Accountants Struggle with Career & Compliance
11 posts across 3 communities in the last 60 days; 82% from r/Accounting.
“I know no company would answer this outright, so hoping to get some candid takes. Currently at controller/leadership level in the hemp/THC space (nationally recognized CPG brand), with prior experience in traditional “vanilla” industries. When a resume like that hits your desk…”
“Does anyone here have recent experience with the hiring process for the Ohio AOS? If so were you required to take a drug test for THC? I’m considering moving to the AOS from the independent firm I work for now but I smoke occasionally and wonder if I will need to quit before…”
“I have offers from two companies for accounting roles, but I’m concerned that one of them might require a hair follicle drug test based on some things I’ve read on Indeed. I’m confident I’d pass a urine test, but I might not pass a hair test. I don’t want to accept one offer…”
Many accountants are facing challenges related to career progression, resume building, security clearances, and navigating complex tax regulations. There's also a growing concern about compliance issues and the burden of paperwork.
SOURCES (32)
“Does anyone here have recent experience with the hiring process for the Ohio AOS? If so were you required to take a drug test for THC? I’m considering moving to the AOS from the independent firm I work for now but I smoke occasionally and…”
“I have offers from two companies for accounting roles, but I’m concerned that one of them might require a hair follicle drug test based on some things I’ve read on Indeed. I’m confident I’d pass a urine test, but I might not pass a hair test. I don’t want to accept one offer over the other only to have the conditional offer rescinded because of the drug screening. Would it be reasonable to ask the recruiter what type of drug test they use before accepting the offer? If so, how would you go about”
“Do you live near the firms you're applying to? I ask because I'm in the Washington DC area and last year I got whacked by DOGE so I spammed all the top 100 firms that had openings and several wanted me to go out to MS/CA/FL/OH on my own dime. It was ridiculous”
“How did you land the job?? This is where I’m located and I’m having trouble finding internships and/or entry level stuff. I’ll literally take anything at this point to get experience.”
“Most recent work experience should be first not last. What are the URLs in your profile that looks bad. Just say the name of the program.”
“would this have any bearing on my application? submitted by /u/Simple-Amphibian4433 [link] [comments]”
“IME a lot of HM have strong industry experience preference. All things being equal, the HM will select the person w/ industry experience. And sometimes even if they aren’t equal. Exceptions exist ofc. I stuck with SaaS as they often pay more and offer remote.”
You’re probably at a place more stable then the big 4 atm.
“Hi all! CPA here, I have a job interview and second round of interview coming up at a weed business. I don’t smoke, never really liked it. I’m honestly more interested in a good work environment and making a shift from public to industry. It’s gonna pay well and it seems to be growing fast, ie, manager and controller jobs will be available in the next 5 years or so. My question is if anyone has any experience in this field. And more specifically, does this have a negative effect on getting futur”
“Lucky for you, campus recruiting is happening right now! Look for everything and anything that says January 2027. Summer 2027. Winter 2027. Tax associate. Audit associate. Let me know where you’re based, and I will send you links!! (I’m based in SF and I know firms be HIRING.) you have a strong background and I know you’ll get a job. Also, show us your resume. Maybe we can help make it better. I can also send you my template”
“Hey everyone! I’ll be an incoming audit intern this winter from January through March, so I’ll be interning during busy season. I’m coming from a legal background and transitioning into accounting, and I want to prepare as much as possible before starting. For those who have worked with or supervised audit interns, (1) what technical knowledge or skills would you want to see from an intern assigned to you? I’m specifically looking for technical advice rather than behavioral or soft skills. (2) W”
“I graduated last year and will start working as an audit associate in a couple of weeks. After doing a couple of PA internships, I realized that I’m kind of slow. I know everyone says it's normal to struggle at first, but I feel like I struggled more than most. I’ve heard that A1s get more leniency at first compared to others, so I was wondering what the fastest you can get fired as an A1. I am ¾ on the CPA exam, so I hope that helps a little. submitted by /u/New_Specific5494 [li”
“Sure pursue a accounting, degree , earn CPA , start your own niche practice of serving themedical marijuana industry. Thousands of establishments nation wide. Evenrually puchases one , two, then many. Terrific plan. Best of luck.”
“I have two questions. For context, I'm prior- U.S. Air Force transitioning to Accounting and starting to apply for internships. 1.I've taken out some of my bigger work assignments because I couldn't figure out how to make them related to Accounting-type of work. Should I put them back in? Think like, "was part of emergency response team to 2010 Haiti Earthquake, team was credited directly with rescuing ~45 people, and indirectly with ~500". It's high-ish impact but no w”
“I'm a highschool freshman, and I have a 1.5 month auditing (financial services) internship at a big 4 in my coming inter-semester break (it's short, but it's all I have and they accepted it). To be completely honest; aside from knowing how to read annual reports and financial statements from a finance perspective (I've built valuation models for my own equity research projects), I have near 0 clue on accounting rules or concepts (e.g. double-entry; likely looked into it on the tr”
“Hello! I'm pretty new to accounting internship recruiting and could use some advice. I'm primarily interested in public accounting, specifically audit, after completing an internal audit internship this past summer at a Fortune 50 company. Ideally, I'd like to land at a Big 4, but realistically, I assume most of those spots are already filled. I'm wondering if I'd have any luck cold applying to midsize/regional public accounting firms with this resume, or if I should take a m”
“I recently finished my accountancy certification and have been working in the field, but I've realized my real interest lies in law enforcement, specifically narcotics work. I know this is a significant career shift, so I'm hoping to get some direct insight from people who work in this industry. A few specific things I'm trying to figure out: Does an accounting background actually give me any advantage when applying to narcotics units (financial investigations, money laundering traci”
“Trying to break into top 10 firm as an audit associate or intern. But not getting any interviews. submitted by /u/RegularNotice1857 [link] [comments]”
“manager is kind of wild jump from teller, expect a lot of process reviews, writeups, and politics, not fraud hunting tv stuff give real examples with controls, errors, and escalation and yeah, finding decent roles is rough lately”
“Thank you for that! I am more worried about job opportunities than the board. We do got this I hope!”
“I know no company would answer this outright, so hoping to get some candid takes. Currently at controller/leadership level in the hemp/THC space (nationally recognized CPG brand), with prior experience in traditional “vanilla” industries. When a resume like that hits your desk, especially at a more conservative company, does the industry read as a red flag, a neutral fact, or a non-issue? Would love to hear from anyone who’s actually screened candidates like this. submitted by /u/h0n”
“Hey yall, so as the title says I have an interview on monday at a smallish CPA office for a Tax intern position. This is my first proper interview since before I only did phone interviews or got ghosted and I'm feeling nervous. Any advice on what I should expect would be helpful. Also this is based in Texas near the Ft Worth area if that helps. Thank you in advance for any advice! Edit: Spelling submitted by /u/Bluespace1234 [link] [comments]”
“Yes but there are diminishing returns. Just the right amount doesn’t hurt or could even help but go over that and you’ll just start forgetting shit or making errors. Everyone’s threshold is different.”
“Hi, I am looking to change career paths from the Casino Industry (Don't want to specify my position on here but I fall under the compliance branch of my company). My day to day involves staying up to date on the ever changing gaming regs, company policy, and so on. I essentially need to know the P&P of nearly every department. I have roughly 3 years in my position as a Supervisor, and another year of that in a non-supervisor role, but same department. I've been looking to move into c”
“Could be something you experienced yourself or something you witnessed. What's the most ridiculous, unexpected, or memorable task you've seen an intern or junior analyst get asked to do? submitted by /u/Wall_Street_Oasis [link] [comments]”
“Random question- but a lot of small business clients ask about annual reports, certs of good standing, foreign qualification filings, etc. Especially ones that don’t have ongoing lawyer relationships. Edit: I specifically mean the Secretary of State level entity upkeep filings, not tax returns. For instance: - a Delaware annual franchise tax report - a Florida annual report to ensure good standing - foreign qualifications (registering to do business in a new state) I’m curious if your firm handl”
“Upon graduating in May 2025 I received a job offer at a big4 firm in their GPS practice, requiring a security clearance. I filled out my sf86 and was interviewed by my adjudicator in December 2025 and haven’t heard from them since. Originally I was told my job would start June 2026, but it later was pushed to August 2026 because there was no updates on my clearnce. Again, my recruiter told me that my clearance still hasn’t processed and I’ll be receiving a new offer letter for winter 2027/Jan 20”