Discretion vs Openness

A lot of seniors tell me that if you are writing an "extracurricular" exam, such as the CFA, you should keep it on the "DL" and not be so vocal about it. I don't promote the fact that I'm pursuing the designation, but when asked why I took time off, I don't feel the need to lie about the fact that I took time off to prepare for the exam. There have been 2 opposing arguments on this matter:

1. CA firms train people to become tax professionals and auditors, and the CFA (or other "extracurricular" items) have no place in such firms. This is especially true in smaller firms as tax/assurance are the only services provided. Your decision to pursue the CFA is an indication that you have no interest in staying in the firm.

2. Personal career interest should be respected and the firm should encourage staff in exploring their career opportunities. This may sound stupid, but has some legitimacy especially in big firms. Big firms provide advisory services, many of which are outside the scope of the core competencies (accounting/audit/tax). *I do realize that the CA profession has expanded their competencies to include finance, risk management etc. But let's face it, audit and tax are still the main functions in a CA firm and this fact will not change in the near future.* Anyways, back to my point, advisory needs people with a finance background. IT risk management requires people with computers science/math/engineering background. In order for a professional services firm to be complete, they need people with expertise outside of the bread and butter competencies. Also, a diversity of expertise is what empowers a professional services firm to capture additional market share. I notice that such pursuance in other career developments do not hinder performance on the job. In fact, a lot of these individuals are top performers. It has something to do with the fact that these individuals have a sense of direction and have the capacity to manage both their job and their extracurriculars.

Contrary to popular belief, not all of these individuals have a time line in departing the firm. I, for one, have no plans on doing that. I enjoy working in a big CA firm because I'm surrounded with people in my age group, all of my colleagues are intelligent (we take this for granted), and the opportunity to network is huge.

We can also put a spin on the employers' perspective. Instead of worrying about the fact that these individuals will be lost, time can be better spent on keeping a good relationship with these individuals. A lot of them are overachievers, and if they really leave the firm, chances are they will climb up corporate ladders quickly and become links to potential clients.

Introductions

Upon closing of an engagement, I have once again found myself sitting in front of my computer at home on an early Saturday morning. Family, professors and bosses often suggest that I should spend some time to contribute back to the community. So here I am, starting up a blog targetted for those who are interested in knowing how it is like to be a public accountant.

Having made transitions from a local CA firm to a regional/mid-size firm, and then to a multinational Big 4 firm, I believe that I have a lot of perspective to offer to those who are interested pursuing the profession.

My experiences are mainly in tax services (past) and assurance (current).

My future posts will cover different aspects of public accounting, including: education, job search, networking, career prospects, work-life, and compensation.

Feel free to leave comments and questions and I will try my best to address each and every one of them.

Stay in touch.