What’s the best piece of advice you could offer to a young CPA just starting out in the profession?
• Never take training for granted. Get the most out of it. Get your CPA early and go after your masters in tax or business. Treat your clients as you would want to be treated. Learn from your mistakes.
• Pay attention to the details, understand the big picture, and have a strategy.
• If you became a CPA because you love working with numbers, you’re off to the right start. Now, for the hard part, find the field of accounting that fits your personality and peruse it. Don’t chase the dollar; it’ll find you. Just find a niche you enjoy as much as any hobby you have, and working hard to succeed will come easier for you.
• Until you obtain experience, listen to those that have.
• Don’t get caught up in negativity.
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What’s the single most important factor affecting career paths in the profession today?
• CPAs are more than just accountants – they’re finance people and business and individuals planners. Image is the most important factor affecting the profession. If we are respected and held important to business & individual financial success more young folks will join us and more folks will use us. If, however, CPAs are not viewed as essential to the business & individual community the profession will shrink. Personally, I believe the public sees the value of the CPA but the profession must keep pushing its importance to the public.
• Fast changing technical and compliance requirements.
• Keep your options open. I’m not promoting job hopping, but the simple truth is the best way to move up is often to move on. Hold a high standard for going to another employer, but don’t shy away from a better carreer opportunity.
• Client Service.
• Balance between work and life
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Are you a “people person?”
It may be more important to your career than your technical expertise, according to more than 400 CPAs in the survey so far. Here we present the Executive Preview for the Bay Street Group study, “Career Strategies 2007.” Read on for verbatim responses on advice and guidance for new CPAs and the profession as a whole.
Join the survey, get the results, here.
What’s the best piece of advice you could offer to a young CPA just starting out in the profession?
• Never take training for granted. Get the most out of it. Get your CPA early and go after your masters in tax or business. Treat your clients as you would want to be treated. Learn from your mistakes.
• Pay attention to the details, understand the big picture, and have a strategy.
READ MORE →
Is there anything else we should be asking about finding success in today’s profession?
• What one character trait do you feel makes you best suited for a career as a CPA?
• What is your priority (purpose) – money or ethical work product?
• How do you know whether you will be happier in public or private accounting? What are the pros and cons of each career path, and what amount of earnings can be realistically expected from each?
• How important is money in your happiness radar?
• What are the unexpected paths that your CPA license may lead you? For instance, I never expected to be working as an educational administrator, but I love it.
• Are partners in large firms willing to sacrifice income to help facilitate a better work / life balance?
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