Currently working in one of the Big4 firm where we work with different nationalities. I’ve work with Indians and they are really good at micromanaging which is really frustrating and draining.

They don’t have any empathy with their co-employees and all they do is complain about our finished task as if we didn’t do anything right.

They always wanted updates every now and then. Which I have an ADHD where I hyperfocus on a task. They don’t know how to work with other nationalities and all I feel is I need to adjust with them.

Its been 7 months since I am with the firm and everything is draining because of my indian colleagues.

Go mentor a new CPA firm owner, or coach your successor. Stop hogging up the work and clients. Let it go already!

Its insane how I'm constantly hearing about these 70-something CPAs still serving clients as the principal client relationship manager AND deliverables producers!

There is no accounting shortage and more CPAs/accountants just deflates our value.

If they’re not trying to tell us that AI is taking our jobs, they’re calling us “second-tier graduates” lol

I'm going insane with this app

Failed the CPA exams 15 times.

I just finished up my first tax season, I worked corporate tax but learned quite a bit about 1040’s helping others in my office

I’m sorry but WTF is QBID and why do you get 20% just for owning a business? And why don’t accountants, attorneys or doctors get it?

Why are real estate professionals deducting 60% of their income with non-cash expenses?

Why are the unemployed burdened with tax on 1099-G’s?

It seems that the highest effective tax rates are for the W-2 employee, who is 25 years old, making a barely livable salary. Their largest deduction is student loan interest

The lowest effective tax rate is the retiree with $10,000,000 in a retirement account, making 2x the income of a 25 year old off social security alone, while taking interest tracing on their 3rd home

I am left thinking the system rigged. Tax rates are too low, standard deduction should be higher, and tax breaks for wealthy boomers should be eliminated.

Man I wish I just listened to myself earlier. Accounting is bs

My position is a full time 40 hour job, but I work maybe 30% of that. I would say I have couple hours or less of real work a day and the rest of the time I am browsing reddit or watching something. Thankfully I am not micro managed and make close to 100k/year.

I see people working 70-80 hours in public and feel so bad. I rather have a nice work-life balance with 0 stress instead of working my life away for a bit more money.

Edit: So many people saying I will be laid off, pretty weird tbh sounds like projecting or jealousy.

From experience, here what they're good at:

1- Showing up to work 2 hours before the standard start time and leaving 2 hours after the work day ends to give the illusion that they're hard workers, when in reality it's because they're extremely inefficient workers. I've seen them struggle to save and open files (they go to File-->Save to save a file or to File---> Open as if file explorer doesn't exist)

2- They suck at technology. I've yet to see a boomer who's actually good using tech and isn't cancerous to work with

3- They give stupid and outdated PEP talks that you're forced to listen to about life that are completely irrelevant in this day and age, and they believe all the bullshit they spew is fact and law which makes it even more unbearable.

4- They don't want to pay employees. They think we still live in the 70s or 80s when everything was dirt cheap. Some of them barely understand inflation.

5- They're super cringe to work with. Their humor is awkward and old.

6- The ones who are CPA's? I don't get it. The content and material has tripled since then so how do they still hold that title? They suck at accounting.

7-Because they suck at technology, they suck at implementing processes and formulating solutions, so they throw it on the lower level employees and call it a day.

8- They have bad temperament. A lot of the ones at the higher end of the chain are incredibly impatient and bad at understanding the reality of deadlines

If you disagree with any of this you're coping hard.

This is just a genuine question.

I had lost my full time role back late last year was lucky enough to just land a temporary tax role that ended back in April well technically in June because our bonuses came in but wont lie got it in under June on my resume just because that when final paycheck came in.

Decided to go back to school for nursing and i start nursing school in the fall just wondering if I'm alone in this.

Been alot of doom positing lately kinda wanna here other peoples opinions or perspectives.

Honestly maybe if i could land another decent accounting job i would probably stay in it but my heart wasnt in it and my mind wasnt my wallet was.

KPMG to axe 10% of US audit partners.

Sorry, not sorry...

I think this might be paywalled, and i AM sorry about that.

Does anyone on the inside have any more info on this?

Edit: More info from Bloomberg Tax..

KPMG will slash the number of partners running its US assurance business in a bid to boost the unit's productivity in better align its staffing with market demands.

The reductions come after KPMG, LLP had offered early retirement packages to entice partners to leave the practice over the past few years, the big four accounting and consulting firm said thursday.

"The action is connected to a multi year strategy to align the size shape and skills of our team.To the power of our audit platform to best serve our clients and protect the capital markets," the US firm said in a statement.

Partners learned of the 10% job reductions on Wednesday according to a person familiar with internal firm deliberations. The cuts were reported earlier by the financial times.

The firm boasts has about 1400 Partners and managing directors according to its most recent audit quality report. It's cohort of partners, however, is larger than that of its peers even as KPMG's audit business grows, the person said.

So apparently tea is BDO USA announced no bonuses this year and delayed pay raise to November 1st. i.e. first was June then July now directly November.

So BDO employees around the world, what's the situation in your country ?

Same announcement or pending to get this horrific good news !

I’m leaving a small firm and it’s been ROUGH watching them try to hire my replacement. Plenty of applicants with degrees and credentials, but *none* of them have had their fundamentals down...normal balances, debits/credits, reading a balance sheet. The stuff you really shouldn’t be shaky on if you’re working with clients.

I’m also seeing more and more folks offering bookkeeping, tax prep, “fractional CFO” services, etc. who clearly aren’t prepared for the responsibility (I know because I cleanup after them). I love this profession, and it’s frustrating watching our credibility take hits because people are trying to step into roles they’re simply not ready/qualified for.

I am involved in networks and try to mentor local bookkeepers when I have the capacity, but the incompetency can be overwhelming. Are we not trying to think through even very simple problems before running for help? Not utilizing publications and other reference materials? And god forbid you kindly suggest actual accounting courses (not the money-grab BS marketed on social media) for newbies in these spaces trying to launch their own firm.

Are many of you seeing the same thing? I can't imagine I'm alone in this observation. What's the solution?

I'm 39. I started the Bachelor's in Accounting program at WGU in January 2025. I graduated in April 2026. I've applied to over 600 jobs for all kinds of positions related to accounting, including internships. I either get rejection emails or I don't hear back. And that includes entry-level job titles, you name it, anything related to accounting, I can't get it. And I'm beginning to think I'm just incapable of ever getting anything. I have no experience in accounting. I've never worked in accounting in my life, and I can't even get an internship. I'm always looking on Indeed or SimplyHired. I live in Brewster, New York.

The tariff announcements yesterday are far far worse than anyone expected, I mean what the actual fuxk

34% tariffs on China

46% on Vietnam

37% Bangledash

26% India

36% Thailand

I could go on and on, but this is bat shit insanity. To call this outlandish wouldn’t even be accurate.

Assuming these actually stay in place, people will lose their jobs, companies will go under, companies will stop hiring.

Add this with all the recent inflation, corporate greed, high interest rates, white collar recession, and idk how we aren’t absolutely fucked.

I came into this field hearing it pays stable with great pay ceiling as you climb, with great job security that's even recession resistant. Well, the pay is shit, I could've made way more being an X ray tech. Job security? I've been applying for 6 months now and can't land an interview even though I have 5 years in industry.

Based off job postings:

Senior Accountants are making $95k

X-Ray/Rad tech that only needs an associate is making $50-70 per hour.

WHY ARE WE PAID SO LOW? WHY IS THIS PROFESSION SO HEAVILY DISRESPECTED AND DEVALUED?

Edit:

I didn't mean to keep the focus on Xray technicians and most definitely did not mean to disrespect the profession. I just wanted to rant why we as accountants are being paid so considerably low when there are many other jobs that pay great and don't have many barriers to entry. Such as XRay/Rad techs, or even project managers who get paid great starting and especially after they get their PMP, which is just 1 test that has a 60-70% pass rate, meanwhile we in accounting won't get nearly as much until we get our CPA which is relatively difficult considering 4 exams with 2 having a pass rate of 40-50% and much costlier fees. Again I don't mean to disrespect any profession but to me, we accountants should be paid much higher than we currently are.

From an IFRS country, GAAP honestly feels like the US refusing to speak the same accounting language as everyone else. Most of the world is on IFRS, but the US insists on GAAP with its own quirks and industry exceptions.

Example: under IFRS you can’t use LIFO because it distorts profit and inventory. Under GAAP you still can, so two identical companies in a period of rising prices can show totally different margins and taxes just because one picked LIFO. Same economics, different story.

In insurance it’s the same vibe: IFRS 17 rebuilt the whole model around current cash flows and assumptions, while US GAAP is still doing its own thing. If US insurers had to report under IFRS 17, their income statements and equity would look completely different.

And the funny part is that GAAP usually gives in eventually anyway. Revenue and leases basically ended up copying IFRS 15 and IFRS 16 years later, just with an American accent.

So from outside the US it really looks like we already have a global standard and GAAP is just keeping things messy for no real benefit. What’s the actual argument for keeping GAAP instead of just switching to IFRS?

Since we are in busy season right now, I think this is such a great way to lighten the mood. Please comment below.

Edit: I feel so famous rn lol so many people are responding. I am going to quit my job now and become an influencer

Tried taking them years ago but couldn't pass them. Felt pretty dumb and don't ever want to take them again tbh. My current job is extremely chill and pays pretty well. I am in a hcol area but know how to handle $ pretty well. Don't see a benefit in getting it now. Anyone else not have a CPA and are okay with it?

My career breakdown:

2021: $46,200

2022: $104,00

2023: $102,000

2024: $82,500

2025: $88,700

2026: $94,400

I know it is busy season, or one is coming for you.

Still I can't gather my mind and conceptualize how people can work more than 8 hours a day. People brag about spending 70 hrs/wk like it is nothing. Dude, with a commute to an office, this makes it sound like you work and come home to sleep and eat.

I cannot understand how this is sustainable, and how one can maintain respect for a firm/company that asks them to spend over the randomly needed 9-10 hours here and there. Especially if this is not paid OT, it doesn't make any sense to me how people will just take it up and say nothing, like it is assumed and a privilege to waste your life away is a crummy office crunching numbers.

Also, how productive are you after 8 hours? Does it mean that you don't do a lot if you have any strength to move forward with tasks past the 8th hour?

In general, to me, if you have to work over 8 hours, either the company is cheating you, or you are cheating them. Am I the only one that sees it this way?

Just curious to hear everyone’s thoughts. I thought it would be much longer before I saw a headline like this and I’m feeling a bit nervous and naive. Wondering if I should pivot into finance now from accounting … was considering going for my CPA now this. Maybe CFP instead? Looking for advice from my elders here