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Why Public Accounting and Consulting Firms are a SCAM

July 6th, 2008 · 86 Comments

It’s 9pm and you’re still hard at work. When you graduated college you though you were a hot shot because you were hired by a top Accounting or Consulting. Better yet, you were getting paid $50-70k starting, with a yearly bonus and sign on bonus. Your firm would send you little treats and gifts in the mail all year long while you were at school. But, did you ever wonder why they gave you all those FREE things. Did you ever think about why the entrance to their office was glass and why the hallways and floors were all marble and gold.  Obviously, it was the right choice.  Even you’re professors at school talked about how great these firms were and how all successful business people work at those firms.  They even had these firms come and speak during your classes.   You dreamt about working there as you sat through your final semester at school.  Then suddenly, as you sit at your cubicle stacked with papers and coffee cups next to the marble and gold hallways it hits you… you were scammed.


Right from when you first heard of them you were being brainwashed and coerced into doing anything to work for them.  You may have first seen their name on a tall building downtown, but just imagine how much they had to pay for that sign.   You’re school probably had them give speeches during your classes.   I wonder why… maybe because they donate large sums of money to your school to pay for the very building you’re sitting in.  Then, you interview with them and they tell you how they only hire the best and how one day you could become partner.   Now you’re hooked.   They like you so much they give you another interview at their office so you can see where you’ll be working.  You walk through the glass doors and onto the marble and gold hallways.  The partners all have large leather chairs and beautiful views of the city skyline, but did you bother to take notice that your cube is in the middle of the building?  It’s probably somewhere along with everyone else’s cube and you don’t have a view of anything but a wall.

Public Accounting and Consulting Scam

You’re Hired! And lucky you your salary is $55,000.   What you don’t realize is that that’s pennies on the dollar for the use they get out of you.  Think about it.  You’ll probably work about 50 hours a week when it’s not busy season (about half the year) and about 65 hours during busy season.  With holidays and vacation accounted for (4 weeks) you’re really only making about $21/hour (55,000/(50 hours * 24 weeks + 65 hours * 24 weeks)).   Suddenly $55,000 seems like a rip off for the hours you put in, but it gets worse.  What’s really unbelievable is how much profit your firm makes off of you.  You’re probably billed out at around $160/hour in your first year. This means for ever billable hour you work the firm pays you $21 and keeps $139 dollars.  That money goes straight to the partners with the leather chairs and the skyline views who walk out every day at 5pm with a smile on their faces, while you know you’ll be there past 9pm.  Talk about being used.

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Tags: Accounting · Job Search & Interviewing

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