Advice for a Successful Career in the Accounting Profession

CHAPTER FIVEWhat About Work–Life Balance?

Key Takeaway

It is possible to experience a successful professional accounting career and achieve your goals while also having a satisfying and rewarding personal and family life.

I worked in public accounting for 36 years and am well familiar with what it takes to be successful, including the extent of overtime that may be required at different times, particularly during the audit or tax busy seasons. With this as context, I am often surprised when I talk with students and others who have never worked in the profession but who somehow “know” that the workloads are extreme.

I’m not sure exactly how this potentially inaccurate picture of the profession is drawn, but I do know that it is sometimes human nature to exaggerate things, and perhaps some practitioners do this in discussing the hours they work. There may be an element of “whisper down the lane” going on as well (i.e., as stories get passed from one person to the next, they get embellished). I fear that sometimes students are getting their information from people who never worked in the profession and have no first‐hand basis for their views.

The material in this chapter is based on my experience in public accounting, but I believe my views are also relevant regarding many accounting positions in private industry.

The Reality

Accounting is a seasonal and deadline‐driven profession. ...