Hello Everyone,
So I have a dilemma that I need some advice on. I currently work at Grant Thornton in the Northeast Region (not NY... you can probably guess where) as an experienced senior associate and I am thinking about making the move to a regional public accounting firm that is ranked in the top 10 amongst regional firms in this area. This place will give me overtime, which GT does not, and will result in an overall 10-15% pay increase (anybody that knows GT knows they do not pay well). My timeline to make Manager appears to be about the same (2 years). I also know the person who runs the audit practice at the regional firm (he left GT a couple years ago and I used to work with him). I made a list of pros and cons below:
Pros (for staying at GT)
- familiarity (with both the technology and the people)
- not a good time to move (currently right in the middle of busy season)
- potential CPA exam time (discussed with the head of the audit practice... she said she would let me come up with my plan to pass)
- clients are numerous/larger and more organized/might give better ability for me to specialize in a particular area
- guidance, trainings, templates are very good
Cons (for staying at GT)
- work/life balance is not very good (2,500 total hours worked last year/2,200 billable)
- managers seem disinterested until about 2 weeks before the client has to file
- questionable culture - very cutthroat/people sometimes do not seem to care
- no mentor... all of the people that I worked for previously have left
- no clients to leave for if I wanted to jump to private... my main client is in the South and I would not like to move there
- PCAOB/National creates a ton of pressure
- only have 2 years to pass CPA (need it to become manager)... the regional firm does not require it until you are a partner
I am leaning towards leaving but I only have a couple days to decide as the regional firm needs somebody to begin working on their March and April deadlines soon. I want to see what I am missing - does anybody have any advice? Is this a no-brainer?
Thanks,
OP
So I have a dilemma that I need some advice on. I currently work at Grant Thornton in the Northeast Region (not NY... you can probably guess where) as an experienced senior associate and I am thinking about making the move to a regional public accounting firm that is ranked in the top 10 amongst regional firms in this area. This place will give me overtime, which GT does not, and will result in an overall 10-15% pay increase (anybody that knows GT knows they do not pay well). My timeline to make Manager appears to be about the same (2 years). I also know the person who runs the audit practice at the regional firm (he left GT a couple years ago and I used to work with him). I made a list of pros and cons below:
Pros (for staying at GT)
- familiarity (with both the technology and the people)
- not a good time to move (currently right in the middle of busy season)
- potential CPA exam time (discussed with the head of the audit practice... she said she would let me come up with my plan to pass)
- clients are numerous/larger and more organized/might give better ability for me to specialize in a particular area
- guidance, trainings, templates are very good
Cons (for staying at GT)
- work/life balance is not very good (2,500 total hours worked last year/2,200 billable)
- managers seem disinterested until about 2 weeks before the client has to file
- questionable culture - very cutthroat/people sometimes do not seem to care
- no mentor... all of the people that I worked for previously have left
- no clients to leave for if I wanted to jump to private... my main client is in the South and I would not like to move there
- PCAOB/National creates a ton of pressure
- only have 2 years to pass CPA (need it to become manager)... the regional firm does not require it until you are a partner
I am leaning towards leaving but I only have a couple days to decide as the regional firm needs somebody to begin working on their March and April deadlines soon. I want to see what I am missing - does anybody have any advice? Is this a no-brainer?
Thanks,
OP