Key Considerations for your Accounting Career!

At Morgan Consulting, we frequently assist accountants in navigating the decision of whether to remain in public practice or transition into industry. While both options come with their own benefits, it’s important to take a thoughtful approach before committing to a path.

Many accountants are drawn to industry roles for a variety of reasons, but the competition for these positions can be intense. Often, candidates who explore industry later reconsider public practice due to the broader opportunities available within accounting firms. Let’s break down the pros and cons of each to help you make the best decision for your career.

Industry: Opportunities and Challenges

Potential Benefits of Industry

• Focus on a Single Business: Industry roles allow you to delve deep into one business, providing a clear focus on the company’s internal workings. For some, this sense of ownership can be rewarding.

• Competitive Mid-Level Salaries: Mid-level salaries for Accountants with 3-6 years' experience tend to be slightly higher in industry roles compared to public practice.

• Perceived Work/Life Balance: Some accountants view industry roles as offering a more predictable schedule compared to the peak seasons in public practice. However, this can vary greatly by company and time of year. Month-end, quarter-end, and year-end can still bring heavy workloads.

Challenges in Industry

• Limited Scope of Work: In industry, the focus is typically on the same processes month after month, which can become monotonous over time. You’ll miss out on the variety of challenges that public practice provides.

• Career Bottlenecks: One of the biggest limitations in industry is that senior roles are finite. There’s usually only one CFO or financial controller in a company, which means fewer opportunities to move into leadership positions compared to public practice.

• Salary Growth Can Stagnate: While initial salaries may be attractive, long-term salary growth in industry often plateaus unless you can break into senior management, which is a challenging and highly competitive leap.

• Job Vulnerability: Finance roles in industry are often seen as part of a company’s overhead, making them more vulnerable to restructuring or layoffs during tough times.

• Less Exposure to Professional Development: Industry roles may not offer the same level of continuous training and development as public practice, leaving you more isolated from evolving accounting standards and trends.

Public Practice: A Path of Growth and Opportunity

Key Advantages of Public Practice

• Diverse Client Base: Public practice offers a rich variety of work, allowing you to engage with clients across multiple sectors and industries. This diversity can keep your job stimulating while rapidly expanding your skill set.

• Faster Career Progression: Public practice firms often have well-defined promotion tracks, offering quicker advancement opportunities compared to industry. Whether you aim for management or specialisation, the structure is in place for career growth.

• Broad Skill Development: Working in public practice means developing a wide-ranging skill set and the ability to specialise in areas such as tax, wealth, audit, advisory, or consulting. This range of experience is highly valuable in the long term.

• Extensive Networking: Regular client interaction gives you the opportunity to build a robust professional network. These relationships can open doors to new opportunities and future career moves, both in and out of public practice.

• Greater Opportunities at Senior Levels: One of the biggest advantages of public practice is the abundance of leadership roles. While a company might have only one CFO, a public practice firm can support multiple partners. This means that there are significantly more opportunities for growth at the top end, allowing you to advance into senior positions without hitting the bottleneck that often exists in industry.

• Higher Earning Potential Long-Term: While early salaries in public practice may not always match those in industry, the long-term earning potential is considerably higher. Once you reach partner level, the financial rewards and ownership stakes can far surpass industry roles.

• Job Security and Stability: Public practice roles are generally seen as more stable. Accountants are core to generating revenue, unlike in industry where finance functions are often viewed as cost centres.

Things to Keep in Mind in Public Practice

• Constant Learning Curve: Public practice requires you to stay on top of regulatory changes and evolving best practices. For those who value continual growth, this can be an advantage rather than a drawback.

• Busy Seasons: Public practice can come with intense periods, especially around tax season or audit deadlines. While the workload may increase temporarily, these peaks are cyclical, allowing for more balanced periods afterward.

• Client Expectations: Managing multiple clients can be demanding, and you’ll need to navigate a range of personalities and expectations. However, those who enjoy relationship building often thrive in this environment.

Setting yourself up for an industry move

If industry is still on your radar for the future, positioning yourself now while in public practice can improve your chances of securing an industry role later. Here are a few strategies to enhance your appeal:

• Complete your CA or CPA: Professional qualifications are crucial for many industry roles. Achieving your CA or CPA early in your career will make you a more attractive candidate.

• Work for a Recognised Firm: Industry recruiters often prioritise candidates with experience from larger firms, particularly Big4 or Mid-tier practices. This brand recognition and client exposure can make your transition smoother.

• Exposure to Advisory Work: Actively seeking out opportunities to be involved in client consulting work. This will provide you with transferrable skills for any industry positions you are applying for.

• Gain Experience with Larger Clients: Seek opportunities to work with larger SMEs, mid-market or listed companies, particularly those with turnovers exceeding $25 million. This exposure to bigger clients will stand out to future industry employers.

Weighing your options

The decision between public practice and industry is an important one that requires a broader view of your long-term career goals.

Public practice offers a wealth of opportunities, particularly at senior levels, where you aren’t constrained by the limited number of top roles seen in industry. It also provides more variety and faster career progression.

On the other hand, industry offers specialisation and can provide a more focused role, but career advancement may be slower, and top positions are fewer.

Contact Tom!

If you would like to have a conversation about the direction you would like your Accounting career to take, reach out to Tom Miles at Morgan Consulting via:

✉️ tmiles@morganconsulting.com.au

📞 0468 951 155

Or connect with Tom on LinkedIn. 

For more insights, news, career opportunities and job vacancies, follow Morgan Consulting on LinkedIn.