "hard worker". I work the most OTs and sometimes even go back on the weekends to catch up. (Partly because the files have such a small budget that it is hard to finish in normal office hours) I think one reason that I am not fired is that I have demonstrated that I am willing to work hard (even the partners said so) and trying to improve (albeit pretty slowly) The second reason that I am not fired is because the firm has very few articling students and that they don't want to lose the time they spent on me already.

Because our firm is so small, usually each staff has to handle a file all by himself. It gets hard when the records from the clients are not "clean" and I got a few files like that really drag me down.

I guess in a way I am making excuses for myself too. There are some errors I made due to carelessness (e.g. cross referencing) that I have shown to repeatedly make. I have no ideas why I made these mistakes, and I am mad at myself for doing those things too.

 

[mattbe]

bump

would greatly appreciate more advice

 

[dquan97]

<- auditor at a gov't agency

One obvious clue that you're working for the gov't is that your paycheck is quite a bit lower than your private-industry counterparts, though you work much, much less (strict 40hrs/week, no OT). If you like your vacation and having more time to do your work, go with the gov't. For me, I enjoy clocking out at 4 every day and not have to worry about being called to work. There is more leniency for people who are slow and supervisors try to work with you if you're a hard worker.

 

[treemonkey]

How exactly can you mess up in a low level cpa position?