The Financier/Accountant Thread
 

A thread for people in finance/accounting field to discuss the industry and maybe even network. NOT a thread for DIY'ers to seek help, sorry.

so, who works in the finance/accounting field on RS?

Thread idea credit goes to MindBomber for "The Tradesperson Thread"

looked at thread title, knew OP would be tiger_handheld

I've been in various accounting positions since graduating with from BCIT in 07, BTech in 09, maybe someone with more experience can give insight on having a designation vs. not having one...

Also day trade / swing trade in the morning....

have a designation, don't not.

if you want a job/career working for someone else (as unattractive as it sounds, sometimes the money can be magnificent), you will not get taken seriously without a designation in this day and age.

unfortunately it's all CPA now, which I feel really bad for new people in the industry, totally dilutes the CA name. heck, most CMAs i know think it was a dumb idea.

I echo what 4444 said... without a designation no will take you seriously unless you claim to be a 'bookkeeper' and not an accountant.

What sector are you guys in, public practice, industry, academic?

always have been in industry

I did "firm work" for a 3 month contract and absolutely hated it. Boss pushed for billable hours only and must be within budget, and I did really shitty work.

CMA here, designated for about 6 years now. Work in industry. I enjoy it.

Without a designation I would think one would reach a ceiling in terms of career progression.

Kev

Work in a CPA firm that is family owned. Don't have a designation yet still working on it. I am more in the managing position of the offices and the work load for each accountant. I have tons of experience..would say close to 15 years now. I have trained people that have had PhD's to Masters in Accounting. I have even helped out CGA/CA students in understanding public practice accounting. A lot of them I find are good in terms of the books in school but when put in a public practice situation they find it hard to adapt. Especially if the client is sitting in front of them asking questions.

Oh and definitely if you have designation the potential to earn is a lot greater. I am in a unique position which may not relate to much to the actual work being done currently.

I've been looking for an accountant familiar with SRED. Feel free to PM me for details.

CFA here. I left finance and went into consulting. It's a way nicer life.

CFA here. I have a pretty outgoing personality so I clearly made the wrong move. Don't ever use what I learned even though I'm a PM.

Hate my industry but love the money.

A PM?

Aspiring CPA here! Currently working as a junior tax accountant while I finish off my degree @ BCIT (started as a co-op). Probably wont start PEP until Fall of 2015.

Sad about the combination of the three designation. Was looking forward to getting a CA designation.

Excited for the adventure ahead!

For the folk in industry..why did you pick industry and not a firm?

For the guy thats in "consulting" .. what exactly is that?

I myself am in public practice. Will switch to industry once I get bored..

Here is another question to cause a debate...

Do you guys think a person in public practice is "smarter" than "industry"? Reason I pose this is, it seems public practice, you need to know a lot for various situations. Whereas industry, just know the basics and what relates to that industry.. true? false?

True, public practice exposes you to many different finance/accounting situations (and best practices), whereas in industry, you'll only learn 1 way of doing things, unless u keep switching jobs.

anyone from the big 4 here? hows it like? and how hard is it to get in?

Having worked in industry and big 4, I can confirm there are idiots in both. Clearly the barriers to entry for big 4 are higher than industry, so probably more idiots in industry, but nonetheless, idiots everywhere.

I also found those that stay in public practise until partner are usually either slightly weird, or not great and are scared of change. Going into industry is a big change but can be very very rewarding. Equally, it can be a career killer, especially in vancouver's job market for accountants, with all the Mickey Mouse small companies.

As for getting into big 4, it takes a lot of skill, ability, experience not bring a dweeb, and luck - u must have good interpersonal skills to even start the process.

If I were unfortunate to be going through the CPA process, I'd still go the public practise route, I swear there will be favouritism in industry for big 4 CPAs over industry CPAs, as in industry, unless ur at say telus, u will start in some ap or ra job, and stay there until there's a position open, which may take a long time.

Project manager

My anecdotal experience hiring people from public practice experience is that they have had trouble transitioning to positions that require them to execute. They are extremely skilled at having a critical eye towards existing processes, however, when it comes time to execute they are not as careful or efficient as staff I have brought on with industry-only experience.

Once again, my anecdotal experience but just wanted to respond to the question of idiots in industry versus public practice.

Kev

def. agree with you, but it makes sense, as your internal guys know your industry and business through and through, someone from public practice is more of a generalist, and they need time to get comfortable in a specific industry, which you, understandably, don't want to pay for as an employer

or portfolio manager

It's just different, coming from industry to public practice, I didn't like having to track and bill my hours, working on a different company every 1 -3 days. Sometimes you do really shitty work when the boss only gives you X amount of time to finish.

In industry I understand the flow of information a lot better, what is important to the company, and can make suggestions to improve certain processes. In public practice you see the company waste resources and you see their inefficiencies, but you just go along and finish your own work.

I'm a management consultant - I work with executives of companies to improve their companies. Anything from management training to restructuring to financial controls. It runs the gamut.

There's smart people in public and there are smart people in industry. Conversely, there are dumb people too. Industry can get very complex especially when you're dealing with multinationals. If you're working with a dinky firm, then not so much.

Portfolio manager as per the BC Securities commission. You either need your CFA or CIM.

https://www.bcsc.bc.ca/Securities_La...Rescinded_(1)/

hmm I assume you work for MBB?

May I ask how did you get into the field? undergrad or experience?

I'm very interested in the consulting career path before family priorities take over.