Archives – How to Corporate

It’s early spring at the time of publishing. The rest of the northern hemisphere is beginning to emerge from its winter slumber. Daffodils are sprouting, birds are chirping, and Daylight Savings Time is wreaking havoc on our sleep schedules. It’s a time of renewal. No so for public accountants. Early spring is a time of crushing deadlines, disorganized… Read more: How to Corporate – Drinking Etiquette at Company Events

Editor’s Note: We like to publish articles written by others in the accounting industry. You don’t need to hear our tired voices all the time, and new perspectives are good for you. Today we welcome guest writer Connor Murphy, a senior associate at a mid-tier firm. He discusses what associates can expect as they promote to senior associate,… Read more: How to Corporate – The Associate to Senior Associate Transition

In our initial “Knowing Your Place” article, we took a detailed look at the most common roles you will encounter on your public accounting team. Now we’re looking at the rest of the public accounting ecosystem, including the mysterious world of the partner class. With any luck, your interactions with many of the following groups will be brief… Read more: How to Corporate – Advanced Knowing Your Place

I’m going to say this as gently as I can: Read the damn handbook. Within the first week of starting a job, you should read the employee handbook. If your company doesn’t call it an employee handbook, read your company’s equivalent document that describes its policies and expectations for employees. Yes, it’s mostly boring. It could be 50+… Read more: How to Corporate – On Reading the Employee Handbook

Younger practitioners of the accounting arts may hear their managers talk about “engagement economics” without fully understanding what all that entails. We’re going to explain what the higher-ups mean when they discuss engagement economics; provide an example to demonstrate how everything works together; and explain why the whole process appears oddly complex. As with most features of public… Read more: How to Corporate – The Economics of an Engagement

Utilization is one of the most widely used Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”) in public accounting. Most firms will have target utilization rates for their non-equity employees, with particular attention given to associates’ and senior associates’ utilization goals. If you’re new to public accounting, utilization can feel like one of those enigmatic metrics that sets you up for failure:… Read more: How to Corporate – Utilization: What is it, How its Calculated, and How to Make Sense of It

Public accounting is one of the most grind-oriented careers out there, especially for those on the partner track. An accountant’s career path is prescribed from the moment a freshly minted associate signs their letter of employment, and it looks roughly like this: These are rough estimates, and each individual’s path will vary depending on their firm and personal… Read more: How to Corporate – Surviving the Grind

The billable hours model is an antiquated method for generating and tracking revenue in public accounting firms. This model, which is also commonly used in law, engineering, and architecture firms, is based around charging clients and recognizing revenue for the hours accountants work on client engagements. Despite its numerous shortcomings, including the much-maligned “utilization” metric, the billable hours… Read more: Billable Hours 101 – A Primer on the Worst Feature of Public Accounting

Picture two colleagues. The first is a new equity partner. He’s been with your firm for two years and is an excellent salesman. He’s personable and good at training his subordinates. He’s also strict about meeting client deadlines, realistic or not, and expects his employees to treat client deadlines with similar respect. The second is a senior manager.… Read more: How to Corporate – Soft Power Versus Hard Power

This is truly the most basic of the “How to Corporate” lessons, but if you struggle with clothing yourself and generally getting along in the workplace, you’re not going far anyway. I combine these two because in many ways dressing appropriately for work is a type of etiquette. Even if you draft magnificent emails and have Section 1.482… Read more: How to Corporate – Etiquette and Dress Code

One of the earliest tests of your career is to learn the hierarchy of public accounting firms. Even interns are expected to quickly figure out the ranking system and assume their place in it. In addition to ranking the roles in the accounting firm from most prestigious to least, we also provide you with valuable insight on the… Read more: How to Corporate – Knowing Your Place