For all Accounting People - I Need Career Choice advice.

Tax, SDIRAs & Cost Segregation
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For all Accounting People - I Need Career Choice advice.

Alex Kebets
Sacramento , CA · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 0 votes

Hello Everyone,

I have been listening to the podcasts for a while and I love the BP Community, Great Stuff!! I could use some advice on something.

I am majoring in accounting, graduating spring 2017. I currently intern at a Firm on the Tax side and in the long run I want to own Rentals.

My question for you is, Tax or Audit? How did you choose, and which one do you think will help more in terms or doing my own Realestate investing in the future? 

Thank you !!

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Steven Hamilton IIPro Member
Accountant, Enrolled Agent · Grayslake, IL · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y

@Alex Kebets maybe we should make that a conference call with @Brandon Hall, we both have rather different approaches and views; however, we both love what we do. I get to work with all different people.

Granted in tax there are tax manager positions that you can look at.  I personally hate cubicles. I couldn't stand working for someone else. Self Employment is in my blood.

[email protected]224-381-2660
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  • Brandon Hall
    CPA · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    10y

    @Alex Kebets connect with me and let's jump on the phone after tax season.

    At a high level, audit is worthless unless you are looking to go corporate accounting. It's also extremely boring, for me at least. Tax will teach you much more about how business operate, and more specifically about how the wealthy manage their money.

    If you have an interest in real estate, you should join up with a real estate firm. I'm always looking for good people, so feel free to connect.

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  • Alan Duff
    Investor · Knoxville, TN · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 3 votes
    10y

    I spent my public career in audit. You learn a lot about business and you can see how people run a company. Not much of that in tax and you typically do not interact with the people in the company. You just get handed a file and sit in your cubicle and prepare the return.

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  • Meagan Barkley
    Investor · Bella Vista, AR · Member since 2014 · 45 posts · 19 votes
    10y

    I chose tax because I just really like tax law. I like to think of of us as lawyers without a law degree. I personally enjoy applying the law and finding creative ways to plan around it. I'm also the type of person that would take a test for fun.

    I also like tax because I like having a cube to go to everyday, not wondering where I'd be working next week. And I hear scheduling things like a doctor appointment can be a pain as an auditor.

    I definitely do not think tax personnel are just "handed a file" to prepare a return. Maybe at H&R block, but at a public accounting firm you will see all different industries and you do get client contact.

    I also detest materiality (the concept in audit of "it's close enough" with pretty large amounts).

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  • Eric Bilderback
    Real Estate Agent · Sisters, OR · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y

    Boy man I hated accounting I did for a long time got my CPA and all that I was miserable everyday.  Now I own a landscaping company and am a real estate agent, much better.  If you like accounting though I personally would look into tax just because I would want to be at a smaller firm get know your community maybe some other investors.  Plus you will still make good money and will have more time to do what we all around this website love to do.  Analyze deals!, and go fishing!  Well at least the former is true.

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  • Eric Bilderback
    Real Estate Agent · Sisters, OR · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y

    Boy man I hated accounting I did for a long time got my CPA and all that I was miserable everyday.  Now I own a landscaping company and am a real estate agent, much better.  If you like accounting though I personally would look into tax just because I would want to be at a smaller firm get know your community maybe some other investors.  Plus you will still make good money and will have more time to do what we all around this website love to do.  Analyze deals!, and go fishing!  Well at least the former is true.

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  • Alex Kebets
    OP
    Sacramento , CA · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    10y

    @Brandon Hall Thanks for the tip, we will definitely be in touch after tax season. 

    Not a big fan of the cube ;) I like variety and I am extraverted. But after some time in Tax, I can see the value we bring and it is fun. Although, it seems that Audit has more exit strategies, like Controller, Manager or CFO Etc. But once you start in taxes the options are: open your own firm, or continue at the firm you're at. 

    Any thoughts ? 

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  • Steven Hamilton IIPro Member
    Accountant, Enrolled Agent · Grayslake, IL · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    10y

    @Alex Kebets maybe we should make that a conference call with @Brandon Hall, we both have rather different approaches and views; however, we both love what we do. I get to work with all different people.

    Granted in tax there are tax manager positions that you can look at.  I personally hate cubicles. I couldn't stand working for someone else. Self Employment is in my blood.

    [email protected]224-381-2660
    1Reply
  • Logan AllecBusiness Member
    Accountant · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 980 votes
    10y

    Hi Alex, getting some tax experience at a smaller firm or hanging your own shingle will teach you a heck of a lot more about real estate as it applies to 99% of people on BiggerPockets than you would learn at a larger firm.  I say that having been with both a smaller firm being a jack-of-all-trades, a tax manager in a larger firm's real estate department, and of course managing my own clients.  I think @Brandon Hall would say the same as he has background with larger firms as well.

    That being said, at a larger firm, you get to see a lot of what the big guns are doing in real estate: how they get their deals, how they fund their deals, how they raise capital, etc.  Now, it's highly unlikely that I will be a mover and shaker like these guys, but I can take what they do on a macro level and apply it to my micro situation.  And as a bonus the fact that I know tax has opened up countless opportunities when going to real estate investor meetings--especially this time of the year when I can make time for them.

    Also, and this is unrelated to accounting, my two cents in terms of investing is that you should buy a 3- or 4-unit property using a low down payment (like FHA) as soon as you can after finishing school. PM me for more info on that.

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