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Careers / Auditors |
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| Reviews |
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| There are 10 reviews of this career. |
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| Write an online review and share your thoughts about this career with others! |
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| Write an online review and share your thoughts about this career with others! |
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| Write an online review and share your thoughts about this career with others! |
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Author: |
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Anonymous |
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Date: |
July 07, 2010 |
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Note that my review mainly pertains to external auditing:
I worked for PwC coming out of college, and the entry-level pay was very good, but they emphasize that their firm is all about "the people", yet you get treated like dirt, being forced to perform tedious, near-meaningless tasks (tieouts, tests of details on invoices, rollforward of documentation from prior year) that do comprise "auditing" but the documentation becomes little more than data entry. Many auditing procedures are carried forward from prior year as well, so there's really not a whole lot of room for any creative thinking at all. Once you run into exceptions (i.e., discrepancies), it gets a little bit more interesting because you get to talk to client personnel, but naturally, they are not glad to see you because you're essentially pointing out errors in their work. Ironically, the more exceptions/discrepancies you find, the more audit procedures you are required to do, and the more hours you have to work. This means that those who are good at their job with a lot of integrity naturally find themselves at work the longest, which can lead to stress because oftentimes there is pressure from the top to cut back ("eat") your hours to avoid straining the client relationship. Expect no sympathy from anybody in upper management because they have no empathy, they expect things to suck for you as much as it sucked for them. If you're looking to specialize in a particular industry, that can be a crapshoot based on who you know/what is currently available, because they will promise you anything in recruiting but when you actually start working, you're placed wherever there's a need. The business of public auditing for major public companies has become an oligopoly among the Big 4, with a government mandate that companies must hire an audit firm to provide an opinion on their statements, so they really have a pseudo-prestige going on because companies are forced to hire these audit firms because they're the only ones with the personnel infrastructure to actually perform an audit on a multinational corporation. The organization as a whole (more specifically, most managers and above) has an arrogant mindset because of their status as a "Big 4" audit firm, and this status is basically conferred upon them by their oligopoly and government mandate. Not to mention that their function is nearly thankless, since audits are only meant to obtain "reasonable assurance" and the firms disclaim that their "audit procedures are not designed to detect fraud." In reality, it is difficult to see the value added by these firm's audits by such statements, and there is also the problem of the firms being more beholden to the clients they serve (because of revenues) as opposed to the public interest (note the designation, Certified "Public" Accountant is almost an oxymoron in this case). Being paid by the companies you audit constitutes a conflict of interest, but this is ignored by most of these firms as they have been brainwashed into believing they are somehow the superheroes of the business world. Also, since most of your upper management will be male, it's evident that pretty females at lower levels get much more preferential treatment, and there have also been allegations of harassment. Yours and those in your peer group's performance will be rated against each other, so there is a constant hyper-competitive atmosphere, to the point where associates, seniors, and managers all essentially talk behind each other's backs and factionize against each other, because to do so will better help their own situation. There is constant recruiting going on so basically all associates are viewed as replaceable, unless you happen to have a lot of friends on the management ladder, which essentially will make your peer group resent you. The good points about this job is that you're surrounded by youthful college grads who are pretty much all bright, although some just appear bright but it soon becomes evident that they barely grasp what's going on. I would say that all of the lower level hires have a certain degree of interpersonal skills, but that diminishes as you go up the chain of command. All in all, if you really want to check out what all the brouhaha is about surrounding the Big 4 audit firms, a 2-year stint will satiate your curiosity at the cost of most if not all your sanity. Somehow, having a Big 4 name on your resume opens a lot of doors for you in the corporate world, maybe just out of the camaraderie that comes with meeting others who endured similar conditions described above. I would not recommend staying much longer than that unless "masochistic" is one of your personality traits. The typical mantra is "stay until manager" but with all of the above points, that basically becomes "stay until you figure out how to leave". |
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Author: |
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Anonymous |
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Date: |
August 14, 2007 |
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There are two primary types of auditors in the accounting world. The first is a public accountant. Public accountants audit the financial records of public and private companies from an independent (outside) standpoint. The second type of auditor is an internal auditor. Internal auditors work directly for the companies which they audit; they provide counseling and input from an internal perspective. I have spent significant time in both positions in my recent career.
The pros of going into auditing, whether internal or external, is that there are plenty of reasonably well-paying jobs available. Auditing is also a great way for a young person, early in his or her career, to learn about business and industries. Many organizations use their internal audit departments as training grounds and move the auditors to other positions throughout their firms. Auditing involves much more than just accounting knowledge; it helps develop an overall understanding of business and process flows as well as risks organization face.
The downside of auditing is that sometimes it can be tedious depending upon the nature of the audit being performed. Auditors often have to perform very detailed work and do so accurately and quickly. Another aspect of the job is that auditors are often put in the position of being the "bad guy" who is checking up on the work of others. This does, however, present the opportunity to develop salesmanship and interpersonal skills used to help sell your ideas to an audience that may not always be friendly and open to them (so it is a good thing).
Auditors, both internal and external, are some of the most intelligent people I have worked with, much more so than the reputation may convey. There is more involved than simply "bookworm" assignments. Still, auditing is not for everyone. It is definitely different than most other business positions. I strongly recommend taking an auditing class in college to determine if you enjoy the work; many schools now offer internal audit programs specifically. Internships are also readily available, which is another way of determining if it is right for you. Many people find auditing to be extremely rewarding and spend their entire careers in the field; others do move out of the area relatively quickly into other endeavors. |
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| Write an online review and share your thoughts about this career with others! |
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| Write an online review and share your thoughts about this career with others! |
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| Write an online review and share your thoughts about this career with others! |
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Author: |
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Anonymous |
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Date: |
March 10, 2007 |
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I work as a Certified Public Accountant. While the field certainly has provided me with a steady and rising income, and has lead to many advantages and opportunities that I will one day be exposed to, it is not an easy career, and it is filled with many headaches and misery. For one, during tax season, I am expected to work approximately 60-70 hours a week. This comprises a period of approximately three months a year. While this is tolerable, and I am paid overtime, the pay of a CPA is much less than other careers that pay more for working excessive hours. Unless I were to become a partner, my pay is maxed at approximately $120,000.
In addition, you often have to enter various places of business, in which the employees despise you and your role in reviewing their work, which leads to many disputes and discrepencies. Often, with little supervision or guidance.
However, the net effect of a few years of public accounting experience is that you are well prepared for entering other more luxurious and lucrative jobs. Which is where I will be hopefully heading shortly. Don't want to dissuade anyone from the profession, but there are certainly other funner or better paying careers out there, depending on your interests. |
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| Write an online review and share your thoughts about this career with others! |
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| Write an online review and share your thoughts about this career with others! |
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| Write an online review and share your thoughts about this career with others! |
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| Interesting Fact |
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| Thomas Edison not only invented electric light, he also invented wax paper, the phonograph (and record), the radio vacuum tube, the motion picture camera, an electronic voting machine and dozens more! |
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