My firm lays off 10% of our employees as we're preparing for Tax Season

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Current Events » My firm lays off 10% of our employees as we're preparing for Tax Season
Like what the fuck is corporate thinking? We need all the help we can get!
DI MOLTO!
Know any personally?
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Cocytus posted...
Know any personally?

Sadly, yes. They already gave me names that I'm suppose to give the bad news to...on my fucking day off.
DI MOLTO!
Got the lay off today. Stinks to be me.
Above all things, never be afraid. The enemy who forces you to retreat is himself afraid of you at that very moment.
you a CPA as well?
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They are thinking they have more cash to make interest on when they don't have to pay those salaries.

krazychao5 posted...
you a CPA as well?

Yep, and my firm picked the worst timing to give lay offs.
DI MOLTO!
That decision is very much a profit before employees one. They are just banking on the fact that everyone will just put in more busy season hours to make up for it while they reduce payroll 10%.

This despite the fact that the traditional CPA busy season becomes more and more frowned upon each year as industry-side jobs start offering more competitive salaries, benefits and better work-life balance. So not only will you lose the 10% of the workforce they laid off but you'll lose people who will see their busy season getting worse and be like "fuck it, I'm out."

I swear firms just aren't seeing how monumentally COVID has changed the perception of the traditional CPA life.
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Compsognathus posted...
be like "fuck it, I'm out."


we've all given up and headed into depression season (for the unluckiest ones).
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Welcome to being publicly traded?
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ellis123 posted...
Welcome to being publicly traded?
CPA firms aren't typically public, they are owned by the partner group.
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Compsognathus posted...
CPA firms aren't typically public, they are owned by the partner group.
Ah, missed that.
"A shouted order to do something of dubious morality with an unpredictable outcome? Thweeet! "
My FC is in my profile.
That sucks. Partners must be wanting a larger pool for themselves, and know that the culture is "max work from min employees." They know, even if it's poorer quality, the returns will get prepared.

But hey, public accounting and accounting as just a career field, are losing more and more people each day, so that's on them. People don't want to become accountants anymore. Big 4 will be fine most likely just because they'll still be considered the "prestigious" employers of accounting, but other than that, it's going to be rough for smaller mid-size firms.
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always surprised to see other CPA on here as well. figured we'd have better shit to do, lmao

couldn't imagine a 10% layoff at my place. mostly considering there are only four full time employees lol
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Not a CPA but work in tax and my firm is hiring more people luckily. Not a major CPA firm though so it doesn't treat employees like shit. Associates and interns required weekly hours cap at 60.

Still miserable just by the nature of the work, but the suits aren't actively making the job worse in the name of more profits.
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I'm not seeing the point in me graduating with a bachelors in Accounting now. All I hear on the Accounting subreddits are how underpaid public accountants are despite having a CPA or CFA. You work for shitty pay for 10 years and at best you make partner making 100k+. Is it worth it? If I take a 100k loan to finish my graduate at a 7-10% interest rate (what the banks will give me with my credit), I'll be living paycheck to paycheck with a 60k salary.

Every single AR/AP entry level job that pays $20-22 an hour requires 3 years of accounting work experience. Am I expected to work at $15 an hour for 3 years while I have debt from my undergraduate degree? The math doesn't work out. Tell me how this works. Anyone please.

I majored in accounting because I wanted to avoid taking Calc 2, 3 and Linear Algebra. I also thought the job would give me stability with a steady paycheck that matches with inflation. Now I might suck it up and take those courses and move onto majoring in Finance or Business Admin with a focus on computer information systems instead.

Maybe entrepreneurship is the way to go now. Instead of going to graduate school, maybe I'll use that loan money to start up a business. I'm so confused. Man... life is tough.
Nobody knows you're a dog on the internet ruff.
TodorokiHayato posted...
I'm not seeing the point in me graduating with a bachelors in Accounting now. All I hear on the Accounting subreddits are how underpaid public accountants are despite having a CPA or CFA. You work for shitty pay for 10 years and at best you make partner making 100k+. Is it worth it? If I take a 100k loan to finish my graduate at a 7-10% interest rate (what the banks will give me with my credit), I'll be living paycheck to paycheck with a 60k salary.

Every single AR/AP entry level job that pays $20-22 an hour requires 3 years of accounting work experience. Am I expected to work at $15 an hour for 3 years while I have debt from my undergraduate degree? The math doesn't work out. Tell me how this works. Anyone please.

I majored in accounting because I wanted to avoid taking Calc 2, 3 and Linear Algebra. I also thought the job would give me stability with a steady paycheck that matches with inflation. Now I might suck it up and take those courses and move onto majoring in Finance or Business Admin with a focus on computer information systems instead.

Maybe entrepreneurship is the way to go now. Instead of going to graduate school, maybe I'll use that loan money to start up a business. I'm so confused. Man... life is tough.
Unless you are working at a microscopic firm or in the lowest cost of living possible you'll be making over $100+ within 5 years. If you make partner you'll be making many times that.

Working at a CPA firm is still the best route out of college, even if industry jobs are getting more competitive. Advancement is just so much better. You could start at an industry job that pays similar to associate role at a CPA firm, but your raises will suck and you could still be in that role 3 years from now. At a firm you'll get much better raises and after 3 years you will be a senior associate, guaranteed. Then if you decide to leave public accounting you can jump straight into a higher industry job, leapfrogging the person who has been sitting in the same staff accountant role for 6 years.

Industry is getting better but it's still not there yet from a raw advancement perspective.
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Prestoff posted...
Sadly, yes. They already gave me names that I'm suppose to give the bad news to...on my fucking day off.

"It's my day off. You do this."

Also, unless you're in HR or a hiring manager (are you?), this shouldn't be something that falls on you.
What has books ever teached us? -- Captain Afrohead
Subject-verb agreement. -- t3h 0n3
the corporate theme of 2024 is doing more with less.
Now or never.
Compsognathus posted...
That decision is very much a profit before employees one.

Profit before even the success of the business.

How do you expect to have a successful tax season if you don't have enough accountants to handle client volume?
What has books ever teached us? -- Captain Afrohead
Subject-verb agreement. -- t3h 0n3
DnDer posted...
Profit before even the success of the business.

How do you expect to have a successful tax season if you don't have enough accountants to handle client volume?
Because CPAs are beaten dogs conditioned to just put in more hours to get things done. Especially if it's January-April. It's literally part of the culture.

It's absolutely not a good long term strategy as people will eventually quit, but short-term it's effective. Especially if they actually wanted more than a 10% layoff.
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I thought the economy is supposed to be amazing right now.
https://imgur.com/a/FU9H8 - https://i.imgur.com/ZkQRDsR.png - https://i.imgur.com/2x2gtgP.jpg
Bunch of people at my work got laid off earlier this month, including my supervisor and a couple other people I knew.
Without truth, there is nothing.
Amazing how things changed from 2022.
More to do with the humidity than heat
1337toothbrush posted...
I thought the economy is supposed to be amazing right now.

For the shareholders, not the normal people.

Sure, we've seen some commodities drop in price overall, like bread and gas, but it hasn't been commensurate with an increase in wages, or returned to where they were five years ago.

Better is... better. But it's not enough to bolster the working class into financial security or success.
What has books ever teached us? -- Captain Afrohead
Subject-verb agreement. -- t3h 0n3
So many people being laid off recently, it's crazy

A friend of mine pointed out that there has been a spike in Wow Classic players

Makes me wonder if there's a connection
^ Hey now that's completely unfair!
http://i.imgur.com/yPw05Ob.png
ellis123 posted...
Welcome to being publicly traded?

Compsognathus posted...
CPA firms aren't typically public, they are owned by the partner group.
Yeah similar to law firms it would lead to unavoidable conflicts of interest if an accounting firm was publicly traded. Imagine you finally land the Tesla contract and Elon Musk buys 10% of your stock. Nobody is going to believe your work is 100% legit, even if you're literally a Biblically accurate angel.
this is a bit off topic, but i almost wonder if i missed my window to get an Accounting gig, I haven't been trying for one since I have a relatively comfortable job, doesn't pay a ton, but I get to WFH and it pays enough for what I need. But it's not actually in the Accounting field, and when I was in university 2 years ago, I never managed to get an internship, not for lack of trying. I just dunno if I'd even be able to get in entry level if something happened to my job.
http://i.imgur.com/EUkIomS.jpg
PerseusRad posted...
this is a bit off topic, but i almost wonder if i missed my window to get an Accounting gig, I haven't been trying for one since I have a relatively comfortable job, doesn't pay a ton, but I get to WFH and it pays enough for what I need. But it's not actually in the Accounting field, and when I was in university 2 years ago, I never managed to get an internship, not for lack of trying. I just dunno if I'd even be able to get in entry level if something happened to my job.
I guess it depends where you are, in atlanta it seems they will hire damn near anyone.

I got numerous offers and had kpmg leaving me messages for a month and a half.
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The craziest part of layoffs for public accounting, outside of consulting, is that you usually don't need to even do that because people naturally create high turnover in the industry just by leaving. The only reason we have some of the quickest promotions out there is because people don't stick around forever until they retire in their position. It's the only job in the world where you are basically guaranteed to get promoted to senior after 2-3 years, manager another 2-3 years after that (unless you don't have your CPA), senior manager 2-3 years after that, and that's the only point where layoffs might target you more likely. Even then, if you survive being a senior manager for 2-3 years, you should become a director, and you'll learn pretty quickly if you are ever going to make partner in the following 2-3 years.

I would say 2nd-year seniors are probably the first "major drop-out" class since that's when you would have one busy season as a senior under your belt, and be able to leverage that on your resume and get a much cushier accounting role in industry. Your first busy season as a senior is also typically a big difficulty jump from your associate years, so it makes sense that's when you learn if you truly are cut out for public accounting or not.
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Current Events » My firm lays off 10% of our employees as we're preparing for Tax Season