Accounting My Public Accounting career as seen by my weight. |
- My Public Accounting career as seen by my weight.
- Detailed Guide to IRS Revenue Agent (RA) Hiring, Benefits, and General Career Information
- Why did the accountant cross the road?
- My accounting career as seen by my compensation
- SALY No Jutsu
- Just sayin
- Working in Public Accounting be like
- Me getting promoted to a senior without even knowing what am I doing! (One more day to the weekend ��)
- Just got the start date for my new job. Putting in my two weeks tomorrow
- Has anyone else ever found fraud? Pretty sure I just found fraud.
- KPMG scraps annual bonus for Apprentices and Graduates
- Remember we’re all heroes
- I forgot to do a bank rec, which may lead to the financials changing by 7$ possibly. Will my senior have to re do the financials? Is this a big deal?
- [CAN] post CFE 2021 anxiety
- [CAN] CPA career advice please
- Am I doing this right?
- Was wondering why a client hadn’t sent back requested items back for over a week
- Pennsylvanian tax documents use a font that looks like something someone from the 80s would use if they were making a movie set in the future
- Ever have an interview where from the moment you introduce yourselves, you know it's not going well?
- Any PwC Seniors still waiting to hear more about the Discover luxury retreat they emailed us about over a month ago … ��
- PSA : If you haven't gotten a raise in the last 6 months, go ask your boss for one.
- IRS is hiring GS-11 & GS-12 Revenue Agents
- What have you accomplished as an audit associate or senior associate?
- How long can you typically wait to accept a job offer?
| My Public Accounting career as seen by my weight. Posted: 16 Sep 2021 06:21 AM PDT
 | ||
| Detailed Guide to IRS Revenue Agent (RA) Hiring, Benefits, and General Career Information Posted: 16 Sep 2021 05:22 PM PDT Current RA job posting: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/614268100 The window to apply closes on September 21st A. Background I made this post pay it forward because I was hired as an RA after hearing about the job on reddit. I never would have heard about the job otherwise because sadly the government's outreach and advertising for jobs is lacking. The good thing as a candidate though is EVERY job has to be posted on USAjobs.gov, and you can create a custom search that will send you email alerts when new positions are posted. If you have any questions not covered here feel free to ask. B. Hiring Process
Make a resume TAILORED for Federal jobs, and modify this resume based on the specific position you are applying to. There is a help page on USAjobs.gov that tells you how to write a resume for Federal jobs. Use their exact template. For work experience, read the position description (PD) of the job you're applying for and see if any items match your experience. If they do, then use the same terminology in your resume. DON'T LIE! What I'm saying is to tweak your resume to match the specific words used by the job description for experience you ACTUALLY have.
When you apply you have to answer a series of multiple choice questions that ask about your work experience. This is to pre-screen you based on your experience for the particular GS grade you are applying for.
You will be asked to rank your top 3 locations. You can choose more than 3 and I don't think there is any limit to how many you can choose but I wouldn't recommend choosing a location unless you would actually be interested in working there. The job posting may be for multiple grades (e.g., GS-7, GS-9, GS-11). Apply for as many grades as you are eligible for.
After submitting your resume and completing the questionnaire they will pre-screen you for eligibility to take a skills assessment. This is why it's important that your resume is tailored for the job.
This is a computer simulation of the day in the life of a RA. You have to organize your calendar, talk to taxpayers using multiple choice questions, listen to voicemails, read and apply the Internal Revenue Manual, and answer accounting knowledge questions. It takes about an hour to complete.
You get a rating after completing the simulation. The rating will be A, B, or C. I forget the exact names but I think rating A is Best Qualified, B is Highly Qualified, and C is Qualified. The IRS will go through the entire process of interviewing and offering jobs to A rated candidates first before contacting any people with a B rating, then finally C. So while it's not impossible to get hired with a B rating it's much less likely.
You will then be contacted to schedule an interview. The interview takes about 30 minutes. They will ask you 7-8 pre-written questions. Every candidate is asked the same exact questions. The questions will be a combination of hypothetical scenarios to test your judgement, time management, and ethics, as well as a few accounting questions. Afterward you can ask the interviewers any questions you may have like a regular interview. Your responses are recorded and each of the 3 interviewers will rate your overall performance.
If you are one of the highest rated candidates after the interview, you will receive a tentative offer (TO) The purpose of the TO is primarily to allow the IRS to run a background check. You also have to complete a detailed questionnaire that asks about things like foreign travel and past drug use. After being hired you may also have to have a face to face (or phone) interview with an investigator from TIGTA, which is like Internal Affairs for the IRS. If there are no issues with the background check then you will receive a final offer (FO). The FO is only for a SPECIFIC office. You are allowed to rescind an offer if you accept a position at 1 office and then get another offer for a different office. It IS possible to negotiate your pay. You normally start at step 1 of whichever GS level you were hired for, but in the past the IRS has awarded step increases to match previous salaries. Unless specifically stated in the job posting, there are no sign-on bonuses. Usually sign-on bonuses are for a specific office that is critically understaffed. C. Pay
The GS pay system is one of the most confusing things for applicants. I'll try to make it easy. The GS scale is made up of 15 GRADES from low pay (GS-1) to high pay (GS-15). Note: there are other pay scales besides GS (e.g. IR, used for managers) but we'll ignore those for now. Each GRADE is made up to ten (10) STEPS. The range of grades available to a particular position is called the CAREER LADDER. Revenue agents are GS-0512 meaning that the ladder goes from a minimum of GS-5 to a journeyman level of GS-12, with promotion potential to GS-13. The ladder would progress as follows for someone hired at GS-5: Start - GS-5 1 year of experience - GS-7 2 years experience - GS-9 3 years experience - GS-11 4 years experience - GS-12 The yearly promotions from GS-5 to GS-12 are AUTOMATIC. However, you can START as high as a GS-12, in which case you are already at journeyman level when you start. If you were hired as a GS-11, you would promote to GS-12 after 1 year of experience. Once you reach journeyman level, your yearly pay increases are STEP INCREASES. That means after 1 year of experience at GS-12 Step 1 you are bumped up to GS-12 Step 2. GRADE increases are much larger than STEP increases. Grade increase can be as much as $10k-20k, whereas step increases are around $2k-3k. The step increases start at 1 step per year, but slow down as follows: 1 year: Steps 1-3 2 years: Steps 4-6 3 years: Steps 7-9 That means it would take 18 years to reach GS-12 Step 10. If you are promoted to a higher GRADE while you are in between steps, you are automatically placed in the HIGHEST STEP of the higher grade that does not result in a pay decrease. E.g., if you are a GS-12, Step 7 in Atlanta (making $97,869) and you are promoted to GS-13, you will enter GS-13 as a Step 2 ($100,314) NOT a Step 1, because Step 1 would result in a pay decrease ($97,073). Pay depends on your locality. Every employee makes the "base" pay, which is then increased by a percentage established by the government which represents the higher cost of living. E.g., Atlanta employees receive a 22.16% locality pay increase over their base pay. All pay tables can be found here. To find out which locality you belong to, check this map.
As mentioned, you progress up the career ladder until you hit journey level and make step increases automatically. In addition to staying as a RA, there are tons of different internal opportunities. A common career transition people make is becoming a Special Agent with Criminal Investigations (CI). CI heavily recruits from RAs, and it's much easier to get in as an internal hire. Another really nice part about internal opportunities at the IRS is the temporary assignment system. You can apply for a temporary assignment to work in an entirely new job while putting your current job on hold. The assignment can last anywhere from 120 days to 2 years. This gives you a chance to see if you like a new role without leaving your current job and lets you gain experience for your resume when competing for a promotion or other opportunities.
Revenue Agents can compete for a GS-13 position when available. Unfortunately, the availability of GS-13 positions can vary based on the whims of Congress and budgeting levels, so there's no telling when those openings will come along. Unlike public accounting when you are almost assured a promotion up the ladder if you put in the requisite number of years. Note: You need 1 year of experience at the next lowest GS level to be able to apply for a higher level. So at the very least you would need to have 1 year of experience as a GS-12 before you would be eligible to compete for a 13, assuming a slot is open. 4. Benefits
Yes, the job is actually 40 hours per week.
Work schedules have a ton of flexibility. The typical work day (called a tour of duty or TOD) is 8am-4:30pm. Gliding - You can vary your hours on a daily basis with no prior approval needed. You can start as early as 6am and as late as 9:30am and end your day as appropriate (e.g., at 2:30pm if you started at 6am). 4-Day Work Week - You work 10 hour days for 4 days a week and get 1 day off. Typically, the day off is Friday but it can be any day. However, this plan requires prior approval and you CAN'T switch it back to a 5-day work week ad hoc. 5/4/9 Plan - You work 9 hours per day for the first week of the pay period, 9 hours per day for 4 days of the 2nd week, then have 1 extra day off. Basically you take every other Friday off.
Even before the pandemic, the IRS allowed generous teleworking arrangements. Ad Hoc Telework - You can decide to telework whenever you want to, but it can't be a consistent schedule (e.g. you can't telework every single Friday under this specific plan) Scheduled Telework - You have sets days every week that you telework, but less frequently than the plan below (i.e., the same 1-2 days per week every week). Frequent Telework - You telework for 8 days per pay period and have to come into the office for 2 days. Since this is based on the bi-weekly pay period you could technically telework for the entire first week, then come into the office twice in the 2nd week.
The amount of annual leave (vacation) and sick time you accrue each pay period (bi-weekly) is based on years of service. You accrue 4 hours of sick leave per pay period. This never changes. Annual leave increases as follows: Starting: 4 hours (approx. 14 days per year) 3+ years of service: 6 hours (approx. 20 days per year) 15+ years of service: 8 hours (approx 26 days per year) Therefore, a new employee will earn approximately 14 days of annual leave and 14 days of sick leave in their first year. Personally, I think the sick leave is very generous. Vacation time is ok but gets much better if you stick around.
Yes, there's a pension under the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). You can read a lot about it online but in short: You earn 1% of your "high-3" salary for each year of service. Your high-3 salary is computed as the average of your 3 highest years of compensation. If you work more than 30 years you get 1.1% for each year. E.g., an employee with 25 years of service who earned a high-3 of salary of 100k would receive a pension of $25k upon retirement. The most important thing you should know is that they take ~5% out of your paycheck AUTOMATICALLY to "share the cost" of your pension and you can't opt out of it. This is a shock to a lot of people and it's a decent chunk of money. The good thing is you CAN get a refund of any money you paid in if you leave the government before your are eligible to collect.
Although overtime isn't mandatory, if you choose to work overtime then you earn compensatory time (comp time). It's basically extra vacation time. However, you can only accumulate a maximum of 24 hours of comp time. Comp time is calculated separately from annual leave. You can also earn religious time off. This works very similarly to comp time. For example, you can say you are going to take Good Friday off (8 hours). You tell your manager you are going to work 2 extra hours on Monday-Thursday. However you can USE religious time off before you earn it. You are just required to work the requisite overtime within 3 months from using it. Religious time is banked SEPARATELY from comp time and annual leave.
These are pretty standard. An example of a low cost high-deductible plan is one offered through Aetna but branded as GEHA (Govt Employee Health Association). It's $60 per pay period, has a $1,500 deductible and ~$3k maximum, and the plan contributes $900 per year into your HSA for free (which effectively reduces your deductible). 5. What The Job Is Like
When you are first hired you go through a 2-year training program. This is split up into 4 sections: 1040 part 1, 1040 part 2, corporate, and pass through. Each section starts with a classroom portion which lasts about 3 weeks and is similar in intensity and knowledge to a summer course in college. You are in class all day for the 3 weeks and have exams throughout. Once the classroom portion is done you have your on the job training (OJT) period which lasts 2-3 months before the next classroom training starts. During that period you receive a number of real audits to complete that allow you to practice the tax law you learned in class.
The job of an RA is very independent. Time management is emphasized throughout the hiring process, and for good reason, because you are the only person responsible for your own work. During training you will be reaching out to your on-the-job instructor (OJI) a lot to ask questions, but once you are fully trained you don't interact with co-workers for work related issues that much. Unlike public accounting, your manager at the IRS oversees the general progress of your work and makes sure you have enough to keep you busy, not to give minor review notes. Managers only review cases when you finish them, not during the audit process. Plus, due to the sensitive nature of the audits you are performing you're actually prohibited from revealing ANY information about your cases except on a need to know basis, meaning only to your manager and certain specialists. You can reach out to coworkers for general/hypothetical questions but they wouldn't be able to review your work. On a typical day you might perform case work (e.g., reviewing bank statements, verifying and totaling invoices, analyzing accounting records, creating Excel sheets), call and email representatives, do tax research, reach out to specialists/subject matter experts/IRS counsel for help with complex issues, conduct interviews with taxpayers/reps, perform an on-site tour of a business, or meet with your manager to discuss your case load and how your cases are progressing. 6. Other Resources https://federalsoup.com/Home.aspx (a forum that discusses hiring announcements) https://www.jobs.irs.gov/resources/benefits-programs/worklife-programs/use-our-benefits-your-benefit [link] [comments]  | ||
| Why did the accountant cross the road? Posted: 16 Sep 2021 11:11 AM PDT | ||
| My accounting career as seen by my compensation Posted: 16 Sep 2021 09:41 PM PDT
 | ||
| Posted: 16 Sep 2021 11:04 AM PDT
 | ||
| Posted: 16 Sep 2021 02:41 PM PDT
 | ||
| Working in Public Accounting be like Posted: 16 Sep 2021 06:56 PM PDT
 | ||
| Posted: 16 Sep 2021 09:52 AM PDT
 | ||
| Just got the start date for my new job. Putting in my two weeks tomorrow Posted: 16 Sep 2021 11:08 AM PDT I've literally fantasized of this day. Fuck long unpaid hours, fuck shitty clients, fuck greedy partners, and most importantly, FUCK PUBLIC ACCOUNTING [link] [comments]  | ||
| Has anyone else ever found fraud? Pretty sure I just found fraud. Posted: 16 Sep 2021 06:01 PM PDT | ||
| KPMG scraps annual bonus for Apprentices and Graduates Posted: 16 Sep 2021 06:34 AM PDT KPMG has just announced they are scrapping all annual bonuses for D (seniors) and E grades (graduates and apprentices) in favour of a new retention scheme. This is where a lump sum is given when you stay one year after PQE. This bonus can however be reclaimed if you leave within a year. A further bonus is given one year after this but you must stay with the firm a further 2 years otherwise the firm will reclaim the bonus. TLDR: Basically anyone who isn't a manager now gets no bonus. For apprentices that means they will not get a bonus for AT LEAST six years. More exact details and figures will be issued properly soon but the new bonus scheme is WORSE than the pre existing one. [link] [comments]  | ||
| Posted: 16 Sep 2021 07:02 AM PDT
 | ||
| Posted: 16 Sep 2021 11:39 AM PDT Non public company, The client had 150K in revenue, 100 k in overhead EDIT; for prior month financials [link] [comments]  | ||
| Posted: 16 Sep 2021 09:26 AM PDT i finished writing the CFE day 1, 2 and 3 exams and i'm feeling absolutely crushed. i really can't imagine retaking the exams next year.. the process is so physically and emotionally draining and just thinking about having to go through it all again makes me sick to my stomach im praying that i fall within the average but looking at this sub, my chances are very slim. the worst part is that i don't think i could've done any better if i had studied more, especially on D3 feeling a lot more pressured to pass and depressed than before i had written the CFE [link] [comments]  | ||
| [CAN] CPA career advice please Posted: 16 Sep 2021 06:35 PM PDT Hi All, I am a fresh Canadian CPA designated in May 2021. I have been working in a very small firm in Toronto and I've been thinking of making a career move to either go into the industry or stay in public to join a larger organization but I am just not sure where to start and what kind of jobs to apply for. Below is a summary of my accounting experiences so far: - 2.5 years of industry experience (knows how to use Oracle, SAP etc.) - 4 years of public accounting experience (did a lot of non-profit audits but not much of reviews, NTRs and taxes; there are so few for-profit files that I worked on I can probably count on my fingers) What I do not like about my current job: - Lack of social life with co-workers; the firm is very small with 2 other employees (with one is way older than me) hence networking and social life is virtually non-existent - No staff benefits - Heavy focus on non-profit organization audits (about 80-85% of entire clientele), very little taxes (both personal and corporate) andfor-profit audits - No salary increase And what I would like from my new job are: - Bit of work life balance but since I am still a single so putting overtime is not a big deal for me. - Be able to work in a large organization; more networking and socialization with co-workers - My salary right now is $60k but I would like it to be somewhere between $75k to $85k. I guess this is perhaps the most important factor for me right now as I am trying to move out of living with my parents whom I don't have good relationships with. Some of my questions are:
I know the questions might sound stupid and more like a common sense question but not having done any job hunting in 4 years and with many opportunities CPA provide I am not sure what kind of jobs are out there for a designated CPAs like me. Thank you for your input in advance! [link] [comments]  | ||
| Posted: 16 Sep 2021 05:49 PM PDT
 | ||
| Was wondering why a client hadn’t sent back requested items back for over a week Posted: 16 Sep 2021 12:12 PM PDT Turns out I accidentally made it an internal comment on our client portal as opposed to a comment to client. I feel like jumping out the window and not coming back now. Happy Thursday everyone! [link] [comments]  | ||
| Posted: 16 Sep 2021 06:18 AM PDT | ||
| Ever have an interview where from the moment you introduce yourselves, you know it's not going well? Posted: 16 Sep 2021 01:00 PM PDT Tried to break the ice by starting small talk that I used in every interview and it really set good vibes. they responded with a one word answer and then asked "so walk me through your resume" [link] [comments]  | ||
| Posted: 16 Sep 2021 02:38 PM PDT | ||
| PSA : If you haven't gotten a raise in the last 6 months, go ask your boss for one. Posted: 16 Sep 2021 07:26 AM PDT This is especially true if, since your last raise, you have: A) completed any certifications B) had a work anniversary C) are already underpaid D) been understaffed E) stayed on through the pandemic [link] [comments]  | ||
| IRS is hiring GS-11 & GS-12 Revenue Agents Posted: 16 Sep 2021 06:50 AM PDT The IRS is hiring accountants with a few years experience to fill GS-11 & GS-12 Revenue Agent positions nationwide. The job posting is here. This job offers a lot of work from home opportunity. A revenue agent is the classic IRS auditor that you see in media and movies. Revenue agents perform field audits of personal and business tax returns for 7 years. The job involves traveling to homes and businesses, interviewing / questioning the taxpayers, looking through bank statements and adding up deposits, reconciling to the income reported on their tax return, reconciling receipts to claimed business expenses. The work week is 40 hours, there is no overtime or working on weekends. The GS-11 & GS-12 pay scales will vary based on the city you are applying to. You can find that information here at FederalPay.org or here at the OPM website. [link] [comments]  | ||
| What have you accomplished as an audit associate or senior associate? Posted: 16 Sep 2021 08:01 PM PDT I'm preparing for interviews and really struggling to come up with decent accomplishments I've had in big 4. I don't feel like I've accomplished anything except maybe survival. I don't think this answer will fly in the interview though. [link] [comments]  | ||
| How long can you typically wait to accept a job offer? Posted: 16 Sep 2021 07:43 PM PDT Expecting offers to come in soon but obviously I want to wait and see the best offer. Internship wouldn't start until 3 months the earliest and jobs wouldn't be until may 22 the earliest. I just don't really know how to go about this without accidentally burning bridges I guess [link] [comments]  |
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/lapx21w39vn71.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/ea8rtnh5tzn71.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/21h6ttvmnwn71.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/re74ursfqxn71.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/xbdul3guzyn71.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/pk60l8qrawn71.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/eetox2qjgvn71.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/y0yw9ftwnyn71.jpg){kind=link}
| You are subscribed to email updates from Accounting. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
No comments:
Post a Comment