Accountants Drowning in PE Reporting

“Hi everyone! I'm starting an entry-level fund accounting position working with private equity funds. I'm excited to get started, but I'd love to hear from people who currently work or have previously worked in fund accounting. What does your typical day-to-day look like? How are the working hours, and is there typically a lot of overtime during month-end/quarter-end? How is the work-life balance? I would also really appreciate any advice on what skills or concepts I should brush up o”

“Hello everyone, I am currently working in fund accounting (PE side), I want to grow in my career and would like to grow in this industry but I would like to know where I can branch to? I am about to start my masters so I can be eligible to take my CPA exam, where I work they cover majority of the costs but want to know if getting my License is worth it Getting it or not… is there anyone else here who is in fund accounting or has been that is able to guide what direction I should go for my next s”

“Does anyone have experience working as an experienced manager at an accounting firm that was purchased by PE? Did you earn IUs? Were they worth anything? How bad was the culture shift? I'm a high performing manager, and I have reason to believe the partners will sell to PE in the next few months. I don't expect to lose my job, however, I fear my workload will dramatically increase, and I'll have less staffing. I would imagine PTO gets reduced, insurance costs to employees goes up, an”

“I currently am a staff accountant II at a PE fund administrator and have been working here since i graduated 2 years ago. With how the team structure is I basically am a senior accountant, I just haven’t been promoted yet and I think it’s time for me to go as well. I know the exit options aren’t the best with fund admins but I want to know what advice or options might be good for me. I have 2 degrees in Finance and Philosophy , I also wish to pursue getting my JD but I want a good paying job tha”

“Hi r/accounting a few months ago I came to the subreddit looking for participants for an academic study on the impacts of PE investment for mid-career level professionals. I am happy to share the link to the current version of the paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7392798 A quick overview of the findings (there is much more detail in the actual paper) Mid-Career Professionals feel their firms are placing more emphasis on selling work as opposed to work quality. This is c”

“I've worked for Venture Backed accounting practices and ran my own "bootstrapped" real accounting practice no backing. I remember going to the CEO of the first VC backed practice I worked at and told him that we had to stop onboarding new customers. A look of terror came across his face. The board expected growth numbers and there was no way we were going to stop taking on new clients. So, hire more, stretch more, try to automate more. When I started my own practice, there was a lo”

What PE fund do you work for?

“I’m currently working in PE fund accounting in Canada. I’ve been doing quite well in my role, and I feel like I have a clear path to getting promoted fairly regularly if I stay in the industry. The problem is that I’m not particularly interested in the work itself. I find PE fund accounting quite repetitive/boring. I could probably continue progressing and make decent money, but I’m not sure I want to spend my life doing something I don’t find intellectually stimulating. My background is: MBA wi”

“I just finished my first year as a controller at a PE backed company doing 9 figures in revenue each year. I spent 9 years at a top 20 public firm and have always remembered the saying "1 year in public = 3 years in private." This last year feels like an even more accelerated path in my career. This isn't bashing public, both suck, but for someone at the senior/manager level in public or industry, if you're trying to get good experience this isn't a bad short term plan. Dur”

“For anyone who’s moved out of the typical accounting space into the world of PE backed acquisition companies and have worked in roles like the title, what are your thoughts on this. Did you enjoy the work? Was it a good decision for your career? Really any thoughts related to the topic. Throwaway account. Opportunity came up that I’m considering but want to hopefully hear some real world thoughts/experiences. submitted by /u/Old_Ocelot4304 [link] [comments]”

“I interviewed for a position in a company a year ago and they asked the accountant to interview me. He came from a large firm that was acquired by PE, they separated (there were around 4 partners that left and created their own firm) and they were working a lot at the time. We did talk about PE and he said he is glad he left with these other partners and feels very accomplished now that he is running his own shop.”

“I’m not. Realization is the % of time written off vs billable. It directly leads to contribution margin (basically gross), which is what you’re talking about. Most of the people on this sub don’t think at that level so I left it for realization. I’m not in audit. Specialty tax advisory. It’s how I know we have the best underlying numbers and profitability. It’s the only way partners like us can show that we deserve our comp when our net revenue book is like 1/2 the average audit partner and mayb”

“Not saying they currently do, but will over time. In a partnership, excess returns are pocketed by the partners. For PE, they want some of that while still needing “partners” to do the work, but to your point, may be taking on less risk to compensate for the lower compensation.”

“What evidence do you have to suggest that md’s under a pe structure make significantly less than they do under a partnership. Is this adjusted for risk?”

“Great insights here. Although I'm curious as to why you believe PE isn't taking over Public Accounting? I worked at Aprio previously which got acquired by PE. I joined Moss Adams and that got acquired by Baker Tilly (PE owned). We recently saw how Cbiz and GT are merging as well. It feels like what I read in textbooks about how big8 went to big4 in a decade or so back in the late 90s. My personal experience with PE has been reduced benefits, more time in between promotions, and thw obvio”

“PE deals only profit to the actual partner at the time of the sale. I’m assuming newer generations will need to start new firms”

“Because that’s what they’ve offered me in the past; two separate small PE backed firms. Wasn’t compelling enough for me to move.”

“How do you know that salary?”

“I’ve been thinking more and more lately about eventually leaving public accounting. For most of my career, I could see myself staying and trying to make partner 10–15 years down the road. Part of what made that path attractive was the upside — historically, a successful equity partner at a midsize firm could potentially make $400k–$1M+ depending on the firm, book, year, etc. But with PE taking over public accounting, the economics of that career path are clearly changing. PE needs to generate a”

“I'm trying to figure out what I should do career-wise and would really appreciate some honest opinions. I currently work in private equity fund accounting at a boutique firm in a HCOL area. Before this, I spent about 3 years in Big 4 audit, mostly working with private companies. I'am also an active CPA. The thing is, I actually really like my current job. I like the company, I like the people, and I really like the culture. The compensation is good, the work is interesting, and I like be”

“I’m currently working at a bank in Private Equity Fund Services, where I handle fund accounting for private equity and private credit funds. I’ve been in the role for a little over a year. Long term, I’m hoping to transition into a role on the investing side of private equity. I have both my undergraduate degree and a Master’s in Finance with a concentration in Alternative Investments. Has anyone here successfully made a similar transition from fund accounting/fund services into private equity?”

“Currently 2 years of experience doing Private Equity Fund Accounting at a fund admin and looking to make the jump over to being an in house fund accountant for a private equity/hedge fund. I have a bachelors in finance and a masters in accounting. Working towards CPA How challenging would it be to pivot? If you could rate it on a scale of 1-10 submitted by /u/Kerry_coc [link] [comments]”

“I just quit my firm recently. They asked why I didn't speak up at meetings. It old them I know better. If you want to keep your job, never, ever, counter signal the executive leadership, especially publicly. You might get away with it with your coach, if they like you, maybe.”

“I think it's normal to expect it of Senior Managers. Tying their performance bonuses to unreasonable sales expectations is a little crazy.”

“Something tells me this pressure is coming directly from the GP/Mgmt Companies which is a big reason why CPA boards prohibit non-majority CPA ownership for this very fucking reason: to mitigate undue influence on the profession. I guess by losing the letters after the company name + insisting CPAs no longer use their credentials in email signatures and on LinkedIn is a workaround, but this shit is getting out of hand guys. submitted by /u/AviatorHog [link] [comments]”

“Have been working as a fund accountant at a major PE megafund for the past 2 years. My total compensation is around $95k. I was a finance major, but I don’t really have any intention of sitting for the CPA, so I’m trying to think about where this experience can realistically take me. What are the best exit opportunities from fund accounting at a megafund? Has anyone successfully transitioned into more middle-office roles like fund management, portfolio management support, investor relations, tre”

“As I’m sure many firms are dealing with, rumors about our local mid-sized firm are spreading that we may be getting bought out by a private equity firm. Does anyone currently or previously work for a firm that has been bought out by a PE firm? What does it change and would you recommend sticking with it? Right now I am heavily against working in a public firm if there is no chance of becoming an equity partner. I could just be listening to all the negatives tho, are there any positives? su”

“I keep seeing the take here that PE-backed roles are more brutal than public company finance — more reporting, less support, higher turnover. That hasn't matched my own experience. Albeit perhaps I got lucky. Curious how much of the "PE is worse" sentiment comes down to specific factors versus PE-backed roles just being harder as a category. Would love to hear what made it brutal for people who've done both. submitted by /u/kojogo [link] [comments]”

“Hi! I have my 1st Hiring Manager interview for the Senior Associate – Fund Accounting role at BNP Paribas PH. For anyone who’s been through it: • What questions were asked? • Was it more technical or behavioral? • Any tips on what to prepare? • What’s the salary range for this role? • Hiring process like how many stages of interview? I have 2.2 years of hedge fund accounting experience. Thanks! submitted by /u/Reasonable_Log_1561 [link] [comments]”