Favorite Parts Of Being An Audit Associate At A Big 4 Accounting Firm
Despite being an entry-level audit associate, Zachary values the significant autonomy afforded to him, "there's a lot of just giving me a task and saying, look, we know you can figure it out." This freedom, coupled with the intellectually stimulating nature of the work – solving "new kinds of puzzles" within each client's unique financial data – makes the role engaging and rewarding, defying the stereotype of accounting as monotonous.
Autonomy, Problem-Solving, Analytical Skills, Time Management, Work-Life Balance
Advizer Information
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Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
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Traits
Zachary Milano
Audit associate
Big 4 Accounting Firm
Cal Poly
None
Economics
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Finance
Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Significant autonomy and flexibility in managing workload and schedule.
2. A problem-solving environment where each task presents a unique challenge.
3. Trust and confidence placed by supervisors in the employee's ability to manage their tasks effectively and independently.
Transcript
What do you enjoy most about being in your current role?
My current role, although I'm kind of the lowest on the totem pole, I just came in out of college. There's nowhere to go but up. I still get a lot of autonomy.
A few of my roommates hearing about what they do at their jobs and how much micromanaging happens has made me really appreciate how much freedom I have. There's a lot of, "Here's a task, figure it out." If you can't, send us a question, and then figure it out.
There's not a whole lot of asking, "You need to be here at this time," other than for a meeting. But there's no specific time I need to be in or out of the office. If I leave at two o'clock, no one's going to bat an eye because they know I'll get my work done.
So whether that means logging on at eight o'clock at night or logging on early, I have the freedom to structure my day how I want. I have the peace of mind knowing there's no one looming over me waiting for me to finish a task. It's more that people trust your ability to get things done. I like that a lot.
Even though accounting gets the reputation of being boring and repetitive, there's actually a lot of figuring things out and a lot of new things. It's a lot of similar things, which is why I think it gets that reputation. But every document you get from a client is a new kind of puzzle to resolve.
Whether you're working on stock-based compensation where you get a random file from the client, you have no idea how it's organized, or you'd have no idea how they're determining their CEO's pay. Or you're dealing with a restructuring event where the entire company laid off a quarter of their people. So now you have to figure out if each of those people were paid the proper severance amount, how that severance was calculated, and if there are underlying agreements that back up how they were paid.
It's a lot of similar problems, but understanding a new equation every time, if that's the right way to say it.
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