**** you just don't understand

[Hawk]

Well, we're talking about states, right? Not us as individuals? Your state's education is really poor. So that's a huge factor, at least to me, when considering where I'd rather live. You're not a dummy, but you live around a lot of them, apparently.

And I guess you're switching to anecdotes now, but living by major cities is very important to a lot of people, and NJ's density of population speaks to that.

Higher demand = more expensive. It's fine if you'd rather live in SC, but a majority of people (and the market) disagree.

I mean, would you **** an attractive girl that was kind of stupid? Or would you prefer to **** a fat ugly chick that is smart?

Because that's how I see South Carolina v. New Jersey.

[chop2chip]

Are you in tech?

I have some family that lived in Menlo Park so I fell in love with the entire neck of the Bay from San Mateo all the way to San Jose. I was out in Palo Alto in February and it is growing at an incredible pace.

Portland is awesome. Period. There are really no words. I'm tearing up a little just thinking about moving there.

Indirectly in tech. I'm a transfer pricing consultant for an accounting firm. The client base for my firm is Apple, Yahoo, Facebook, etc. so I will work all along that portion of the Bay.

Menlo Park is the new young adult hot bed. There is a lot young tech geeks starting up in that area. Fun area to live in if you are young and single. I'm engaged so I'll stick to living in boring areas based upon commuting convenience and safety. I'm officially becoming old.

[gilesfan]

Anyone know why SC weather is ****ty compared to New Jersey?

[thethe]

Indirectly in tech. I'm a transfer pricing consultant for an accounting firm. The client base for my firm is Apple, Yahoo, Facebook, etc. so I will work all along that portion of the Bay.

Menlo Park is the new young adult hot bed. There is a lot young tech geeks starting up in that area. Fun area to live in if you are young and single. I'm engaged so I'll stick to living in boring areas based upon commuting convenience and safety. I'm officially becoming old.

Ooff...Transfer Pricing. You must have intimate relationships with taxing authorities.

I'm amazed how these multi-national companies fail to have a transfer pricing policy in place. Just begging to be dinged by the IRS.

[chop2chip]

Ooff...Transfer Pricing. You must have intimate relationships with taxing authorities.

I'm amazed how these multi-national companies fail to have a transfer pricing policy in place. Just begging to be dinged by the IRS.

I don't have enough experience with transfer pricing yet to confirm what you are saying. I have only done a three month internship, so, to put it lightly, I am still naive. But what experience I do have is that most firms are completely oblivious to how international tax works, with most of them sheltering too much money off shore and are ignorant to that fact.

[Tapate50]

you can add something called "transfer pricing" to my list of stuff I don't understand.

[chop2chip]

Ooff...Transfer Pricing. You must have intimate relationships with taxing authorities.

I'm amazed how these multi-national companies fail to have a transfer pricing policy in place. Just begging to be dinged by the IRS.

Thethe, did you say you were in banking? Is that right?

[thethe]

Thethe, did you say you were in banking? Is that right?

I work at PwC now. Have been there for the last 4 years. Previously I was in banking and decided it was a smart idea to go back to school to get my CPA. Accounting classes were a joke so I got the job at PwC right out of school. Have my CPA now with big 4 experience. Looking to go into private somewhere now and finally enjoy my life. Public accounting is a bitch.

[thethe]

you can add something called "transfer pricing" to my list of stuff I don't understand.

Multi-national companies which set up subsidiaries around the globe will frequently have related party transactions where they service the various entities. Often times, they will even sell inventory to eachother. Transfer pricing is intended to deter companies from shifting revenues/expense to territories which have advantageous tax rates to avoid "fair" tax obligations.

[Tapate50]

I work at PwC now. Have been there for the last 4 years. Previously I was in banking and decided it was a smart idea to go back to school to get my CPA. Accounting classes were a joke so I got the job at PwC right out of school. Have my CPA now with big 4 experience. Looking to go into private somewhere now and finally enjoy my life. Public accounting is a bitch.

Big 4 experience is huge. Find a hospital in a great area, or a private firm needing a CFO. Should be fine.

[chop2chip]

I work at PwC now. Have been there for the last 4 years. Previously I was in banking and decided it was a smart idea to go back to school to get my CPA. Accounting classes were a joke so I got the job at PwC right out of school. Have my CPA now with big 4 experience. Looking to go into private somewhere now and finally enjoy my life. Public accounting is a bitch.

Do you like PwC? Most I have talked to say they treat their employees well. I'm starting at EY, so I'm sure our experiences will be pretty similar.

What type of work do you do with PwC?

[thethe]

Big 4 experience is huge. Find a hospital in a great area, or a private firm needing a CFO. Should be fine.

Haven't worked on any health care clients so that might be a tough sell. But in general I would have to enter into a company at the senior accountant or assistant controller level and then work my way up. Based on my experience with private companies it won't be too difficult. Usually the accounting staff are a bunch of morons.

[thethe]

Do you like PwC? Most I have talked to say they are treat their employees well. I'm starting at EY, so I'm sure our experiences will be pretty similar.

What type of work do you do with PwC?

If I were 21-23 and starting at the firm it would be amazing. Live in Manhattan and party hard. The firm treats you GREAT as long as you put in the hours and can tolerate the work. The pay is very good as a starting job and the bonuses are solid. Pay increases vary aligned with your performance. I would bet that E&Y is just as great. I'm always proud to say I work at PwC. I just can't deal with public accounting anymore.

I've done a bunch of things so far in my experience (as will you at E&Y). I starting auditing public insurance clients (AIG/Prudential/Phoenix Life Companies). Typically on those larger engagements you are going to be working on a small subsection of the audit whether it be cash/receivables/revenues. I requested to work on some advisory engagements in the off seasons. I was involved in the work performed for bank of America when they were issued a cease and desist order because they had no clue who their customers were (it was later found out that they held funds for the Mexican Drug Cartel and Terrorist Groups.

I've recently moved into Private client Services where I've worked on a wide assortment of clients. I've worked on a pharmaceutical testing company, alarm servicing company, paper distributer, makeup packaging manufacter, etc...

I would advise that you get involved in private client services. You really learn about how a business is run and get exposed to high level client contacts at an early stage in your career. This will allow you to be more marketable in the job market when you ultimately make the decisions if you are a big 4 lifer or just a resume builder (I'm the latter).

[chop2chip]

If I were 21-23 and starting at the firm it would be amazing. Live in Manhattan and party hard. The firm treats you GREAT as long as you put in the hours and can tolerate the work. The pay is very good as a starting job and the bonuses are solid. Pay increases vary aligned with your performance. I would bet that E&Y is just as great. I'm always proud to say I work at PwC. I just can't deal with public accounting anymore.

I've done a bunch of things so far in my experience (as will you at E&Y). I starting auditing public insurance clients (AIG/Prudential/Phoenix Life Companies). Typically on those larger engagements you are going to be working on a small subsection of the audit whether it be cash/receivables/revenues. I requested to work on some advisory engagements in the off seasons. I was involved in the work performed for bank of America when they were issued a cease and desist order because they had no clue who their customers were (it was later found out that they held funds for the Mexican Drug Cartel and Terrorist Groups.

I've recently moved into Private client Services where I've worked on a wide assortment of clients. I've worked on a pharmaceutical testing company, alarm servicing company, paper distributer, makeup packaging manufacter, etc...

I would advise that you get involved in private client services. You really learn about how a business is run and get exposed to high level client contacts at an early stage in your career. This will allow you to be more marketable in the job market when you ultimately make the decisions if you are a big 4 lifer or just a resume builder (I'm the latter).

That seems like a really solid run for a guy that's only been there for four years. That transition into private industry should be a nice change up for you.

The difference between myself and others at a big 4 company is that I have next to no accounting experience. I took a basic accounting class in my undergrad, but the rest of my education was Economics and math with some finance sprinkled in. So that really limits my ability to strictly Transfer pricing which is 90% economic analysis despite the actual work being centered in tax services.

My current plan is to work 2-3 years at EY then apply somewhere to grad school. Even though I majored in economics, math is my real love. I have been scouring the Internet looking for good schools for operations research. Regardless, since I don't have an advanced degree I am really limited to how long I can choose to work at EY.

[Carp]

Lol at NJ not being a **** hole. Been there a several times and each time I couldn't wait to find my way out. I'm sure there are nicer sections of NJ just like every state. That doesn't make it a great place to live. It smells, it's dirty, and has little in terms of aesthetic appeal. Yes it has what some people call beaches, of which it's actually nice enough to enjoy may be 4 months out of the year tops.

[gilesfan]

I have several friends that work at PwC as well as EY. They all seem to love it. I despise accounting so I know very little of it except what I was forced to take in my undergrad and graduate level courses (real estate accounting).

[chop2chip]

I have several friends that work at PwC as well as EY. They all seem to love it. I despise accounting so I know very little of it except what I was forced to take in my undergrad and graduate level courses (real estate accounting).

This is my biggest concern because accountants and economists have been at war against one another for thousands of years. Accountants hate thinking for themselves and economists hate being boxed in a corner.

[thethe]

Accounting is not boring. Auditing is where it gets depressing.

Accounting is just business speak.

[gilesfan]

Accounting is not boring. Auditing is where it gets depressing.

Accounting is just business speak.

The first accounting class you have to take is debits and credits and lining them up on separate sides. If you survive and don't want to blow your brains out, you become an accountant.

[thethe]

The first accounting class you have to take is debits and credits and lining them up on separate sides. If you survive and don't want to blow your brains out, you become an accountant.

Before you build a house you need to lay the foundation.

Econ/Finance 101/102 weren't exactly exhilarating either.