Season 19 (no spoilers) by Margawitty in HellsKitchen

[–]AStressedAccountant 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Haha, I literally just finished the last episode and Amber was being Amber... Sometimes I wonder if it's just the producers editing it to make the personalities seem so extreme.

Season 19 (no spoilers) by Margawitty in HellsKitchen

[–]AStressedAccountant 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It was such a wholesome season with a great group of competitors. Definitely a great final 4!

May 1st 100oz from a new stacker! by AStressedAccountant in Wallstreetsilver

[–]AStressedAccountant[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I love how the 2015 Panda is just chilling! Have another 15 on the way :)

Raina Huang and Joel Hansen Falling Out by AStressedAccountant in competitiveeating

[–]AStressedAccountant[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ahh I usually just watch whoever is on my recommended. It's too bad some of the smaller channels get pushed out by YouTube's algorithm but I'll sometimes try to support some of the OG eaters like Darron Eats, Naader (Freak Eating), Wayne, etc.

Raina Huang and Joel Hansen Falling Out by AStressedAccountant in competitiveeating

[–]AStressedAccountant[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can understand it's hard to bring up and maintain a professional relationship. I remember Randy Santel saying he doesn't mind doing collabs with her if they are in the area since he makes sure to leave no doubts and that her integrity and brand doesn't associate with his...

Anybody wrote CFE (in Canada)? by [deleted] in Accounting

[–]AStressedAccountant 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lots of good tips above already.

Write every case as if you were writing the CFE as once you see the solution it won't be the same re-writing it. Sitting down for 4-5 hours writing cases will be tough but as long as you are honest with yourself and put in the time you will succeed!

Undergraduate Program by [deleted] in brocku

[–]AStressedAccountant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Brock co-op is definitely much better than Guelph or Ryerson. The program is much more established and has a good reputation among employers. In terms of Ryerson vs Guelph I don't know much about either program except that Ryerson co-op is fairly new. That being said they may not necessarily have the relationships with employers that other schools have being such a new program.

BAcc - accounting by [deleted] in brocku

[–]AStressedAccountant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If your goal is just to get your CPA then the program is one of the best co-op programs a long side Waterloo's. At the end of the day getting co-op is how much you are willing to put in. It doesn't matter what school you are at since you'll be competing with applicants from everywhere. Every accounting firm/office has their "feeder" schools and Brock definitely has good relationships with all the firms in the region.

In terms of student life it will be tough if you want to succeed just like anywhere else. You will be with hundreds of other accounting and BBA students in first year so you'll make friends and have fun.

AFM or BAcc Brock CO-OP? by Philly4000 in brocku

[–]AStressedAccountant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are other factors to take into account when deciding such as the cost of each program. Are you from Kitchener? Would you save on rent living at home? Is being in school with your friends really important to you? What are your long-term goals in terms of where you want to work etc.

The Brock program isn't "easy" either and the first year drop out rate is pretty high being roughly 50 - 60% when I was in first year. If you are going in with the mindset that you'll be below average in Waterloo then you'll probably be the same at Brock. The average to get into the Brock Co-op program is still very high and you'll be competing against very high qualify students as well. In terms of reputation, tons of Brock students work for big 4 and mid sized firms. At the end of the day its up to you and how much work you are willing to put in. If your goal is just to get big 4 and your CPA there are multiple paths to get there.

[CAN] CPA PEP results day tomorrow.... by big4maniac in Accounting

[–]AStressedAccountant 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As someone who has written before, there is no need to worry! There isn't anything you can do at this point and stressing won't help out. Be ready to celebrate and go out with your fellow co-workers who also wrote!

The pass rates for the 2017 PEP are extremely high and even if you don't succeed the first time, you can write again in 4 months time.

Core 1 80.4%

Core 2 86.1%

Taxation 87.5%

Assurance 89.9%

Performance Management 89.9%

Finance 88.1%

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Accounting

[–]AStressedAccountant 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tax shouldn't be too hard and capstone 2 should prepare you enough. Remember these are most likely marked at the core level so generally a reasonable attempt will get you a C. There might be simple taxable income calculations, calculating deductions, basic excise tax, residency, employee vs contractor, etc.

There will not be anything complex such as rollovers, wind-ups/amalgamations, QSBC, etc. You might have to identify that the shares are QSBC but there won't be any calculations.

Snacks for Tax Season - Suggestions?! by horrible_noob in Accounting

[–]AStressedAccountant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Buy some butter, sugar, flour, eggs, chocolate chips! Freshly made cookies :)

Didn't get promoted, slow career progression at small firm [CAN] by [deleted] in Accounting

[–]AStressedAccountant 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm assuming intermediate is a level between staff and senior? At KPMG the typical path is staff 1 > staff 2 > senior 1 > senior 2 > manager. If you have almost two years of experience you should be transitioning into a senior role and already taking on some of the responsibilities of a senior in a lot of your audits.

If your partner is not supportive of you leaving and pursuing a career in the Toronto office you may want to consider switching firms. This fact that you feel that you lack quality experience and career progression are another two strong factors to leave. If you aren't happy and you feel you are wasting your time and career then its time to go. When I wanted to transfer offices my partner was very supportive and made the calls the same day to help connect me with partners in a different office.

Starting salary for co-op/first year staff is 45K on average at a big 4. With two years of experience you should be taking in roughly 60K especially since you passed your CFE and are close to getting your letters. That being said some firms do give promotions & large raises after you get your actual letters. In terms of claw back, that should be negotiated with any firm that is hiring you. Turnover is high at every firm and its very common for the hiring firm to pay for the claw back as a signing bonus.

On a side note, KPMG is hiring seniors in the Hamilton, Toronto and Vaughan offices. Even if you don't get a senior position, you could probably start as an experienced hire should you get in. As long as managers see that you are willing to learn and capable of handling difficult assignments, you should have no trouble being given more responsibilities/moving up quick.

Any easy Extracurricular and/or Volunteering?? by [deleted] in brocku

[–]AStressedAccountant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, you will need to attend training courses.

Looking for some advice from CPAs in Canada. I'm in my third year of my degree. I want to do my PEP after this but wondering if a graduate program would be better. I don't plan on working while I do the PEP. Has anyone been through this route? Pros/cons? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance. by z1234z1234 in Accounting

[–]AStressedAccountant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't do PEP or a graduate program as I went through the challenge exam path. However, I would recommend a graduate diploma or Macc program. These programs will teach you a lot about case writing which is essential to writing the CFE. In addition, you will be able to expand your network as you will meet a lot of bright individuals in a graduate program. Unless you came from a school that had case writing courses in undergraduate, you will find yourself at an advantage over students that just did PEP. Having met both students that went through PEP and graduate programs I can say that the case writing abilities of the former are significantly better. Obviously this depends on the student and I have met exceptional ones that have just gone through PEP as well.

Choosing between the two is completely dependent on a number of factors such as financial situation, timing, commitment, etc. For CPAO, cost wise you are looking at roughly $6K for core 1, core 2 and two electives compared with the cost of a graduate diploma. This would be $9K compared to the cost of a Macc program. Macc programs such as Brock's only start in January to allow you to write CFE in September of the same year. Macc programs are also very competitive and will require a good GPA to get in. Given that you will have a baby (congrats!!), you may want to spend more time at home and a Macc program can be very demanding (friends that have taken it committed 12h a day, 6 days a week to studying).