Best place to work as a CPA

Hi Arturo - That is a great question and one that comes to mind for a lot of people when trying to figure out where to start their career. There are so many great accounting firms out there and each one has their own reasons for why you should work for them! I would encourage you to research large and small accounting firms to learn about their culture, values, client base, etc. to see if it is somewhere where you could see yourself working. Try to come up with a few things that are most important for you to have at the firm you want to work for (ie. a particular client base, the people who work there, the culture, work/life balance, technology, etc.). I would encourage you to meet/talk to, if possible, as many people at different companies to learn about why they chose that particular firm to work for. Further, make sure you are keeping in mind when you do choose where you want to work that it provides you growth in your career. Goodluck!

The best place to work depends on your preferences and what you want out of your career. I would consider the following in making your decision:

Size of the company

Salary

Location

Hours worked per week

Travel

Work life balance

Opportunities for Advancement

Line of Service

After considering these factors, I recommend that you look up the different firms and when you interview, keep these items in the back of your mind to ask.

Hi Arturo, this is a great question. Of course this is very subjective based on personal preferences, however, in general, based on my own experience and discussions with others in the industry, the popular route for CPA's is to start at a Big 4 Accounting Firm. The big 4 consists of PwC, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG. This is the more traditional route for students. However, there are numerous other regional firms that offer similar types of work on a smaller scale.

The best place to work as a CPA depends on your desired career path and what your work preferences are. As noted in a number of the other responses, starting your career in public accounting, particularly with one of the Big 4 firms, is a great starting point. Determining the right firm for you will be based on your own values and style to find the right fit. Public accounting firms are evolving a lot in the space of flexibility, work life balance, and are constantly evaluating their benefits packages to meet the needs of today's professionals.

There are a number of other options outside of the Big 4, though, like a smaller regional or local CPA firm, working in corporate or non-profit organizations in an accounting or finance role, starting your own business, etc.

If you can get interviews with Big 4 firms that's likely the best place to start since it looks great on your resume to get a few years at one of the Big 4.

As far as which accounting firm, people will say things like "look at the culture of the firm" but that's pointless (especially within the Big 4) because each office and each group within the same office will have a different culture. For example, my group has a different culture than other tax groups in our office, and the audit groups have an even more different culture.

The best way to decide is to apply to as many firms as possible and interview with people from the office/group you're going to be joining. Remember that these are the same people you will spend more time with than anyone else in your life (8+ hours a day). Don't focus so much on what you'll be doing, but with whom you'll be doing it with. I've found that's more important than the day to day tasks themselves.

You have a lot of options. I suggest you look into the requirements of becoming a CPA (it's been a while since I've looked). You will likely need to spend some time in a public accounting firm in order to get your license. Within public, you have firms in all sizes. The bigger firms tend to have you specialize earlier than the smaller ones but there could also be more opportunities for rotations or transfers to other teams/offices. Talk to as many CPAs as you can about the type of firms they work for - attend any career fairs and talk to a variety of firms and consider joining accounting associations that will put you in contact with CPAs.