Oregon Society of CPAs

Since March I have contributed to this blog from the perspective of an individual working in public accounting.  I’ve shared the woes and wonders of tax season, billing, and life as a public accountant.  After two and a half years I made the decision to leave public accounting and join the Financial Accounting and Reporting team of The Regence Group.  Leaving the world of public accounting was not an easy decision.  It was all that I knew and I was very comfortable with it.

Like any change, leaving a job and starting a new one can be an unnerving, exciting adventure and it was in my case.  I discovered that entering the private sector was similar to a career change.  Everything I encounter is from an inverted viewpoint.  I am used to evaluating financial statements from an external perspective, but I now have more ownership of those positions.  Instead of calling the client requesting more details about account variances, I am that client with all of the details at my fingertips.

There is much to get used to when switching jobs.  For me, I left a small firm for a very large company.  There are new procedures, software and processes to learn and a new culture to adjust to.  I was nervous my first day, but eager to embark on my new position.  I quickly learned that I was really going to like my new job.  I say this mainly because of the people I am working with on a daily basis. I was fortunate to find a large company that genuinely cares about each individual employee and their career development.  They understand that the transition from public to private can be tricky and are more than willing to help acclimate me to my new role.

What I learned through this process is to make my career development my own top priority and not to shy away from opportunities because they are new and different.  I at first thought I would never leave public accounting and wasn’t even entertaining the possibility.  Looking back, I am so glad I took the leap because although I already knew I wanted a career in accounting, I finally feel I found the specific area and industry in which I want to work.  I think my message is that when it comes to your career development- don’t limit yourself!

Filed under: Job Search, Private Industry, Public Accounting Tagged: | career development, job change, private industry, public accounting, transitions