Online Business Accounting

What is happening in the accounting career?

I aspire to be an accountant after college and I was wondering what is it like to be an accountant, CPA or other wise; off season and tax season; is it hard or easy; etc? I just want to know stuff.

Public Comments

1. I have been working in accounting for almost 2 years now. I thought I would have off time when it was not tax season. But the good ole IRS has taken care of that. Congress has increased their tax enforcement budget by 25%. Many new auditors and collection workers.....which means more work for us. With so many new employees there are many more mistakes on the IRS's part....."the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing". But hey they are trying to do their job, and I guess it gives me job security. During tax season is very hectic...but I love it.
2. it is not easy. i am a cpa and have been in public accounting for 10 years. you need to work in public acctg. to get the experience you need to get your certification. the good thing is that there are always jobs available in this field. public acctg. is interesing because youre always working on new clients. i recommend working for a firm where you can get both audit and tax experience. i know the big firms are prestigious, but you may end up stuck in one dept. doing one thing, like auditing pension plans. this will not give you good well rounded experience. tax season is demanding. there is alot of work and long hours. you work 6 days a week and its difficult to have a social life. you will learn alot though and it will only make you more valuable. definitely stay in public acctg. for a few years, and if you dont like it you can always move to private acctg. thats what most people do. good luck!
3. I've been an EA since 1999. I really enjoy the tax work and don't mind the hours too much during season. It's less stress than most of my previous careers. 1040 tax work is not boring! It's like seeing a couple of hundred soap operas play out year after year.