Can someone in auditing tell me why they choose auditing as their career and not tax? Or someone in Tax tell me the other way around?
120512
I'm currently a staff auditor for a public accounting firm.  I chose audit because I believe that you learn more from audit than tax.  With tax you are in the same office each and every day and you do relatively the same thing day after day.\n\nI enjoy auditing because I have variety in my career.  I am not in the office all that often, maybe 1 week per month.  Sometimes more, sometimes less - depends on the client and the firm you work for.  I enjoy traveling to different areas and I get that opportunity.  I also like audit over tax because if you want to leave public accounting after a few years (with is pretty common in the profession) you have more career options than that from being a tax accountant.
466358
It means you hire an accountant. You have some advantages that most people overlook.
160831
Find another job fast... If your employer doesn't file this infomation with IRS and you file your income, they will come audit the employer sooner of later. And if your employer is telling you not to report your income and you are depositing your income in a bank... you will flag the IRS eventually yourself. It is important to report your income. Don't let an underhanded employer strong arm you into breaking the law. Like I said... find another job fast with someone who respects the law and you.
222065
how about which one do you like better or have more talent at? that has more to do with whether you will find a job "easy" or find it possible to make a lot of money.\n\neither one can lead you into lucrative consulting jobs or other types of corporate positions. CEOs and CFOs can come from either major if you are interested in heading up the corporate ranks. \n\naccounting preparation can come from a lot of sources. if you were an engineering major but worked part time at a firm as a bookkeeper then you might very well have the skills to become a chartered accountant.
168326
If you take from your traditional you pay tax on it.  If you take from your Roth you do not.  This is why you would want your CPA to review your tax situation.  Maybe they will suggest a combination depending on your tax bracket and how close you are to the bracket.
546889
You don't have to be an accountant to work in an accounts department or accountancy firm. Lots of firms have "accounts clerks" who work with accountants. The work is probably more routine but if its calculations you want that might fit the bill.\n\nSomething else you could consider is a job analysing data, for example for a polling organisation or perhaps a council (traffic surveys etc). This would be more statistics-based.
518619
Yes, what you have stated is unethical and most people in finance would call it "Creative accounting", having said that, what should you do? You have a job to protect, if you whistle-blow you will likely be blackballed for it, as you are probably aware. Or are you? The Oxley Sarbaines Act <--spell check, was in-acted to protect people like yourself. However, at what price? You are in the best position to know how susceptible you might be should anything come to light. Not knowing your corporate structure, only you know how high up you can take this. \nIs it best to let sleeping dogs lie, or do you honestly feel your Corp Ethics Review board would take this matter seriously? If it were me I would have saved an intranet e-mail from my supervisor regarding his response to your inquiry. Is he dumb enough to put such an opinion in a company e-mail or private e-mail? I doubt it. So no one is in better position than yourself to decide what is the right thing to do. You don't have to be told about going over someones head, I am sure. Possibly you might feel more comfortable anonymously reporting this. However, you have already seen the creative accounting, and anything anonymous may come directly back to you. Not a good position to be in. I think you should take time to think about your options and document as much as you can. You may even be able to use this information as a bargaining chip if this company decides to terminate you. Food for thought. Good luck.
25460
they are people that find new and exciting ways for corportaions like enron to avoid paying taxes.. \n\nexample.. in bedford maryland.. the walmart there is suing the state and federal govt to avoid paying taxes.. i cant help but find it disturbing that its cheaper for walmart to pay a legal team to conduct litigaiton than it is to just pony up and pay their dam taxes..\n\nhow do they use math?.. \ni dont think they use math like accountants do.. but based on the name "tax attorney".. i think that answers the question asked.. \n\nwow.. i sound pretty anti-corporate for a die hard neocon dont i?.. (im starting to scare myself)\n\nanyway.. i hope that helps..
49965
In terms of salary: depends. Whether you work on your own, and then, what you get is all yours...(and hourly fees can be rather ...interesting..). Or you enter a company, and you get a salary. Anyway, it's pretty good money... \n\nIn terms of hours: there is the busy season, when the financial statements are made, and there's the rest of the year, when you have to keep the day-to-day books and all... Quite a bit of work.\n\nAnyway, if you want to become a Chartered Certified Accountant, I'd strongly advise you to go for it. I'm about to do it myself, although I am aware of what it brings. I want a family myself, in a couple of years, but I think I will manage to mix the two.\n\nGood luck! :-)
532795
I am a Realtor and I am also a Corporation....Now sure why.....That is just what my accountant said would be best....That way if I get sued they can only go "personally" as deep as my Corporation and not my cut me through my personal (protects my family)....Talk to your accountant about it....IT is a nice protection to have.....
143946
I'm a finance major that has taken both business law and accounting courses. I would say that as a personal preference I find accounting to be very dry, and boring (but on the other hand there's not too much variation so the work task maybe easier). On the flip side, I found business law more entertaining because you never came across the exact same scenerio so you had to invent new solutions. Depends which excites you more.
2207
The first thing to note is that the answer to which is more interesting is completely subjective. If you took a random survey, my guess would be that more people would answer finance rather than accounting - but the bean-counter stereotype of accountants is rapidly changing with the hype generated by Worldcom, Enron, and the Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) Act.\n\nPublic accounting is a mighty interesting place to be, my recommendation would be take Intermediate Accounting - that's what will determine whether you can stand accounting. Nonetheless, auditing is a great springboard into anything in the business world.
662766
well you can go to university and do something really impressive while studying films. i wanted to be in a band. but my parents wanted me to be an accountant. right now i'm at university studying accounting and at the same time i'm recording my solo album. it works if you try harder.
60313
The IRS chooses 1% of returns at random for auditing.\n\nThey use the information from those returns to develop rules that lead them to people likely to cheat, and audit likely cheaters in addition to the random picks.
330619
My brother has been a CPA in private practice for about 17 years.  He earns well into the six figure territory.  He's in partnership with another CPA.  They have one CPA candidate who works for them and an office staff of about 6.  Our dad was also a CPA in private practice.  We grew up in a nice home and never wanted for much.\n\nYou need to have 3 years accountancy experience (after completing your BA) before you can sit for the exams.  That's like a medical internship and the employers know it.  Expect not a lot more than minimum wage during that period -- and expect to be worked nearly to death as well.  If you get lucky enough to land an internship with a "Big-8" firm, expect to spend most of your money on clothes.\n\nIt will probably take several shots to pass the exams.  Don't fret failure, very few pass these the first time around.  Once you pass a section, you don't need to retake it; you'll just retake the parts you failed.\n\nOnce you pass the exams, your income potential will be pretty much unlimited.  How much you can earn will be up to you.\n\nAfter 20 years in the biz, my brother loves the $$$ but hates the drudgery.  He's trapped by the lifestyle that he and his family have become accustomed to.  That's a hazard in many careers, though.
124684
I went to school to be an Accountant.  I graduated 7 years ago.  I work in my field and I have ever since graduation.  One piece of advice I would give is that you literally have to manage your career, much the same way that a professional athelete would.  I keep a good recruiter (similar to an agent); when I find myself in a job that is not working out for myself or the employer, I start making plans to move on; I market myself quite heavily by building relationships with other people that work in my field.  I keep my resume and my skills current.  I have never settled for any job that does not somehow help me work towards my career goals.
464970
I have been both an internal auditor (and still am going on 10 years now) and worked in public accounting (3 years).  \n\nYou should probably take the job with the big four firm. I say this because the bredth of experience that will get form that job will be invaluable in your future career.  You will see many different ways that companies handle internal controls as well as get a good foundation in the "red book".  You will also make contacts and a network of friends that could spread across the world and all different industries.  To me the big downside of the big four job would be the travel (probably be 80%+ unless you get on a very long term engagement) and the perception/feeling that you are a "hired gun" and not really part of the entity that you are working at.\n\nWhile the job with the manufacturing firm may be a fast track to management you will, in the long run, be limiting your potential.  The up side to this job is the stability (as much as anyone has outside government work) you know where you will be working with a fiar amount of certainty, and the lack of travel.\n\nIn the end, if i was you, I would look at how I handle: pressure, travel, change, and risk (the big 4 job is riskier b/c if they lose the contract you are assigned to you may lose your job).  Some people thrive on those things and if you are one of them....then go for the big 4 job.\n\n\nOne last thought you will probably grow more professionally in the big 4 job than the other simply because of the greater variety of work, more and better managers to learn from, and competition among staff auditors to get ahead (which pushes you to do better).\n\nGood luck