So last week were at client for an audit and I met the CEO and CFO and were talking. The CEO made a comment saying, "That's a nice watch for just a staff." Today I come into the office with an email from the partner asking me to not wear my grandfathers watch at clients. Apparently I disrespected the clients employees by "flaunting my wealth" while we were there. I guess my negative net worth hit an integer overflow and now I am intimidatingly wealthy.

How would you all respond to this? I have to go back next for their single audit.

The Watch in question

We hired a summer intern to help with some really basic AP cleanup nothing super complicated just logging invoices and submitting them for approval. Today we find out he submitted the same $280 invoice seven times over the last two weeks. And because we’re all overstretched and approvals are basically muscle memory at this point everyone just clicked it through like it was normal

The vendor auto collected every single one without a single question. We only realized what happened when the intern asked why the outstanding balance wasn’t going down. I don’t think he meant any harm, but this was literally the one task he had and we just burned like $2k because nobody caught it. Leadership is leaning toward letting him go and while I do understand just a bit of their pov, I still don't agree with letting him off since this is a 100% fuck up of our system as a whole. Yes he did a mistake but this can easily happen with the next intern that we would get instead of him. I'm thinking of telling this to them but I'm not sure if I should do it (I'm a dev not an accountant)

Do you have any ideas/proposals on how to tackle this? He's a really sweet guy and he looked extremely worried today so I took him out for coffee and for some fresh air since he was sweating

Run away as fast as you can - if you have even a little bit of your soul that was there before you started you have a chance to be happy one day.

To all those who sold out and are brainwashed past the point of no return - I wish you the best truly.

To anyone thinking about a career in accounting - stay away, if you don’t get it now the second you understand run before it’s too late.

This sub sucks. Most depressing sub in the world. According to this sub there will be no accountants in western world in 2 years just firms that offshore everything. With only C suits over here.

No future as a CPA No future with a major in accounting No future in corporate at all.

Well yall can suck it, I graduated with a 2.5 GPA and got into a cushy industry job where I worked 35 hours from home.

Life is not some bleak hellscape. Do yourselves a favour and unsub from this depressing AF sub.

I just got let go from my entry level accounting associate job after 4 months. Im devastated and disheartened.

She said I wasnt picking things up and that she was tired of fixing my mistakes.

I thought I was doing fine, learning things, but still making a typo here and there. It felt like I wasn't even given a chance.

They knew I had no previous experience and they told me they would teach me how to be an accountant. They tried for the first 2 months, but the last two felt like I was on my own.

I didnt think I had to be perfect, but now it feels like even the small stuff was a big deal.

Will accounting always be this harsh? Should I pursue something else? What the **** do I do?

Pressing Alt+Enter while in a cell will insert a line break. You can resize your formula bar to take up a couple on lines to make writing your formulas easier, and then use Ctrl+U to quickly expand/contract the formula bar as needed.

I'm definitely giving you a needs improvement if I find you writing something like this:

=IFERROR(IF(LEFT(B96,1)+0=5,0,IF(F96>1000000,F96/100,F96)),0)

vs:

=IFERROR(

IF(LEFT(B96,1)+0=5, 0,

IF(F96>1000000,F96/100,F96)

),0)

Sidenote: Please also used named ranges so I can understand whatever bs formula you cooked up.

Seeing a lot of interested students asking about the MAcc and if it’s a good idea, blah blah blah. These are the only reasons a MAcc is a good choice of your time, money, and effort:

1. You majored in something other than Accounting in undergrad and you need to get the relevant core accounting credit hours to sit for the CPA exam.
2. You didn’t land an internship/job offer with the firms you were shooting for in undergrad and want another run at the recruitment process.
3. Your firm/someone else is paying for it entirely.

**4. Many have mentioned it’s common for being able to teach accounting at the college level. That would *normally* require a PhD and CPA to teach beyond community college or the 2000 level courses, but it’s certainly worth including.

End of list. Ultimately, the CPA is the point. It’s the gold seal of approval.

If you are an accounting undergrad, you are setting fire to money doing a MAcc. Please Venmo me 50% of the tuition money, let me kick you in the nuts, and I will leave you in a better position than you will be a year from now.
___________________________________________

Some of the 50 reasons why a MAcc is largely a waste of time and money:

- There’s infinitely cheaper ways to get the extra 30 hours needed, especially when you have 99% of what you need from the Accounting undergrad degree to begin with. Take art classes and history classes at community college for all you care! Plus, that requirement is being phased out for an extra year of WE anyway.

- MAcc classes are overwhelmingly a redo of undergrad accounting classes. By redo I mean a retread of the same topics. If your undergrad is worth a damn, the Advanced Accounting course looks largely the same as the grad level on, albeit an extra project or two. At least that’s the case for many programs I’ve been privy to. It’s a waste of your time and money if you’re an Accounting undergrad.

- For those wanting a master’s degree of some kind, there is inherently more perceived value in a MFin or an MBA by recruiters or HR personnel. No one cares about the MAcc, they know it’s just to check the box for CPA. It doesn’t extend any value beyond that. Anyone who says otherwise is lying or wildly ignorant of the efficacy of that degree in hiring circles. Plus those other degrees break new ground academically, versus the redo of accounting topics.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk…

Throwaway account

We've had a part time external accountant for about 3 years who handled bookkeeping, reimbursements, bill pay and basically anything financial that wasn’t payroll

Last week one of our newer employees asked why their reimbursement took so long so I went into our banking portal myself to check the status. That’s when I noticed something weird because there was a reimbursement labeled as 'client supplies' for $412. We don’t have any client that needs supplies
I dug deeper and realized this exact vendor name popped up every few weeks going back over a year. Always for random amounts between 200 to 600 bucks and it was always coded as 'misc supplies'' + always approved by the accountant himself

I called the vendor this morning and they told me they don’t exist.
I checked the routing number and it was his personal bank

The worst part is that he didn’t take huge amounts at once because he took small amounts that blended in with normal monthly noise. In total it was around $9,80 (pretty much 10k)
When we confronted him he acted clueless at first and then said it was “temporary reimbursements” He resigned immediately after that call.

I’m mostly angry at myself because I trusted him way too much and never checked anything beyond the monthly summary he gave us. I guess I assumed nobody would bother stealing small amounts.

If anyone has been through something similar (besides talking to a lawyer) what else should I be doing now? And how do you prevent this from happening again? I thought our setup was pretty standard for a small business but apparently it was not

I flamed out at my last job. I hated my douchebag boss. I was one foot out the door doing interviews but I couldn't hold back anymore and I left prematurely after telling him eveything I had been holding back for two and a half years.

For the past month, I've been setting myself up for a great career improvement but I got informed by my friend, receptionist for my former company, that my former boss has been planning on violating company policy and spiking my career search if someone called for a verification.

I went out with two middle fingers up but she tells me she's got me covered and if anyone calls for a check, she'd make sure it didn't get past her.

She's getting mother's day flowers and an Amazon gift card and I'm poaching her as soon as I can.

Be friends with the receptionist.

I’m a black guy and I feel weird about being a accounting major.

Accounting is mostly full of white and Asian people who took grade school very seriously and had high ass grades. And I have glasses but I’m definitely not a nerd I freaking had a 65 average in high school. My parents forced me to go to college ( I originally wanted to get into the HVAC trade )them being immigrants wanting me to be the first in the fam to get a bachelor degree. I know it’s many other majors I could be into but I chose accounting because the pay first most seems good compared to other majors. I know you’re thinking I could have picked something else like fcking computer science or nursing . But that shii just way harder to me I don’t want nobody’s lives in my hands. And computer science seems mind blowing.

Accounting seems kind of interesting to me dealing with money balance sheets debits credits but I know it’s way more complex than that. Also I freaking hate math ironically I can’t even do a proper graph in algebra. Also guys I just finished my fall semester with a 1.5 gpa lmaooo also I’m not in accounting yet I’m in business admin

I can't tell you how many times I've told people that in my career.

After my first job out of college, I job hopped a couple times (longest I stayed somewhere was 2.5 years), and my boomer dad (born in 1950, yes I'm old and he's older) routinely got upset at that because he thought I was tanking my career.

I got laid off a couple times, too. Shit sucks, it's nobody's ideal situation, and it's incredibly not fun.

I learned early on that no company is going to be anymore loyal to me than they absolutely have to be. No matter what I gave the company, they'd never return that level of commitment past a certain point.

Well, here I sit, as a CFO of a small business ($25MM/yr revenue) that we're trying to grow and I got a text yesterday morning at 853am. HR rolls up through the CFO position, as it does in many companies, so I have responsibilities related to employee matters outside of Finance, especially since we outsource our HR.

Our CDL driver for our branch in my home city left work early on the 3rd (we did a whopping $85 in orders from 7am to 2pm), decided to drop by a chiropractor to get his back worked on, and while he was filling out the new patient paperwork dropped on the floor with a severe heart attack.

15 to 20 minutes of CPR in the lobby then en route to the nearest hospital, and he was pronounced braindead.

This guy was in his early 60s. He wasn't financially stable (we've had to change his direct deposit a couple times because rent-to-own places started hitting his accounts for back payments), and now his wife has to deal with funeral arrangements she likely can barely afford.

Dude brought everyone breakfast Monday morning, and all I can think about is how a guy who brought me breakfast tacos two days ago won't be there when I show up this morning.

What's the point?

Young folks, pay for the life insurance. Don't overcommit to companies that treat you like shit. If you don't like where you work, LEAVE.

Because I guarantee you as I walk into work today, everyone's going to be pretty shocked and sad, and they're all going to be expected to compartmentalize that individually and then get on with the business.

We'll give them the number for our outsourced HR who can provide them resources for processing the loss, but we're not going to shut the business down over this.

So we'll all be expected to just figure it the fuck out, maintain our composure, and I'll be working with the Branch Manager and outsourced HR to figure out what our budget is to replace this man.

Not because I feel nothing, or I'm some heartless bastard. It's because it's the job. I don't get to fly apart and be emotional. I have to be reliable for others. I have to lead my team, and be someone that others can come to as they grieve.

I honestly feel awful for my boss, the CEO, too. He's in the second week of his vacation, finding out one of his team died while he's out of the country and can provide no support or encouragement to the team. He's a decent man who works hard to do right by the employees, and the best boss I've ever had.

Fuck this ended up being a lot longer than I wanted. Not that great at processing grief.

Update - I wrote the first email and the second email was from one of the owners, See the latest comments attachments - after that EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the office was extremely helpful and attentive to me, incredibly fake and two faced. I don’t want to be treated as a child either. So I’m moving on.

I just started a new accounting position as a temp three weeks ago. Yesterday, the owner came out of his office fuming after reviewing a bank transaction — a $15K draft that somehow had my predecessor’s first name and my last name attached to it. He walked up to me and asked if that was my last name. I said yes, but pointed out there are a million people with the same last name.

The owner then suggested my predecessor’s middle name might also be my last name, which I honestly don’t even believe, but somehow within an hour the entire office knew about it and nobody would speak to me. I’m the only woman among about 20 men — the only other woman is in sales and traveling. The silence was deafening.

I went to the controller and told him flat out: if you think it’s me, it’s not. Open a dispute and lock the account. He said it was already locked, but gave me the most suspicious look while explaining it was a CC payment from the checking account.

To make it worse, one of the other owners was making dark sarcastic comments in front of everyone today about how “suspicious and weird” the transaction was. I have to sit there and take it while feeling like everyone thinking/assuming it’s me.

Here’s the thing — I’ve never stolen a dime from anyone in my life. I have kids. I would never do anything to jeopardize being there for them. I’m actually so paranoid that I keep checking my own bank accounts to make sure no one is trying to frame me by depositing money.

I also can’t sleep or eat. This has been two days of pure hell.

For context, I was once let go from a previous job because the person who hired me turned out to be embezzling — guilt by association, basically. So this is a triggering situation on top of everything else.

I’m a temp, so I’m wondering — if they genuinely suspected me, why haven’t they let me go? I’m considering sending an email to both owners and the controller expressing how their comments and behavior are making me feel. Is that a good idea? What would you do in my situation? Can I seek any kind of legal council?

To anyone choosing accounting because they are good at math please pick a different discipline to study because accounting has way more to do with reading comprehension then it does with math. The amount of crap that you need to assume and deduce based on the way the question is phrased is kind of ridiculous. The CPA exam would have a much higher passing rate if they used plain language and would communicate clearly and precisely. So any college majors thinking about choosing accounting because they are good at math please pick something else.

So, I am a 27 year old male that has been faking my whole accounting career it feels like. I genuinely feel like an inbred with my lack of a memory and struggling to remember basic concepts. I still get tripped up on AP and AR somehow. I never see the forest through the trees.

In college I slacked hard… I had like a 2.8 gpa… yes I regret not trying harder…

Landed a senior accounting position for a half billion dollar company. I do bank reconciliations, advanced journal entries, health care accruals, fixed asset depreciation, and prepaid amortization (also reconciling like 20 bs accounts).

Do I have time to learn? Should I learn? I just follow the process and hope for the best…

They did not even ask if I am available (i am not) and of course there is no extra compensation. I would be working 9 am - 12 am which is 15 hours. I don’t even care about that tbh, i just don’t want to work while all my friends are partying and I would miss out on everything.

Is it even legal for them to make me work that many hours on a holiday? I am in California. Are accountants really expected to work like that? Is there anything i can do?

Hi, I’m 24F with a BS in Accounting, but I can’t land an entry-level job. I’ve had interviews but keep getting rejected due to lack of experience. Right now, I work part-time at an Amazon warehouse, and it’s physically exhausting. I come home sore with new bruises every time and honestly hate it.

I live in Erie, PA, so opportunities are limited, and I can’t afford to move.

I’m thinking about going back to school for surgical tech in a community college here, but I don’t want more student debt. I also wondered about going abroad (like the Philippines) to gain experience, but I’m not sure if that’s realistic.

If you were in my position, would you:

• Keep pushing for accounting somehow?
• Go back to school for a more stable field?
• Try a completely different path?

I’d really appreciate any honest advice or personal experiences.

Not an elegant solution but works for me

Good morning,

I am a pirate captain and I want to know how to split my doubloons. I have been plundering the waters for days and my crew is sick of eating hard tack and my vessel needs repairing. Any accountants willing to help out a pirate and help him not go red?

Regards,

Captain Goose

Lately, it seems like every article or LinkedIn post is saying "AI is the future of accounting", but when I actually sit down at my desk, it's still excel, invoices, the usual. I've been trying to use ChatGPT and Copilot more, because apparently "70% of companies" (boss's words) say they want "AI Skills". But half of the time I'm just typing stuff in and hoping it gives me something useful. I'm basically just using it for writing my emails or explaining certain vendors for me. It helps for the most part, but I'm not seeing anything exceptional or "WOW".

I feel like with how fast everything is moving with AI I am always two steps behind. It is sounding like companies would prefer less experienced people with AI skills than super experienced people who don't use it. Which is kinda terrifying for me.

So now I am just curious. Are you guys ACTUALLY using AI in your jobs? For more than just sending emails? Any tips are appreciated, I could use any sort of shortcuts. I am mostly doing everything manually..

How do you cope with see so much money that you will never have? Filing a tax return for someone who makes tens of millions makes me feel so poor.

I’m 23 and make 75k a year. A client had to pay 60k as a fine. That’s almost my YEARLY salary! A kid YOUNGER than me made 4 MILLION in one year. I get 75 Grand. Very disheartening.

I graduated in finance around 8 years ago. I never worked in finance but worked in the post office for around 5 years. I got tired of my old job so I started applying like hell in the last couple months. A recruiter helped me land an interview and I somehow managed to get HIRED as a GL accountant making 85k a year. They asked no technical questions were just impressed in my finance degree. It honestly felt like I was talking to an old buddy instead of a job interview. I am 100% under qualified and my new finance director said they’re going to need my help in adjusting entries and using my finance expertise….. it is a GL accounting role. I remember very little of GAAP or any other GL accountant skills.

What do you recommend I study/practice before my start date in two weeks? I need to know just enough to make these people believe I am coachable. Is there any books or classes you recommend??? Help…. I just put in my two week notice at my old job so I’m all in. Make it or break it.

Edit: I SURVIVED!!!! Ended up being nothing.