I know the base pay is about 53-55 + 5 for the CPA bonus, but what about the next few levels go? (All the way to partner) and how does the partner system work (equity partner vs non equity partner). Just looking for personal experience.
Thanks

Going to check in on this later. Not an accountant but curious.

At my firm (one of the big 4) in tax:

Senior 70-75, 5-8% bonus
Manager 90-110, 10-17% bonus
Director 140-165, 12-19% bonus
Managing Director (same as non-equity partner) around 250, higher bonus
1st year partner 400, but you have a loan to cover your buy-in. Most folks structure it to keep the director salary & pay off the loan in 2 years.

Audit is somewhat lower, advisory somewhat higher.

Thanks! Do you know the typical timeline between each?

Average time to partner in tax is around 14 years.

Holy crap. I assumed first year CPAs at big firms would be starting at somewhere around $100k. Do they really only get $60k?

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Holy crap. I assumed first year CPAs at big firms would be starting at somewhere around $100k. Do they really only get $60k?

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I think because a two year stint at a Big 4 is viewed as a bit of a golden ticket by recent graduates, there's a massive supply of qualified and willing accountants.

What's really crazy is there didn't seem to be much of a difference in salaries based on cost of living. I don't think staff in NYC make much more than staff in Houston.

i did not realize there was such a delta between big 4 accounting and consulting.. we were offering analysts starting out of undergrad 70k+ fall of '13

I know nothing about accounting firms. I don't know what entry-level CPAs are typically billed out to clients at, or what their overhead is like, or what kind of revenue they usually bring in. But at my law firm and law firm's of comparable size, a first year salary offer under about $120k base would be insulting. Also, partner track is usually 6-8 years. I just kind of assumed it was somewhat similar for CPAs. That is certainly eye opening.

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I know nothing about accounting firms. I don't know what entry-level CPAs are typically billed out to clients at, or what their overhead is like, or what kind of revenue they usually bring in. But at my law firm and law firm's of comparable size, a first year salary offer under about $120k base would be insulting. Also, partner track is usually 6-8 years. I just kind of assumed it was somewhat similar for CPAs. That is certainly eye opening.

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i have never lumped cpas and lawyers as comparable.. my comment was based on undergrads hired at big 4 in acct or consulting probably had classes together throughout college.. many of the students interview for both at the same time.. not sure comparing starting salaries is relevant to someone who went to another 3-4 years of school though

Good friend of mine is with PWC advisory in Houston. $60k with $5k sign on.

my 'we' above was deloitte.. i spent about 10 years between ibm and deloitte before taking an industry position.

and sorry OP, we derailed your accounting salary question.. but it sounds like you need to be a lawyer instead

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my 'we' above was deloitte.. i spent about 10 years between ibm and deloitte before taking an industry position.

and sorry OP, we derailed your accounting salary question.. but it sounds like you need to be a lawyer instead

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Thought about it. But I'm about to go into my grad year in acct and internship in a week so hahah

Lucky for you there are accounting jobs by the dozen right now. Not so much for lawyers. I don't think we work as much on average either.

The NYC v. Texas salary thing is interesting - and completly true. It's simple supply & demand - young professionals tend to want to spend a few years in NYC or LA, and they are willing to take less in pay to get that opportunity. The tough part is getting them to stay after those 1st few years.

Good luck on your internship Cody!

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i did not realize there was such a delta between big 4 accounting and consulting.. we were offering analysts starting out of undergrad 70k+ fall of '13

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I has been like this for ever and was the driver behind the splits in the late 90s

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What's really crazy is there didn't seem to be much of a difference in salaries based on cost of living. I don't think staff in NYC make much more than staff in Houston.

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There was a 10K difference when I started in NYC in 2011. And yeah, Big 4 starting salaries are pretty low for all the work performed. You can get a 10K bump in starting salary if you have a Masters in Tax, though they ended up giving me a crappy raise so I wouldn't be making too much more because I started out higher.

So is a masters in tax like having a degree in pissing people off?

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So is a masters in tax like having a degree in pissing people off?

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Average turnover is two years, so congrats to those that stick with it. My Partner constantly made us eat hours, which made his profitability look better but none of us could meet utilization, and HR could care less.

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Average turnover is two years, so congrats to those that stick with it. My Partner constantly made us eat hours, which made his profitability look better but none of us could meet utilization, and HR could care less.

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I freaking hate that ****. It is so stupid. I also hate the mother fos that adjust selected time instead of taking a hit on the entire freaking project. If the project isn't profitable then it isn't profitable. That should tell people whether or not a client is worth retaining.

I now work for a boutique tax firm in the west end Galleria area 6 years out of school. (Briargrove pretty much). Most everyone here has worked for at least one mid market that got bought out by a larger regional firm. Additionally I've worked for a larger local firm too. Anyway my advice is that you will know within 2-3 years whether you like public accounting and whether you are cut out for it. After that time frame if you don't feel it then you should start looking into moving into industry.

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Holy crap. I assumed first year CPAs at big firms would be starting at somewhere around $100k. Do they really only get $60k?

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It is a steady stream of relatively cheap labor who probably just completed an exam where they suspended life for the past 6 months, so the company simply asks them... what's another 2 years?

Your first couple years in Big 4 (really all the way to manager), you're definitely underpaid for the value you provide (if you're good), but that ignores the investment you're making in your future career - either if you want to progress on a partner track or the value of that experience on your resume.

I like to compare Big 4 to a medical residency. You're underpaid and overworked, but you learn a ton and are super marketable afterwards.

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I like to compare Big 4 to a medical residency. You're underpaid and overworked, but you learn a ton and are super marketable afterwards

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This.

From my friends in Houston doing big 4 from PPA they were offered around 52k plus the 5k bonus only if they got above a certain score on all 4 parts of the CPA I believe. You will also work a lot of hours. I would recommend industry out of school if you can. Unless you make it 3-5'years more on the 5 year side it won't be as much of a benefit as people make it out to be as far as making yourself that much more marketable. I work in O&G in Houston and when tthere is one spot available and 10 candidates that are all CPAs trying to get out of the big 4 accounting world, only one person gets the job. Then that one person most of the time starts in an entry level job just like someone right out of college. Unless of course you have that 5 years experience, then you become a lot more marketable.

Plan on staying at big four for a long time.

Agsincebirth is living in another world. Any big 4 experience is valuable. Making senior will give you very decent landing options. Making manger sets you up for great opportunities in industry.

I never said it wasn't valuable. How long does it take to make senior? How long does it take to make manager? There is a very common misconception out there that if you work a couple years for the big 4 then move to industry you will be a supervisor, director, or manager right away. This is very untrue and a lot of PPA students eat that up and believe it.

Three years down the road they tell me how much time they wasted because their salary was way less than industry and they would be so much further along if they went straight to industry. They missed out on three years of relationships because they thought big 4 mattered that much. If you know where you want to be then it's better to build your network there. You will be further along because relationships and networking is key. If you stay for 5 years and get a title change that is different. As another poster said, plan working there a long time and eventually it will pay off. Short term not as much but good experience.

Staff 1- Year 1
Staff 2- Year 2
Senior 1- Year 3
Senior 2- Year 4
Senior 3- Year 5
Manager

At least at EY.

I agree with this. At our training's I became good friends with people from NY and I think they start off at 58.5K instead of Texas's average of 53-55K.

What people don't realize about public accounting is how nice the flexibility is. At EY you receive 15 vacation days, 10 firm holidays, and 3 personal days. That totals to be 28 days off. Very hard to find that anywhere when coming out of college. As long as your boss is ok with it, you can work from home, leave early for doctor appointments, etc.

You might be thinking well you work "_" hours. Especially in tax, working 70+ hours isn't normal. While you might hit that a few times during busy season, the average for anyone is around 50-55. Especially in today's society, that isn't abnormal. Now during the offseason, I wonder how people even hit 40 hours. They come in at 9-9:30 and leave at 5 while taking an hour to hour and a half lunch break.

Not that it matters much, but I 'll give you my experience. I switched from public education. Taking classes towards a masters in accounting, undergrad was sports management(I had different aspirations then). Landed a professional associate position at a smaller firm auditing governmental/non-profit entities. I started at 52k the first year(that was the most they had offered a new worker) and have received two raises since(smallish) to be at $55k within a year and a half. I am sitting fr the CPA this Spring and Summer, the raise after that should be considerably more than I make right now.

I know everyone looks toward Big 4 experience, but I can also tell you that the experience I am getting right now is good. I already have a family and didn't feel Big 4 would work with our schedule and the smaller firm allows the flexibility to do lots with them. It may not be at the top end of salaries in the end, but there is something to be said about being able to be there for my family while I gain experience.

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I agree with this. At our training's I became good friends with people from NY and I think they start off at 58.5K instead of Texas's average of 53-55K.

What people don't realize about public accounting is how nice the flexibility is. At EY you receive 15 vacation days, 10 firm holidays, and 3 personal days. That totals to be 28 days off. Very hard to find that anywhere when coming out of college. As long as your boss is ok with it, you can work from home, leave early for doctor appointments, etc.

You might be thinking well you work "_" hours. Especially in tax, working 70+ hours isn't normal. While you might hit that a few times during busy season, the average for anyone is around 50-55. Especially in today's society, that isn't abnormal. Now during the offseason, I wonder how people even hit 40 hours. They come in at 9-9:30 and leave at 5 while taking an hour to hour and a half lunch break.

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I agree on the flexibility. I call bull**** on the 50-55. Id say the average is 60 but a ton of it is client dependent and driven. If a client needs their ****, a client needs it.

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What people don't realize about public accounting is how nice the flexibility is. At EY you receive 15 vacation days, 10 firm holidays, and 3 personal days. That totals to be 28 days off. Very hard to find that anywhere when coming out of college. As long as your boss is ok with it, you can work from home, leave early for doctor appointments, etc.

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I guess I'm lucky because this doesn't sound that good to me. I'm also not accounting though.

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I agree with this. At our training's I became good friends with people from NY and I think they start off at 58.5K instead of Texas's average of 53-55K.

What people don't realize about public accounting is how nice the flexibility is. At EY you receive 15 vacation days, 10 firm holidays, and 3 personal days. That totals to be 28 days off. Very hard to find that anywhere when coming out of college. As long as your boss is ok with it, you can work from home, leave early for doctor appointments, etc.

You might be thinking well you work "_" hours. Especially in tax, working 70+ hours isn't normal. While you might hit that a few times during busy season, the average for anyone is around 50-55. Especially in today's society, that isn't abnormal. Now during the offseason, I wonder how people even hit 40 hours. They come in at 9-9:30 and leave at 5 while taking an hour to hour and a half lunch break.

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I agree on the flexibility. I call bull**** on the 50-55. Id say the average is 60 but a ton of it is client dependent and driven. If a client needs their ****, a client needs it.

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I was on a main client that was quarterly and had two other small clients, so I besides November and December, I never really had those down times (and December was still high prepping for year end). There definitely were people that you wouldn't see the in the office for more than 25 hours a week after Sept 15th, though.

Also, that NY salary amounts would be someone starting with a Bachelor only (at least for tax), so PPA people should start out higher than that.

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What people don't realize about public accounting is how nice the flexibility is. At EY you receive 15 vacation days, 10 firm holidays, and 3 personal days. That totals to be 28 days off. Very hard to find that anywhere when coming out of college. As long as your boss is ok with it, you can work from home, leave early for doctor appointments, etc.

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I was in forensic services and no one on the team ever got close to using all of their vacation.

We also we at clients every day, and had very little flexibility.

I was glad I got the experience I did, but am also glad I moved on.