University of Alabama in Huntsville

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University of Alabama in Huntsville April 2, 2008
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Agenda My Career Path Opportunities in Public
Accounting Differences between Big 4, Regional
Local Firms
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My Career Path

• Internship in 1998
• Full time employment in 1999 as an audit
  associate
• Promoted to senior associate in September 2001,
  moved to Athens/Huntsville
• Promoted to manager in September 2004
• Promoted to senior manager in September 2007
• Joined CDPA in January 2008 as a senior manager

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what is public accounting?

• A Common Misconception
• Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) do peoples
  taxes!
• Both true and false.
• Managerial Accounting vs. Public Accounting
• Managerial Accounting is concerned with internal
  control and pricing decisions
• Public Accounting is primarily concerned with
  Auditing

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why work in public accounting?

• Multiple Career Paths
• career after career nobody knows a business
  better than the auditors
• most CFOs have a CPA
• most VPs of Tax have a CPA
• most CEOs come from an accounting background
• accounting is the language of business
• Work-Life Balance
• flexible hours
• flexible work arrangements strong performance

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why work in public accounting? (continued)

• Professional Occupation
• Prestige ? credibility
• make a decent living ()
• Networking Opportunities
• meet client personnel management
• Learning Curve
• understand different industries
• lots of responsibilities

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qualities and characteristics of accounting
professionals

• Organized
• Well-rounded
• Good at juggling multiple tasks
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Technically astute
• Eager to learn and seeks out challenges

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personal development opportunities

• Sales and marketing
• Recruiting/Interviewing skills
• Training
• Mentoring others relationship building
• Learn from the counseling of your own mentors
• Community involvement
• Public speaking experience
• Networking
• Organization affiliation

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keys to success

• Start Early!
• Join a business club
• Recognize the benefits of using your school, your
  contacts, your professors, career services
• make contact with employers early office
  visits, shadow days, corporate mingles, resume
  book, mock interviews
• Network with other students ? future colleagues
• Learn about and expose yourself to current
  industry issues

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keys to success(continued)

• Talk to Professors Faculty
• Seek their career guidance
• Many of them have real-life experience in the
  field of public accounting
• Early Job Opportunities
• Be proactive, yet polite at career fairs
• Internships
• Leadership programs for Sophomores

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considerations when making your decision

• Content and challenge of Job
• Firm personality and culture
• Opportunity to provide creative input
• Ability to work with leading companies
• Opportunity for advancement
• Ongoing learning opportunities
• Ability to address your work/life needs

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Multinational Firms / Big Four

• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Ernst Young
• KPMG
• Deliotte Touche
• These are the four largest accounting firms based
  on revenue and employees. For example, PwC is
  comprised of approximately 145,000 partners and
  staff in 149 countries with annual global revenue
  exceeding 20 billion.

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Regional / National Firms

• BDO Siedman
• McGladrey Pullen
• Reznick, Fedder Silverman
• Dixon Hughes
• Crowe Chizek
• Grant Thornton
• These firms are substantial in number of
  employees and revenue but generally do not have
  international operations and are still
  significantly smaller than the Big Four. Some of
  the firms are found throughout the U.S. while
  others are more regional (i.e., Southeast, East
  Coast, etc.).

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Local Firms
Local firms range from one person tax preparers
to hundreds of professionals in larger
metropolitan areas. Most have only one office
but larger local firms often have several
locations within a given state.
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Primary Differences

• Size in employees and revenue
• Client base sector specialization
• Lines of service
• Salary/Opportunities for advancement
• Travel/Relocation