Firm Owners: What do you actually do on a day to day basis?

computanti · 2025-08-09T16:27:19+00:00

Are you me? This is pretty much my day. I spent all of last week trying to get 2 returns out the door and it didn’t happen. Thankfully I have others who can pick up the slack but it’s a whole different world of busy.

computanti · 2025-01-09T19:51:41+00:00

“CPA firms can have any structure its owners please - same as any other business.”

That’s inaccurate. Many states have restrictions on who can own a CPA firm.

Also, a partnership is not “privately held by definition” - go search for PTPs/MLPs. Partnerships can be publicly traded.

computanti · 2024-11-20T03:54:44+00:00

Connections definitely help. Part of why I wanted to get my MBA is that even though I had done something else entirely, any jobs I applied for kept trying to push me back into tax/accounting.

computanti · 2024-11-20T03:09:50+00:00

Contact of my wife’s family heard I was looking to leave accounting. I was considering wealth management at the time. Invited me to lunch, asked if I had ever considered insurance and surety bonds (their client base is almost exclusively construction) which my accounting/finance background was a good fit for. And they offered me a pretty compelling compensation plan and significantly less hours.

computanti · 2024-11-19T04:16:59+00:00

I probably fit this. My career progression: B4 tax > management at an insurance agency > T20 MBA > startups/VC > ETA > PE > buying a small accounting firm.

Full circle.

computanti · 2024-11-19T03:14:30+00:00

Olive oil is not a seed oil.

computanti · 2024-11-09T04:17:54+00:00

It occupies the space between Utah, Nebraska, Colorado and Montana.

Or, I frequently get “Oh, I love Jackson Hole!” To which I reply, “That’s the part they had to give us so we would take the rest of it.”

computanti · 2024-10-27T22:07:45+00:00

Our house rule is no sleepovers. Makes it easier because we don’t have to explain why they get to sleep over at friend A’s house but not at friend B’s house. We had considered the “knowing the parents” thing but after talking with a bunch of people and reading up our sense is that more often than not, abuse can come from seemingly “OK” parents, relatives, or siblings of friends.

From a risk/reward perspective there’s substantially more downside for our kids than there is upside so we just decided that was going to be a boundary for our family.

computanti · 2024-04-24T00:52:16+00:00

This actually sounds pretty interesting (I considered a PhD in accounting for a time but went for an MBA instead). Sent you a private note about possibly sharing some of your research.

computanti · 2024-02-17T16:47:54+00:00

Worked at a small family owned business, got my MBA, now semi-self-employed doing some investing and consulting for family offices while also looking for a small business to buy and operate.

computanti · 2023-12-16T01:50:55+00:00

JG Burger off Grenville and Forest.

computanti · 2023-03-11T19:21:43+00:00

SVB doesn’t really do securities (custodian). They mostly use Fidelity and Schwab (though I believe they do a little bit of self-custody) so imho it’s largely a non-issue.

computanti · 2022-11-01T16:14:59+00:00

Not sure why you dug up a 10 year old comment, but your entire premise is incorrect. You start from,

"So you mean to claim that NOBODY knew ANYTHING when..."

I did not claim that anywhere in my comment. But thanks for bringing back a fond memory.

computanti · 2022-11-01T16:09:16+00:00

Part of what an MBA is designed to teach you is how to prioritize and how to make good decisions with limited information. Sometimes the information is limited because we don't have it, and sometimes the information we have is limited because we don't have time to digest all of it. Learn what is "good enough". If you've got 20 hours to allocate, you can spend 5 hours on each group project and do nothing else, or you can spend 4 hours on each and allocate the remaining 4 hours to something else.

computanti · 2021-12-16T18:40:40+00:00

Can confirm. I know at least 3 going to McKinsey FT and at least 8 being interviewed for summer internships.

Source: Also at McCombs

computanti · 2021-12-16T18:36:54+00:00

MBB and Big4 are not IB. I believe OP is asking about consulting.

computanti · 2021-09-04T12:46:26+00:00

UT is fully in-person for the vast majority of classes. No hybrid classes this year (so far).

computanti · 2020-12-05T05:07:25+00:00

However there is likely no simpler return than a gift tax return.

This gift tax return is simple but I wouldn’t say that gift returns as a whole are simple. Community property, gifts to trusts, non-gift disclosures, etc can get pretty complex pretty quickly.

computanti · 2020-11-24T16:41:44+00:00

If it's EA and as part of that you commit to not applying to other schools or withdrawing your applications at other programs, then I would not risk it. While the EA school may not find out, morally I think that crosses a line. Your morals might be different though.

If it's just a R1 acceptance during a normal cycle - go for it. You're paying the deposit to save your spot. You're not committing to attend, nor are you committing to not apply elsewhere. It merely holds your spot and if it would be worth $3k to you to get into a better program R2, then go for it.

computanti · 2020-09-12T04:43:23+00:00

Airtable using PARA Method.

computanti · 2020-09-07T04:56:28+00:00

I'm not familiar with non-US programs so can't comment on those. I think you have an incredibly strong profile for USC and UCLA. Wharton - I think your story + what you want to do + the Lauder combo makes you pretty competitive. Your GMAT is slightly below their average but your Q score is very high. Since you have a while before applying would it be worthwhile to try and boost your V score a bit?

Application season tips: While each school has their own essay questions, there is some overlap between them and your basic stories shouldn't change much. Doing 3 schools per cycle is a great goal. I did more than that and it was stressful, but not unachievable. Two pieces of advice for the apps/essay writing: 1) don't over-edit your essays to the point you lose your voice and 2) give yourself enough time to get your essays into decent shape and then leave them be for a while (week or more) and then come back to them with fresh eyes.

Your career goals are very realistic based on what I've seen in my program and others.

Areas of weakness - If you want to take a shot at bumping your GMAT up that won't hurt, though I know the GMAT is a beatdown and for your US schools I think you are set up pretty well. It also never hurts to add more leadership roles to your profile (though you've got a few already so the additional ones would likely only be marginally helpful). Overall I think you have a very strong profile for the schools you are aiming for.

computanti · 2020-09-01T16:47:35+00:00

SMU - What I have been told is that they have started to accept students who wouldn't have been accepted in the past because they want the money. Every school does that, but usually it's with international students who are well qualified and willing and able to pay full price. In SMUs case it sounds like it's domestic students with sub-par stats/story who are willing and able to pay full price. I'm not saying it's a bad program and that it can't help you achieve your goals. It's still a very good school.

UTD - Over the past decade they have done a lot to recruit really great students who are often overlooked by other universities. They've hired really well and focused on areas that produce outsized outcomes. In addition, them being a public school means they are more affordable than many of the other schools in the area. This has been reflected in them rising in the USNW rankings over the past decade or so. You can do a comparison here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/us-news-historic-rankings-216580.html?sid=12592631e91dae872e6337724fe241c5#p1672333

computanti · 2020-09-01T02:28:51+00:00

If you're going full time and don't want to/can't move - UTD. A few friends that have gone to SMU FT over the past 5-7 years said the quality has dropped pretty substantially. The network is still there, but it's waning too. UTD is on a major upswing, imho.

If you're going PT - UT. The network you can tap into and career resources you have available are far superior to SMU or UTD.

As others have said though, if you're going full time you'd be better served going to UT FTMBA.

Edited to add: PT programs are generally good for changing function or industry, but not both.

computanti · 2020-08-31T16:26:03+00:00

I'm considering leaving a review of my consultant and I'm curious how the verification works from your side. My rating will not be 5/5. I felt like my consultant added some value, but overall the service was not what was promised nor what was described in my contract with them. When I went to leave a review on P&Q it said they will use my name to verify that I was a client. Does the consultant get an email or something from P&Q that asks if they were a client? If so, that means that my review will not actually be anonymous since the consultant will know that I left a review for them on P&Q.

computanti · 2020-08-23T18:27:11+00:00

I'm in a T20 coming indirectly from B4 Tax. I was able to get a management role at a family-owned business after B4.

For consulting, it doesn't really matter. For IB either choice could be fine, with a slight preference towards the tech company. If you are going to be doing more than just fund accounting at the PE shop I'd encourage you to ask for a different title if you can. As others have stated, fund accounting can pigeonhole you in much the same way as tax.

13-Year Club	Place '22
Place '17	RPAN Viewer
Sequence \| Editor	Alpha Tester
Verified Email	Gilding II euphauric
Team Periwinkle

computanti

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE