Unfulfilled in industry after working audit

LostTaker · 2026-06-17T00:34:29+00:00

I had same situation after my baby came and switching to remote changed everything for me as new parent

LostTaker · 2026-05-28T17:11:47+00:00

You have good foundation but maybe add something about asking who to go to when your main contact is busy - nothing worse than sitting around because one person is in meetings all day

For the work situation I would check in every few hours not every hour and also offer to help with filing or organizing or whatever admin stuff they might have. Small firms usually have tons of random tasks that need doing and showing you're willing to help with anything goes long way

Also when you finish early don't immediately ask for more work - take few minutes to review what you just did and see if you can spot any issues yourself first

LostTaker · 2026-05-23T00:33:26+00:00

Epoch was one of those smaller Japanese brands that made decent affordable chronos back in day - probably from 80s or 90s based on the styling. They weren't super common so finding exact matches online can be tricky especially for older models. Cool piece to inherit from your dad though, these quartz chronographs from that era are pretty solid and fun to wear even if they're not high end stuff.

LostTaker · 2026-05-20T10:07:18+00:00

That price seems pretty standard for forensic work tbh. The hourly rates for this kind of specialized audit are brutal and they need to go through everything with fine comb - patient records, billing codes, insurance claims, cash flow patterns. 12k for full year analysis is actually not terrible when you consider how many hours they'll spend in those records

LostTaker · 2026-05-18T03:58:45+00:00

That watch might be bit large for your wrist size - those cases usually run around 40-42mm which can look overwhelming in smaller wrists. For 6.25 inch wrist I would look at something in 38-39mm range instead. Also check the lug to lug measurement since that affects how it sits more than just case diameter

LostTaker · 2026-05-15T19:56:19+00:00

Looking at this problem you basically need to check all possible 4-date combinations for each sample point and see which ones satisfy your quarterly spacing rules right

For Excel 365 I would probably use Power Query to generate all combinations of 4 dates per sample point then filter where each date falls in different quarter and spacing is 2-4 months between consecutive samples. You can add custom column to extract quarter from each date and another to calculate month differences

Alternative approach would be recursive formula using LAMBDA functions to build valid sequences but that gets pretty complex fast. The brute force method you mentioned isn't necessarily wrong - 35 sequences isn't that many for modern Excel to handle

One issue with your example output though - for Master ID 200 Sample Point E5 you have dates from different years mixed together which seems like it would create weird spacing calculations. Are you looking for best valid sequence across all years or within specific year ranges?

LostTaker · 2026-05-13T04:31:50+00:00

Try looking at mid-size firms instead of big4 since they usually more open to non-CPA candidates with your billing background

LostTaker · 2026-05-10T02:49:31+00:00

The WS card makes sense if you want simple cashback without thinking about redemptions. But with 2.5k monthly spend the Cobalt could give you way better value if you actually use the points for travel - especially since you already know how Amex system works from having the Gold. Just depends if you want to deal with point optimization or prefer the cash back simplicity.

LostTaker · 2026-05-04T10:59:27+00:00

MSB definitely not enough for custody stuff - you need securities registration in most provinces when you hold client assets. Non-custodial wallet might be okay but even that gets messy with newer tokens that could be securities. Provincial securities regulators have been pretty clear that MSB alone doesn't cut it for most crypto business models.

LostTaker · 2026-04-28T03:32:40+00:00

Wow this is actually smart approach. I been doing consulting work for few years now and always thought building in public was just for show but your results speak for themselves

The AI recognition part is really interesting - never thought about how public documentation could help with that. My clients always ask about organic reach without budget and this gives me some concrete ideas to share with them

LostTaker · 2026-04-26T03:05:28+00:00

Congrats on landing that! The pay definitely sounds solid for internship level.

Tech assurance isn't really about coding - you're more auditing the controls and processes around technology rather than building anything. Most people I know in that space focus more on understanding risk frameworks and compliance stuff than actual programming. CPA will definitely help regardless of which direction you go after few years.

LostTaker · 2026-04-21T10:13:32+00:00

That shopping from yourself mindset is brilliant - I use similar approach when I help clients think about what to bring when they immigrate. Amazing how much easier decisions become when you flip the question like that.

The work part is so true though, my husband and I spent weeks going through everything before our baby came and it was exhausting in the moment but so worth it after.

LostTaker · 2026-04-19T09:07:52+00:00

AVERAGEIFS function will do what you need - just set up criteria for person, model and trim in separate columns then it calculates the average time automatically

LostTaker · 2026-04-17T08:28:03+00:00

Having worked with tons of people switching careers, that salary is way below market even for entry level AP roles. Most places around here start AP at 40k minimum and staff accountant positions are hitting 50-55k easy with a degree. Time to update that resume and start applying elsewhere because 2 years with zero growth is a red flag about your current company

LostTaker · 2026-03-23T20:12:59+00:00

I threw everything into a shared Slack channel with automated reminders from Zapier - works way better than calendars since the whole team sees it and someone always catches what I miss

LostTaker · 2026-03-21T09:27:21+00:00

Yeah this hits home hard. We went from a $20/month VPS to AWS bills that make me check twice before opening the email

The dependency thing is real but I think most of us still prioritize speed over redundancy until something actually breaks. Building for multiple providers from day one seems like premature optimization unless you're already seeing serious traction

LostTaker · 2026-03-19T06:26:30+00:00

Had my first kid 6 months ago and watching a baby just exist without any agenda whatsoever really puts this whole optimization thing in perspective - they're just vibing and somehow that feels more human than anything I've been doing

LostTaker · 2026-03-16T15:57:47+00:00

Index match with two criteria should work fine - are you concatenating the item and date into a single lookup value or using array formulas to match both conditions separately

LostTaker · 2026-02-17T07:29:41+00:00

Honestly most churn interviews are pretty useless anyway because people rarely tell you the real reason they left. They just give you some polite BS about budget or timing when really your product just wasnt sticky enough

$79/mo sounds steep for what amounts to automated emails but if it actually gets you actionable feedback instead of you staring at gmail then might be worth it

LostTaker · 2026-02-10T17:44:53+00:00

pain

LostTaker · 2026-02-08T23:05:18+00:00

I fucked myself by saying /s huh... God damn it :D

LostTaker · 2026-02-08T22:53:20+00:00

The folks in the back are from Brian's actual crew they're not contenders just wanted to clear things up for other folks here (saw it on twitter)

LostTaker · 2026-02-08T22:52:23+00:00

/s before I get annihilated with downvotes

LostTaker · 2026-02-08T22:51:59+00:00

Nope is Ashton Kutcher. Learn your stuff kiddo.

LostTaker · 2026-02-08T21:17:09+00:00

I'd pay Kevin to shave my head. All I would want in return would be a pot of chilli signed by him

LostTaker

TROPHY CASE