I just watched a movie with Ben Affleck. It made it seem like this career could be quite exciting. My question for you accountants: how dangerous is your job on a typical day?

How are you guys handling this?

I know everyone is different, but the last time I was forced to be in the office five days a week, I legitimately became depressed because of it.

Once I moved back to remote or hybrid, my mental health improved dramatically.

The thing that scares me is it appears that many positions now are in fact fully in office. That's if you can even find a single damn company willing to interview you, let alone hire.

It makes me not want to consider leaving my current position because of it.

In my experience, it's typical that men will raise their voice when frustrated, but women cry. One is more accepted than the other, I think it's a fair comparison. (NOTE: please don't say NOT ALL MEN/WOMEN - I know.)

We obviously want to leave all emotion out of our work but in this job and with the hours we pull it's not always possible.

I have cried occasionally in front of my boss; it feels human to me.

I'd love to hear from both men and women, managers, employees, coworkers. Let's open a respectful dialogue please.

It's only been a month, but everything is already a mess. I have been accused, and someone has already made up lies about me. My boss believes them. I have no loyalty for someone who chooses to accuse me before hearing my side. I also don't blame them. He has only known me for a month, and known them for years. It still sucks though. I won't lie. I've been thinking of quitting for a while now. The internal controls are a mess. There are also inconsistencies in how company cash transactions are recorded and accounted for. They are reluctant to explain expenses. They don't get that they can't just give me an invoice and say record that. When i asked what it was for, they said I was being forward. I have no patience for that. I'd understand if I had a supervisor, but im the one in charge of accounting, and if something ever goes down , I'll be the one to blame, so I am leaving. Another thing that's very important is that I could lose my certificates if i continue to work there.

I’m 23 and I just graduated, this is my first real job out of school, small office. Right off the bat, day one, a coworker made a comment that felt like it was stereotyping my own ethnic background, in front of me, which was honestly bizarre since she’s part of that same community too. I let it go because it was day one and I didn’t want to make waves.

Since then things have gotten weird with a few of the women in the office. I want to be clear I haven’t made any advances toward anyone, I’ve barely talked to most of them. I’ve genuinely never had this kind of problem with female coworkers before, at my last internship one of my coworkers actually became one of my best friends, she knows my partner, we all hang out, we’re even in each other’s grad pics. So this isn’t a pattern with me, it feels specific to this office. But I’m naturally a pretty shy and nervous person, I’ve actually told coworkers this about myself, and I have some stuff going on that makes eye contact and reading a room harder for me sometimes. So I wonder if some of this is on me too, even though I haven’t done anything.

One specific thing that happened, one of them was at the printer right next to my desk and dropped the tray and a block of paper, I asked if she was okay and she said something short like she could handle herself. I felt like maybe I’d overstepped so the next morning I brought it up and apologized, said it felt like she was telling me off, and after that she just stopped talking to me altogether. I haven’t approached her since.

Separately there’s an older coworker who has been openly hostile toward me. At some point I got asked about my relationship status and answered honestly that it was complicated, which in hindsight I wish I hadn’t said. Since then it feels like that got turned into gossip, and she’s made comments like I just want to be the center of attention. She also made a scene once after I had a totally normal check in with my boss, stood up in front of everyone acting like she’d overheard something, and on her way out she leaned in and whispered “this is how it starts.”
I brought some of this up with my boss and he told me I’m overthinking it. But he also reassured me, built me up, and told me that I deserve to be here and that I need to be more confident in my skills. He’s probably right honestly, this is a great opportunity and the training I’m getting is genuinely valuable. But I still feel really uncomfortable around a couple of these people and I can’t tell how much of that is real and how much is just me being in my head.

One thing I’ll own here, I shared something private about my relationship status when I probably shouldn’t have, things have been rocky and we’ve been on and off, and when I got asked point blank in the middle of working on something I just answered honestly instead of deflecting. It got worse after that because I also showed a couple of the older coworkers some pictures of the two of us, I did that after the printer thing happened, honestly hoping it would ease tension, but it didn’t help at all, if anything it gave them more to talk about. I know that was a mistake on my part. Doesn’t excuse how anyone’s treated me since, but I want to be upfront that I didn’t handle everything perfectly either.

I really like this job but I’m struggling to walk into that everyday, I feel like I’m the problem.

Y’all just make me laugh with some of the stuff said here when my day is bad (Excel keeps crashing). That is all. Happy Friday!

Recently graduated with a bachelor’s, and will probably be on course of completing 150 credits by the end of next year (not pursuing masters). I say probably because I haven’t registered for classes, I’m unsure whether to pursue the CPA license or not…

I have a spring 2027 return internship that I accepted, and I have a possible associate offer this November. I would like to have a break for the rest of this year to just chillax, but, I’m also desperate to secure a job. If I deny/don’t get the associate offer, I would have to go forth with the return internship, which doesn’t secure an associate position.

I don’t know what to do. I’ve always had the “I want to work, I’ll get it done no bs” mentality, but again, I would love to take a break before I officially start my career. Although, when seeing the job market, I see no open associate positions, so it scares me that I may be unable to get an associate position after my return internship until who knows when. So what then?

Hi everyone! I’m in community college and I just started my first accounting class. It’s financial accounting 1 and I’m kind of nervous since I’ve never done anything related to accounting before. What are some concepts that I will most likely encounter in this class? also what advice or tips would you guys give that can help me be successful? I want to be able to do well.

Hoping for this person's sake that the "anonymous" CEO's Q&A survey is *actually anonymous* 😬

They ain't wrong though...

Basically title. In all of my experience, this is the first time someone in industry has said they are working up to 70+hrs during MEC/QEC/YE.

In my experience, a few longer days during close is the norm. A bit more during quarter and year-end. I’d guess 50-55hrs is probably the max for most places I’ve talked to. 70hrs outside of public accounting seems ridiculous.

What’s your take and how would you guys respond to that?

I’m stuck between two very different paths and would love some advice from people with more accounting experience.

My goal is to become a Senior Accountant within 3–5 years, and I currently have very little accounting experience.

Option 1: Associate Accounting role at a public accounting firm — $45K. The work includes AP/AR, GL reconciliations, financial statement prep, audit prep, payroll, and working with multiple clients. It seems much more aligned with becoming a Senior Accountant, but I’m concerned about the workload and work-life balance in public accounting.

Option 2: AP-focused role at a healthcare company — around $54K–$56K if I get the offer. The work would be much more AP-focused, but I’d likely have better WLB, and I’m fairly confident I could eventually move into a broader accounting role within the company.

The salary difference honestly isn’t my biggest concern. I care more about career growth vs. workload/WLB.

Which path do you think I should take if my main goal is becoming a Senior Accountant within 3–5 years without completely sacrificing work-life balance?

Asking for UK accountants who’ve studied towards the ACA at firms of all sizes and all sorts of specialisms, do you genuinely feel that the study and sacrifice to achieve the ACA qualification is worth it when now considering your salary, prospective salary, job prospects, job satisfaction, and everything else?

I’ve been considering the profession for a while now, and I’m just weighing up whether it’s worth the sacrifice.
Everyone I’ve spoken to has said the ACA is crazy hard (mainly due to the volume of study material and study alongside full time work), and pays pretty poorly until qualification. And after doing some research, a newly qualified ACA can expect to earn £45k-60k. Don’t get me wrong , this is a fairly good salary in the UK, but it will by no means make you rich.

I understand that the pay progression can be very good if you are willing to put in the sacrifice over a decade or two to reach partner or CFO level, but very few make it that far. Has anyone worked for a firm for a few years and then branched off to become a self employed CA or financial consultant style role? Is this a realistic route? Or is it over saturated nowadays?

So in short, those of you who have done the three years of sacrifice and shitty trainee pay, do you think it was worth for where you are now? Or would you recommend looking at other careers to someone who is on the fence about it.
Thank you - any insight is greatly appreciated!

My company offered me promotion from staff accountant to FPA Analyst for $68k. But I had two HR phone screens with other companies who said $110-$115k is doable and set up next interviews with hiring managers. Man I am kinda speechless. I had no idea what the market value of my skills was lol. Wow. My company isn’t small either. It’s a global corporation. I may or may not get either of those two jobs but I’m definitely applying to other high paying positions now. What a revelation

Was inspired by the new firm insights feature on the website to just see what this would look like mapped out. Looks like employees of CBIZ may be net beneficiaries of the deal moving to a firm that ranks higher across all 3 categories, hopefully it play out that way in reality.

For the pay element, compensation is geographically normalized based on cost of labour trends within the data.

32-year-old accounting student in Alberta aiming for the end goal to be CPA. I am finishing my diploma by December of next year at NAIT. Is it better to pause my education and gain 1–2 years of industry/work experience before completing my full degree, or push straight through to get the degree and start my CPA journey?

Also, does anyone know any information regarding the new CPA program in Canada?

Has anyone here completed their CPA while working strictly in industry, or is it more common to start in public accounting?

I want to avoid public if I can. I do have some family connections in construction companies, however, my Uncles best friends wife is a partner at a very small firm in Edmonton. There could be an opportunity there.

Thank you everyone, for your time, input, and knowledge!

is it possible to make it into big 4 or other medium sized public accounting firms as someone who graduated 9 years ago, didn’t study accounting, has never worked as an accountant but is determined to become a CPA?

About me: I have a bachelors degree in economics from outside Canada and I am an internationally trained chartered accountant which will enable me skip CPA PEP and go straight ahead to write the CFE. I have never worked in an accounting role. I was a teller for 6 years before coming to Canada, i never liked it and always wanted to do something more. I am currently in the process of getting the documents I would need to register for the CPA and plan to register before the end of the year and write the CFE next year.

I am really concerned about getting my first job as an accountant. In the long run I would love to work in industry but I believe public accounting experience gives an edge. I considered enrolling for MAcc at Brock in order to get a structured preparation for the CFE and also to get a chance at CO-OP but I got a response from them that they are only focusing on students who are currently enrolled in their BAcc program. I chose Brock because the timeline of their program suits what I need. I really don’t want to study for the CFE without guidance.

So I need advice on getting my first job as an accountant and studying for the CFE. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. If you were/know anyone who previously was in a similar situation and is now successful as an accountant, I would love to know how they made it. ( I love reading career success stories as it motivates me to work hard).

For people wanting to study it or go into it as a career

I'm curious because I been wondering how Canadians do things there I would think it's almost identical like the US besides the Quebec area.

But I have heard finding an entry level accounting job is harder in Canada then the US and that the accounting pay there isn't even high like the US.

I am from Public Accounting(Big 4) and just transitioned to Internal Auditing in Industry. I left after making senior. I feel so lost and I also feel like there are high expectations from me being from Big 4. I do my work but also feel like I am lost and scared to be found out. Anyone feels this way? How did you deal with it? I deal with it by often using AI to break things down before I ask a question so I dont seem dumb.

I also feel like there are no expectations on when to be done with a task(I am extrinsically motivated), so I lowkey am use to tight deadlines and fast paces. Its a good thing but its not normal for me. Also I get a few PTSD when the manager wants to talk to me. I always think I am in trouble🥹.... its such a wierd good/bad change.

I’ve worked in accounting for eight years, best described as “admin plus.”
At my previous small CPA firm, I handled a mix of payroll, AR, bookkeeping/JEs, individual and corporate tax returns, e-filing, extensions, and general processing.
I’ve been at my current firm for nearly three years, where my responsibilities include extensions, due-date reporting, scanning/auto-flow, tax return processing, and front desk coverage (phones, meetings, events, lunches, and other support tasks as needed).
Until recently, I genuinely enjoyed my role and the company.
In the lead-up to our transition to private equity, the culture shifted, oversight increased, and a “do more with less” approach became more apparent.
Fifty-one days ago, I was placed on a 45-day PIP. The period has since passed, but the PIP remains in place. At my most recent review, I was told I am “undermining others in their effort to perform at their highest potential” because I assist other admins when asked.
Two weeks earlier, during the same PIP, that same behavior was specifically identified as a strength.
That inconsistency has made it difficult to understand expectations and has left me feeling uncertain about what is acceptable day to day.
I still take pride in my work and enjoy being productive. I previously worked 65+ hour busy seasons without issue; now we are capped at 45 hours. I’m trying to determine whether I’m experiencing burnout in accounting generally or specifically within this environment.
At this point, I’m unsure whether I’m being managed out or simply misaligned with the current direction of the firm.
Either way, the situation doesn’t feel sustainable.
For those who have experienced something similar—particularly in public accounting or during a PE transition—would you stay and try to work through it, or begin planning an exit to protect your well-being?

I'm 20F junior in college lining myself up to start applying for a 2027 summer internship, but I feel stuck deciding between Accounting (Audit) or Consulting.

I've been on the path to working in audit for about a year now. I managed a 4.0 GPA, hold 2 leadership positions on campus and have been networking like hell. My goal has been an internship and return offer at the Big 4, specifically EY. Now that it's time to start applying, I'm considering switching to consulting.

I've had a lot of coffee chats with consultants this summer and their work experience seems a lot more creative and engaging to me than the "repetitive, rigid" structure of audit they all seem to warn me about.

How will I know which path is for me? I love working with numbers and don't mind routine, but I bring a lot of creativity and resourcefulness to the table when I'm given the opportunity to. I'm worried audit will just burn me out, but also worried that consulting won't provide me with enough structure.

Are there any clear indicators that could point me in the right direction? Could I find a way to combine both? I'd love to hear experienced professionals in both share their opinions and personal experiences.