what is an accountant's work environment like?

[rocco]

do you get a lot of private space or are you more like cramped up in a small office with your bosses nose hovering over you 40 hours a week?

 

[Becky]

It depends - what kind of firms are we talking about here? I guess a lot of offices tend to only have a lot of private space for those at the top. But that does not necessarily mean that those lower in the pecking order will be sat elbow to elbow!

 

[bklynboy]

In my company space is at a premium and staff up through front line managers are in cramped spaces. For executives, they typically have their own office. I suspect this is true in most firms.

 

[rocco]

It depends - what kind of firms are we talking about here? I guess a lot of offices tend to only have a lot of private space for those at the top. But that does not necessarily mean that those lower in the pecking order will be sat elbow to elbow!

all types of firms. want to know what the work environment is like and how they may differ, etc.

 

[Becky]

It's a difficult question to answer because it can vary on an office by office basis. From my experience, newer offices tend to have more space. Hope this helps!

 

[Fumita]

From the others I've talked to it looks like it depends on your area which is split between type of company and area practised..

Public practise - longer hours + not so much space = quicker career progression

Private practise - basic week with odd overtime + varied space but generally breathable = better work/life balance with slower career progression

Pretty much every area has busy periods and slow periods, kind of like tides... i.e. financial reporting is predictable busy at month and yearend...

 

[rocco]

Is there a lot of office politics involved in the work environment?

 

[esinc]

I'm self employed. No office politics. Hours suck sometimes because I have no one to delegate to. But the environment and "progression" towards success is whatever I make it. Personally, just trying to have a little income while being a stay at home Mom and finding a balance between the two.

 

[esinc]

I once worked in a practice where the bosses didn't hoover - they just had three different ways they wanted things done. Each partner demanded that the work be done their way, each choosing different software, different binding options, different reporting. And you had to keep up with the preferences for all three. I kept a notebook just for that purpose! And the office politics is what made me want to work for myself!

 

[tshields]

I work at a relatively smaller company, 75-100 employees. Our accountant is in an office with the HR associate, since they're both "admin". Because of the confidentiality that accompanies company finances, our accountant has always had some privacy. Depends on the boss, but our CEO is pretty hands off aside from a monthly review of finances.

 

[hankas]

It looks like the OP wants to know what the real work environment is like. As many people mentioned before, it depends on the company. If you work for some large corporation with plenty of office space, it is likely that you will get an office by yourself (but it also depends on the job).

I have a dual degree in Accounting and Finance. My first job was an entry-level financial analyst in a large bank. Although the job title sounds cool, but really it was nothing more than data-entry job. The software does most of the analysis with the real analysts high up in the hierarchy interpreting the result. I got my own small cubicle, my own computer, and a desk that was always cluttered with stacks of paper. I got about 1 foot high fresh stack of report paper every morning. Office politics did exist, especially when things went wrong and some people started shifting blames around. However, not everybody is like that. Many people I knew there were really nice and highly responsible people.

My second job was in a manufacturing company in a suburb. My former manager from my first job pulled me into the company. My computer knowledge added with my number-crunching skills made me the production assistant. The job was basically keeping track of the production while generating various forecasts for the next production needs. I got a shared office with the production manager. There was hardly any office politics, and the manager was old enough to be my dad. The office wasn't as polished as the one in the bank, but the salary was definitely better. I was there for quite a bit. I was their finance / accounting manager before I resigned to start my own business last year. As the finance / accounting manager, I got my own private office, with accountants working in their cubicles outside my office. We got the whole floor for ourselves.

Now I am back to a small office in my own business.

 

[tshields]

Having your own business as an accountant is a great way to go and can be fairly easy to do. Businesses are always looking for accountants, but cannot afford a full-time employee. Communication and receipt/document transfer can be done electronically as well.

 

[Cheaper Accountant]

I worked in different environments from having my own office to working in open plan floors sharing an office with numerous people. Whichever situation I find myself in the paperwork soon mounts up and what I thought was enough space I never quite enough.