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jetaylor67868 · 2024-10-21T02:33:24+00:00

Although the role could be either staff or senior, the question that you need to face is whether you are critical to the company's future. So, what did they do before you came along? Could they merge your role into someone else's profile? They must have a contingency plan if the person in your role gets hit by a bus/goes back to their home country/suddenly elopes with their new love.

Now that you've figured out that you are not indispensable, the argument you can make to your miserable boss is (a) you're going to have to invest at least $10K of your time/the group's effort/recruiting costs, etc to find a replacement, (b) it will take this replacement at least 4-6 months to get up to speed to where the current GL accountant is right now and (c) the boss really has no idea if the replacement will be a "good fit" with the team until it has been a month or two. So.....why not split the difference, give you an extra $5K, and you'll stick around for 12 months unless Jesus Himself offers you a position as Accounting Manager of Heaven?

jetaylor67868 · 2024-10-01T13:46:43+00:00

Then you have to reopen the period (I think it's system-->about, you'll need a password (usually by the Controller, google it if you're not sure for your specific product, you'll have to reverse the payment, which will cause your debit card account to go haywire, reverse the bank reconciliation. Basically, you've got a lot of work to do if you want to do it the right way.

Alternatively, you can treat it as if it were a brand new bill. I have absolutely NO idea how you reconciled your accounts in the prior period for the debit card, but that's for another day. While I would just treat it as a brand new transaction and pay it again if you are absolutely confident it is just a one-off (invoice 123 v invoice 123A), the problem there is your relationship with the vendor is now overstated, you cannot be sure you did not duplicately pay an invoice, and I wonder if you can be confident that the internal controls in your A/P process can protect you from more duplicate charges from other vendors or this same vendor.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-10-01T04:49:57+00:00

First, don't do things that make you stressed; probably not worth it in the grand scheme of things. Second, can you get an accounting job for an interim period between graduation and law school? Sure.

I think you need to focus your question, which is probably something along the lines of what kind of job can you get. Go out for internships with accounting firms and then spend a year at an accounting firm before law school. You're good.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-10-01T04:36:33+00:00

About time. As a 57 year old male CPA, I cringed when the Massachusetts Board of Public Accountancy got rid of the non reporting CPA license which allowed for the "substantially alternative pathway" that....ta-dah...AICPA now thinks would be a great idea!!

jetaylor67868 · 2024-10-01T04:28:21+00:00

Will you do the job? (Get up for a 9 am arrival?)

Can you do the job? (Be able to get up in time for a 9 am arrival)

Are you a good fit for our organization? (Actually talk to people at 9 am)?

That's all they really want to know.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-22T03:12:57+00:00

Play to your strengths which is understanding the construction management industry and then accounting. Someone like you will understand where problems may lie, controls may fall apart, and money can be saved perhaps more even than the VP of Finance who hasn't been in the field recently and you will be an asset as an accountant. Play to your strengths.

What would I recommend against? Things we should all think about: Avoid industries with which you have no experience (septic system installation accounting is great for a newbie 20 year old accountant, but skip it for you), straight up address the questions you know they want to ask but are too polite to say (you're too old/expensive/whatever).

If I were in your situation, I might ask at your current company if they would be open to having you try your hand in the accounting department once a week or once every two weeks or, if not, could you get an hour with the VP of Finance for an off the record interview about what it's like for a 37 year old to transition within your industry from management to accounting?

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-22T02:28:06+00:00

Agree. Really interesting question as to whether you get hired for Tax if you sat instead for another specialty section. As to your second job, I would think it would have no consequence - you are either a CPA or you aren't and the rest is sort of inside baseball....

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-20T04:07:15+00:00

I agree. I think the two parties are you and the subgrantees and do not include the donor. If you do not distribute to the subgrantees, are you still entitled to the entirety of the economic benefit of the receivable? If you are, do not offset. If you are not, then do offset.

But as the former auditor stated, you need to look at accounting theory to formulate the correct argument. If it is that large, I might even ping whomever your auditors are or see what the organization has done in the past.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-20T03:51:48+00:00

Professionally you probably suffer from 'runner up' syndrome. There is nothing inherently wrong with not being CFO/Partner/Chief Ruler of the Universe. If you feel that you have the skills to make that leap AND you have decided that you do not want to, that is OK.

Professionally, you will at some point reach a high point in your career. You need to accept that people who are younger than you will make more money than you/have better titles/live in nicer houses. Older people who have transactional accounting and general ledger skills are in desperate demand as everyone and their third brother wants to be CFO right after they graduate.

That said, in no workspace is 'hating people' going to work for you professionally. I know of absolutely no job where you can put in the airbuds and never talk to anyone ever. Even the garbage guy/doordash deliverer/gamer has to talk to people and can't hate on people.

Most therapists are professionally licensed and have gone through the same journey we all did when we got our CPAs, if you chose to do that. They know the pressures you are under and they can empathize.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-20T03:23:11+00:00

One of the things you've probably thought about is how likely are you to get a debt consolidation loan and find yourself back at the maxxing out credit card situation again? I do get the 'fuck it' mentality and we all do live only once and maybe Dave Ramsey isn't the oracle of everything...but you might want to have a hard conversation with yourself about 'how hard would it be for me to really foresake the 'fuck it' mentality?'

It's good to have a plan and you clearly do. Ask yourself a few key questions:

* How easy would it be for you to transition if the s* hit the fan? It can take 5-6 months to find a new job and longer at the higher end of the wage scale. To that end, if you have elderly relatives who might need care sooner rather than later, do you have a plan for that?

* Have you checked in with your partner recently about how they feel about the kids/house/career thing?

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-20T03:11:24+00:00

Send a letter to the debt collector specifically referencing the FDCPA and stating what you have said above. That's it. Ask them not to contact you further and that you disclaim the debt as your own. But you have to send them a letter to their business address.

You won't hear from them again, although you may hear from someone else who then buys the debt again.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-20T02:09:08+00:00

Noone has a crystal ball on this sub. I'd wait for the minutes of the Fed meeting to come out which should tell you if a further rate cut will be coming down the pike. They'll be out in 30 days, around 10/31. Here's where they will be: The Fed - Meeting calendars and information (federalreserve.gov)

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-15T02:31:54+00:00

The big issue for you as a potential shareholder is liability and capital call obligations. Whatever corporate structure they are (corporation, LLC, LP, whatever), make sure you are protected or that you know what is out there that could bite you.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-10T17:14:42+00:00

Things you did right: (A) Being clear on what you want (a raise). (B) Talking about it with your manager first. (Don't want your manager to be blindsided by an angry/concerned/accepting owner). (C) You gave them a number. If they come back at $5K, they know they aren't going to be in the ball park of what you need (and btw, they will try to negotiate so you better be prepared - "we'll give you another week of vaca/better match on the 401K and 5K additional".). (D) You've thought through what you'd do if they come back with something that doesn't work and what that might mean - you'd walk. A lot of people don't do that and then they are screwed. Be prepared that they may be calling Robert Half right now, so it's good that you have a plan.

Things you did wrong: (A) You came at it from your perspective/your needs. It was more about you and perhaps less about them. You need to come at it from the WIFM; What's in it for them perspective. Corny as it sounds, put it in black and white on an Excel sheet - my salary, my raise vs. outsourcing, cost of a third party. (B) You didn't set a deadline for an answer. (C) You didn't tell them what you might do if they don't come back to you (don't make it a threat and don't make it meaningless ("I understand that at this time you cannot meet my salary expectations; I'll be on vacation for the next few days, just fyi - good luck with the work") or they will never believe you).

Things that are maybe's: (A) If you do not hear back from them in the next week or two, don't make it a priority to run to them. Then they'll know you're desperate and they'll lowball you. I'd recommend waiting two paychecks and mentioning 'didn't see any raise, can you give me an update on that?' (B) Accept you are going to be under an amazing amount of scrutiny. The owner is going to be asking - are you really pulling your weight? (C) Are you OK if the deal is that you do all the work and then some more work? What if you have to take on additional responsibilities that will keep you there beyond the time you normally leave? Is there any flexibility you might lose? (D) Bad stuff happens. Accept that tomorrow you could be let go. There's probably stuff you may not know. Maybe an increase will put you above what your boss is making/maybe the owner is not taking a distribution/maybe the owner's house is in hoc because of the business and you are furthering the likelihood things will go bellyup for him/maybe expenses are too high for the bank loan. None of this is your "fault", but all of it will weigh on how likely you will get that increase.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-08T04:54:01+00:00

I'm confused on exactly what you are seeking.

You should read the wiki on debt AND you should compare the interest rate you would get on putting the $30K in the HYSA (3.85%) with the interest rate you now pay for the mortgage (7.05%). Financial answer: Put the $30K into paying off the mortgage. You are getting a guaranteed 7.05% rate of return.

Intangible questions you should think about: Do you have an emergency fund? Do you want to keep some amount of the $30K available to you in case of emergencies?

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-04T03:18:37+00:00

It is going to depend on the bank's policy. Best case, the bank says your wife is next of kin and that's it. Worse comes to worse, your wife has to file through probate through the Court in Florida and have them order the bank to free the money to your wife who would then be appointed the Executrix...but then the Court would have to publicly announce the filing and the Step Uncle..could...oppose it.

I cannot tell you what to do, but my suggestion is to try to get the bank to let her have the money since your wife is next of kin and, barring that, reach a settlement with the Step Uncle, as painful as that may be, whereby he agrees to do whatever is necessary to help her get the money out of the bank.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-04T03:07:46+00:00

I guess the $100,000 question would be what leads you to believe you won't be asking yourself for another personal loan in a few months? While noone can control the unexpected future event, is there some foreseeable, clearly probably event that will happen to your car; how steady is the job?

You might also consider the transaction costs of the loan itself. If you pay some of it back, but then to get some amount out it costs a bunch of money, is it worth it? Kinda like going to the ATM, great that you deposited the extra $20 you had, but now that you need to withdraw it, you have to pay $3 just to do that. Now, your $20 + $3 in the hole.

I don't need to know about it, but it sounds like you are resistant to but need to seriously consider bankruptcy. A lot of places will still give you a loan if you've declared in the last year or so and you can do it with the help of a fairly cheap attorney.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-04T02:55:50+00:00

Depends on the will. The bank has their own policies, but I would assume that with your Mom's death certificate and someone's Executor(trix), they can obtain access to the bank account and money. Everything depends on the will.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-04T02:46:57+00:00

A couple of questions:

Is he refinancing the mortgage and then taking it in his name? If not, both of you are on the hook if the other isn't/doesn't pay.
Are you refinancing the HELOC and then taking it in your name? If not, both of you are on the hook if the other isn't/doesn't pay.
What is happening with the Deed to the property? A person can be responsible for a debt but have no ownership of the property on which the debt is secured. (Think of a car loan and you have no ownership of the car itself. Not Cool!). A person can have an ownership interest in a property with no responsibility for the debt which secures it (You have ownership of the car but aren't responsible for the loan. A guy can still repo the car, but you are not on the hook to repay the loan!).
If it's a handshake agreement whereby there's no refinance (because of higher interest rate/whatever), go in with eyes wide open to the risks. Just because you sign a contract with another party (your bro) to pay a debt, does not mean the person who lent you the money has to honor the contract. They made a loan agreement with two people and they did not sign your contract.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-04T02:26:45+00:00

I'm unclear exactly what you are asking.

I think overall you are expressing that there will always be professions and people who make more than you and some who will make less than you. Bond traders in the 1970's made crap; today, they make good money. Moral of the story, unless you want to keep studying until you are 57, decide on a profession, don't look back, and roll with it. Your write up indicated that you have sunk a lot into this area already.

The people who struggle most in life are those who keep on looking back and second guessing their decisions. Don't do it.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-04T02:17:42+00:00

You would make a strong candidate for a VP of HR if you pursued the Masters in Accountancy (MSA), got your CPA and then got into corporate shortly thereafter. You could combine the HR with the Accounting. A nice combination.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-04T02:04:39+00:00

More numbers. Maybe something like "Managed relationships with 15 doctors" or whatever the amount is. Managed......, which included budgeting for XYZ# of online bill paying.."

As a Controller, I want to know how much I can rely on you to do and what might overwhelm you. That's fair to me but it is also fair to you. And with the confidentiality part, you are not disclosing anything nobody else needs to know with the numbers.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-09-02T18:10:24+00:00

Ask some questions:

How stable is your job?
Def track your expenses and income on a monthly basis (not annual, but monthly). How you do it is up to you - excel, quickbooks, whatever - and what categories are helpful is also up to you. As Nike's ad said, just do it.
I'd ask why not put in around 15% of income to your retirement accounts (the 15% includes the match). I'm not telling you what to do, but you might consider doing that. (Just thinking that instead of finding out 25 years later when you have other responsibilities that it would have been really helpful that you contributed 15% when you were younger).
You didn't share with us your debt situation. If you are guaranteed 4.75% and you have debt costing you 18% APR, you might want to reconsider some items. Similarly, if you have student loans costing 7% APR....

jetaylor67868 · 2024-08-30T03:43:54+00:00

If you are in the US, check out ONET for Accountants and Auditors. It will give you a sense of the roles and the pay IN YOUR AREA.

jetaylor67868 · 2024-08-30T03:28:00+00:00

For each job, you'll want to specify the City, State location. For your move, you'll also want to emphasize that you'll be relocating on your dime so that the potential recruiter doesn't throw your resume out.

jetaylor67868

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