RESPONSES- Angry Accountant: "I am a product."

The Angry Accountant series of articles is written by a senior in public accounting who works at a Big Four firm in Los Angeles. To protect his job and ensure that he can be honest at all times, he has requested anonymity. Please note that the views expressed by the Angry Accountant do NOT reflect the views of The Professional Accounting Society of America. We print his commentary as a service to him, as a member. We extend this same service to all our members who wish to contribute articles or short essays to the website. Once again, the views expressed by the Angry Accountant do not reflect the views of PASA.

Angry Accountant:

I am a product. I had a partner come up to me at an after busy season party last year. (Those are always ragers.) I started doing some brown-nosing and the partner started to explain the "business" of public accounting. He told me all about how he was a salesman. He sold my time to clients at a premium. He even referred to me at one point as being similar to a "widget". The sad part is that he's right. If you take my annual salary plus bonus and divide it by the number of hours I charge a year, it comes out to less than $30 an hour. The partner then goes out and sells my time to clients for around $200. That's an 85% Gross Margin!!!

I'm not stupid. I realize that there are other costs involved in running an accounting firm. The suite at the Staples Center won't pay for itself and the going rate on renting a few floors at a downtown sky rise isn't cheap. NEVERTHELESS, the typical staff accountant earns his total ANNUAL salary in less than two months of work. The other 10 months of work you do goes right into the pockets of the firm/partners. That seems grossly disproportionate. Especially considering the fact that if you ask for a little extra money at raise time you’ll probably get laughed at.

Response (Jerry L.- Los Angeles, CA): Two comments. First, why does it matter if a public accountant is a “product”? This is not any different than any other service oriented company (law firms, plumbers, electricians, etc). Second, I actually agree with him about the salary thing, but as an auditor he should know better than to exclude from his “mini-financial statement” all of the overhead numbers. It may be an 85% gross margin, but does anybody know what overhead is in most accounting firms?

Response (Anonymous): How much does the Angry Accountant make in salary per year? What firm is he at?

Response (Bill B.- Los Angeles, CA): This guy is a whiner. If I had to work with him as his supervisor (or even worse if he was my supervisor) I’d quit.

Response (Katie M. – Houston, TX: I liked the article that the Angry Accountant wrote about being a “product”. It reminded me of when I used to work in public accounting and people would whine and complain during lunch--the good old days. Keep it up!