<p>For experienced people, what field do you guys like the most? Audit, tax or advisory? Which one do you have to travel for? which one leads to more opportunities down the road? I have to choose one of interest for an externship for big 4.</p>
<p>You need to do research on the type of work in tax, audit, and advisory first before anything should even be considered. </p>
<p>Advisory travels the most, then audit, then tax.</p>
<p>I am thinking about double majoring in Accounting and Supply Chain Management as I don’t think I will enjoy doing Accounting for the rest of my life. (But I do love my accounting classes)</p>
<p>So I thought about Supply Chain as a double major as I think it will give me a diverse background than majoring in Finance. </p>
<p>I need some feedback, PLEASE :D</p>
<p>Very few have done both audit and tax. </p>
<p>Advisory is a big bag of things. Some more prestigious than others(TAS/Valuation good, Internal Audit less so)</p>
<p>Random yet relevant question: what is the difference in Big 4 recruiting at all these big state schools (UF, Auburn, Georgia, Alabama, etc…) Are they all going to be about the same? I see all these rankings and everything but is that what firms really look at?</p>
<p>is Business Accounting / Finance a sub major of Business Admin or is it something entirely different?</p>
<p>^At my school, Accounting and finance are both subdivisions of the broader topic of business administration. For example, you could graduate with a degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting, finance, management and leadership, etc.</p>
<p>Hello taxguy, and anyone else who can give me some insight. </p>
<p>I am living in NYC and planning to major in accounting after doing a lot of research. </p>
<p>Here’s one of my problems: I DO NOT want to travel. Believe it or not, traveling is actually one of my major turn-offs in an accounting career. I prefer an accounting job that stays in the office and requires no travel (such as working in a bank, private company, government…) I would like to obtain this type of job upon graduation, and was wondering if this is possible. How often is it that accountants work in places other than accounting firms? </p>
<p>And also, is not having the experience in public accounting/at the Big4 really that big of a deal in the long run? (Besides the lesser amount of compensation and salary growth other the years, which I can accept in exchange for a better work/life balance) Would not having the experience severely hurt my chances of getting employed in the future? I just feel that the Big4/public accounting might not be for me. </p>
<p>Thank-you.</p>
<p>Nostalgia, you need to work in the tax department if you don’t want to travel at all. Audit and Advisory both travel. </p>
<p>There are thousands of people who do not do B4 yet are extremely successful individuals.</p>
<p>Personality: Tax-Introvert, Audit-Extrovert.</p>
<p>These are major generalizations. Audit goes to the client and works in teams. Tax sits in a cubicle in their home office and determines the best way to save their client money through tax practices.</p>
<p>How does the travel work? I am in the US… is it within the area, state to state? international? flying, driving?</p>
<p>Honestly, you will see all types of personalities in both audit and tax. The key difference is the work.</p>
<p>Audit is team oriented. You work with a senior and several staff members. Tax is very solo oriented. Yes, you can ask questions of a senior. However, usually you are expected to work alone and figure out what you need by yourself. </p>
<p>Audit you are given audit procedures to follow. You are evaluated on being VERY efficient and working within budget. This is crucial in auditing. You should also work efficiently in tax but it isn’t as all- consuming as it is with audit.</p>
<p>Tax involves a LOT of research. You really need to learn how to research in tax at an early level in your career. Staff auditors don’t do research until much later when they need to know FASBs and Statement of Auditing Standards and accounting pronoucements well. Even then, there isn’t as much research in auditing as in tax.</p>
<p>Tax rarely, if ever, travels or even leaves the office. Auditors not only leave the office daily but can travel a lot.</p>
<p>Auditors write audit reports as to what they did. However, at the low levels, these reports are for internal purposes only and get seen by other member of the accounting firm. Tax people have write opinion letters and other legal memoranda that get seen by clients. Thus, your writing skills are expected to be a bit better in tax than in auditing.</p>
<p>Pay wise, it is about the same.</p>
<p>Overall, there are many more auditors than tax professional jobs. However, auditors are treated as fungible commodities in that all they have to is follow the audit procedures. Tax people are usually treated a bit more professionally and may be a bit harder to recruit;however, again this may vary with the firm’s culture.</p>
<p>“Tax people are usually treated a bit more professionally and may be a bit harder to recruit.”</p>
<p>What do you mean treated more professionally?</p>
<p>"Tax sits in a cubicle in their home office and determines the best way to save their client money through tax practices. "</p>
<p>No, not really. As a staff, the amount of time spent thinking about how to save a client money is approximately zero. </p>
<p>Typical day of a tax staff? SALY it.</p>
<p>Dawgie, I got the feeling at the firms that I was with that tax folks were respected a bit more and treated a bit better than the audit folks. Maybe we were a smaller group and had a more “intimate” group. I just felt that I was respected and treated as an individual. Audit folks seemed to be treated as fungible commodities and simply bodies to do the work.</p>
<p>Obviously, this was my impression. Others may have a different experience.</p>
<p>Tax people are definitely way more introverted in general. That is a safe generalization to make.</p>
<p>Hmm, it seems that tax would be for me. I am stronger a writer than I am a speaker and I am also more of an introvert and independent worker. </p>
<p>“You really need to learn how to research in tax at an early level in your career.” </p>
<p>Will this be taught in school while I’m earning my accounting degree? Since I’m considering going into tax, should I take as many tax classes as possible even as a freshmen and sophomore? </p>
<p>Also, I have another concern, if anyone can answer: Does it matter if you have a BBA, BS, or BA degree in accounting? I see a lot of job postings asking for a BA degree, and not so much a BS or BBA. The school I’m planning to go to only offers a BS or BBA degree. Would that hurt my chances of employment?</p>
<p>Tax and audit accountants often are treated differently by mid-sized and up firms. The reality of the situation is that as a tax accountant you will develop a personal relationship with many clients, if you leave there is a potential liability that the client follows. Audit teams on the other hand are often intentionally rotated and although one may assume they have more client interaction it is on a less personal level. I doubt many corporations will consider changing firms due to departure of a single audit accountant. Just normal business.</p>
<p>As to a differing value for BA/BBA/BS there isn’t much if any, in the past a BS in accounting may have held slightly more repute (due to it being considered a more technical degree). Now what is important is the regional reputation and accreditation of your university’s program (hopefully AACSB certified as well).</p>
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<p>Not really, at least it hasn’t been taught in my curriculum. I wouldn’t stress out about taking tons of tax early on. Take the introductory accounting classes (financial accounting and cost accounting are typical beginning classes) and maybe start the intermediate accounting 1 and 2 sequence. By your junior year, take individual tax (some schools break this up into 2 semesters). If possible, take corporate/partnership/estate/trust tax at some point as well. </p>
<p>After you have some exposure to the material, you can decide if it is the direction you want to begin your career. If you do, a Masters in Taxation would be a great route. It is very specialized in studying tax and will give you an entry opportunity into the B4 tax practices, assuming you do well in your studies. A Masters in Accounting is not focused on tax, rather accounting in general, but you can still go into tax with it. Some firms might recruit a MST harder than a MACC program for their Tax associate positions (it makes logical sense why they would).</p>
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<p>It doesn’t matter if it is a BBA, BS, or BA. As long as you meet the state requirements to sit for the CPA exam, nothing else really matters. You need to have a damn good GPA, show some leadership, have a little experience, and interview well.</p>
<p>TaxGuy,</p>
<p>This thread has been super helpful. I found it about a year ago right around the time I was transferring into an AACSB school. Thanks for devoting your time to answer questions. and I have a few of my own.</p>
<p>Ive been landing some interviews lately through the college career center. What are good questions to ask recruiters? I usually ask them about the intern program or something Ive seen on their website. My last interview was for Grant Thornton. I ended up asking the recruiter about grant thornton university, which is their employee training system… I also asked her a couple things not really related to the job, like the cpa exam.</p>
<p>So besides questions, what is up with internal audit? All i know is you get a CFA, CIA for that. I asked a regional partner at one of BAPs accounting meetings about IA, and he responded “Internal Audit is something of a dead end career”</p>
<p>Is internal audit all about testing and controlling/improving efficiency and publishing the F/S? I have an interview for an IA internship this week, so I kinda would like to be more prepared.</p>