Deciding whether to specialize in audit or tax is a choice that college accounting majors need to make once they start their careers. For some, the choice is easy. They may instinctively have a sense for which discipline is the better fit with their personality and career goals. Or, their internships have given them enough information to guide them in the right direction. For others, the decision is harder.
We asked a few team members in our Audit & Accounting group how they decided to choose audit vs. tax. Here are their responses.
The reason I chose to practice under audit rather than tax is the change in scenery. You could be at a different client each week, learning about a different industry and how they do business. You could be in the client’s warehouse counting inventory and viewing the creation of their products. Even while working on engagements, you’ll be working with different seniors, managers, and directors and gaining more knowledge from them along the way. This change in scenery is what really helped me choose to practice audit over tax.
Peter Krone, Senior Accountant
I began my college internship experience by working part-time in the tax processing group at the firm. This provided me with a small glimpse into what working in tax would be like. After completing that internship I decided that I wanted to get the full picture of public accounting by completing an audit internship. Once I began my audit internship, I really enjoyed the versatility of working in the field and meeting new clients every week. Also, working in a team-oriented environment really fit my personality and it’s something that I have become very accustomed to. The change of scenery and working with different teams on a weekly basis is something that I really appreciate and the main reason why I chose to work in audit over tax.
Tom Fulton, Senior Accountant
I chose to work in audit because I liked the idea of going to different clients and learning how they operate. Going out to various client locations allows you to see different work environments and processes, which I find really interesting. While out at the client, you’re able to interact a lot with the employees, and catch up with them each time you’re there. I also preferred the work involved in audit as opposed to tax. All of this led me to realize that going into audit was the right choice for me.
Debbie Smith, Senior Accountant
I chose audit over tax because it was important for me to interact with clients. I was interested in learning about different companies and the ins and outs of their businesses. Once I got into audit, I felt as though I was making an impact on the client. I felt needed.
Meghan DiDonato, Senior Accountant
I chose audit over tax because I liked the idea of going to different clients and being in a different atmosphere. I also wanted to be exposed to the different industries and Financial Statement accounting surrounding them.
Carly Ball, Senior Accountant
Here is some more valuable career guidance: