I am currently in my 6th year at a Big 4 Public Accounting company, with experience auditing various oilfield service clients, manufacturing clients, and large O&G companies.

To be honest, I'm burnt out and can't stand the overregulation that is the public audit industry. I spend so much time working on CYA documentation in the off chance we ever got selected for a PCAOB inspection, it would baffle user's of the financial statements how much time auditors spend on the most insignificant things due to PCAOB standards.

I'm looking for any advice from people who have left the Big 4. I feel like I have a lot of knowledge about how businesses work as a whole and know the Audit process, but the jump into industry still seems like a large knowledge gap as I've never performed the day to day accounting work (booking JE's, accruals, reversals) and I'm also worried the accounting cycle (month-end close, quarter-end close, year-end close) will get very static and boring after awhile.

Anybody have experience leaving the Big 4 and going into something completely unrelated to Accounting? Or if you did go into Accounting in industry, what was the transition like?

cef88 said:

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it would baffle user's of the financial statements how much time auditors spend on the most insignificant things due to PCAOB standards.

I'm looking for any advice from people who have left the Big 4. I feel like I have a lot of knowledge about how businesses work as a whole and know the Audit process, but the jump into industry still seems like a large knowledge gap as I've never performed the day to day accounting work (booking JE's, accruals, reversals) and I'm also worried the accounting cycle (month-end close, quarter-end close, year-end close) will get very static and boring after awhile.

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Wouldn't baffle me. Those hours get passed along to the client ya know?

With respect to the rest, I'll preface by saying I've never worked in Big 4 but have worked years with Big 4. I've been in industry since graduation. A lot of your concerns are valid but the extent you'll encounter them, I would just say, it depends.

A lot depends on the complexity of the business you join. Some are going to be looking for a Big 4 guy to bring them up to standard. In that case, the hurdle you have to jump is backfilling your knowledge of how GAAP says it is supposed to work with the practical application to that particular business. Those types of businesses probably won't have quarter closes, and may not even have month end closes. For myself, our quarter end wouldn't look any different than month end if not for covenant reporting - there's no other operational or financial reason for us to look at quarters differently.

Other businesses are going to look for Big 4 guys because that's who the hiring manager is and where he came from. Birds of a feather, so to speak. Those will be an less bumpy path for you I might think since it is going to look a lot like what you expected it to according to your audit history.

Lastly, the reverse of the bolded statement could be offered as equally true - Auditors might not fully grasp the amount of time spent by companies to get their books to a point that resembles something that GAAP might be interested in...or IFRS or who cares. It's all going to come down to you just wanting to jump in and learn/adapt as you go. Finance and accounting often takes a backseat to operational needs and priorities, a lot of my time is spent reallocating, reconciling and adjusting for decisions made on the fly. If you're able to get the accounting cycle to look static and boring - good for you, you're doing it right. If you get there, spend all the time you can with operations/sales folks and really understand the practical underpinnings of the business and not just your preconceptions based on balance sheets and P&Ls.

Thanks for the reply Sims! About the bolded statement, I think the users would be baffled by the hourly cost that the client is paying (and thus impacting the users investment) on items that wouldn't change any investment decisions. That being said, audit fees are generally very low as % of overall expenses at almost any company I've seen, so the cost of those additional hours isn't really going to have an effect on the client's bottom line. I'm just cynical and realized that the relatively few overall bad actors in the past (Enron for example) have forced regulators to require every audit to cover quite a bit of work over areas that 99% of public companies have no real risk.

Also, regulators don't treat audit firms equally when it comes to the standard they hold Big 4 companies to compared to the rest, which irks me. I understand that is like saying I should expect the same thing from A&M Football as I do Prairie View regardless of investment and ability. But if standards are made to be enforced, enforce them equally.

Regarding your response, I am less interested in a financial reporting role, I really have no desire in creating financial statements. I do, however, find interest in the marriage of operations and finance/accounting. Some of my most impactful responsibilities to me has been working with Inventory managers and helping them understand how they perform inventory counts and overall inventory control align with what Accounting and our Audit team need. I also have enjoyed working with Project Managers on manufacturing clients to learn how they develop their estimates of the total project cost and track costs relating to revenue recognized over-time jobs. So I'm hopeful to find a job that allows me more face time with operations to help align their goals with accounting. Based on my clients, it seems like there is a gap and breakdown in communication/understanding between operations and accounting.

I'm also well aware that the close process is rarely static/boring so I think I misspoke. I think a better term would be that it would feel repetitive, but that is relative to the type of business and it's growth.

You may be interested in an internal audit type of role. Somewhere that is not just SOX / financial reporting. I would highly suggest you start looking at job postings to see what they look like...larger companies will generally fall into 1) operational accounting (AP, AR, JEs, close), 2) financial reporting, and 3) controls / IA. Smaller companies will have more cross functional jobs doing #1 and #2 and #3 will be outsourced / co-sourced or non-existent. We can help you interpret what something means for day-to-day life if it doesn't make sense. I personally think it is a critical question to determine what system a company is using as well, not having good tools can make an accounting job miserable. I was an auditor for 5 years (controls / systems side), did industry Controller jobs for awhile (ran a reverse merger / S-4 during that period), and now run a consulting business for a little context on my background. Welcome to PM me if you dont want to post something on the board, or if you are in Houston happy to get coffee with you.

I like the idea of internal audit if it affords you the chance to move more operational within the same company - otherwise you're just adding more audit experience.

Somewhere else to consider if it strikes you as interesting might be credit underwriting, portfolio analysis etc in banking/investing.

Have you thought about Transaction Advisory/Financial Due Diligence?

I switched out of Big4 audit into TAS/FDD and have loved it. Leverages a lot of the foundational accounting knowledge, but most of my day is spent modeling and using excel (with way less writing). Also, all of the client service is with either companies eager to sell their business, or private equity/investment bankers. I find these individuals more fun to work with rather than Patricia in AP who has been in the same role for 35 years.

Happy to discuss more with you if you need more info!

I started my career in big 4 and transitioned into an internal role similar to my client companies as an accounting manager. Quickly made my way to controller and years later CFO. It's a transition at first but if you tire of the regulatory stuff in auditing you may want to look for smaller companies (certainly non-public) where you can learn a ton.

Have you considered audit with smaller accounting firms who have large, privately-held clients? If you enjoy actual audit work but hate the regulatory side of things this may be an option.

I've been fortunate to grow into a controller role in the energy/trading space, without having to go the public route. While I see the benefits of going the public route, I'm extremely grateful I didn't have to do it that way to be successful in the accounting field.

My suggestion would be to figure out if you want to stay in accounting or not. If you decide you do want to stay, then make the move to industry ASAP. You need to get some experience on the other side to see what you like. You don't have to take the general accounting path if you think you won't like the "monotony" of month-end close and financial reporting. You could plot a plan to grow into more of a specialized role - like derivatives, fixed assets, lease, etc.

If you decide to go to a different field altogether, then more power to you. Do something that makes you happy.

There is a way to leverage Linkedin (and other tools) to find former members of Big 4 Audit and see where they are currently working. Former Student Career Services has tools to secure their email addresses aligned with an approach for reaching out for the perspective you are seeking.
Would be glad to walk you through the resources .
You have had your head down taking care of business so may not have seen our intro video.

ppausky78@tamu.edu

I know you specifically said you weren't interested in financial reporting, but I work for an O&G company in San Antonio that has an opening in financial reporting. The hiring manager also came from big 4. Can post my contact info if you're interested.

Go do FP&A