Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Burdened by Extra Work, CPAs Leave the Big Four for Better Life


Fresh out of Georgetown University in 2001, accountant Monica DiCenso was assigned by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to advertising firm Interpublic Group of Cos., which was about to restate five years of financial results.

For weeks at a stretch, she worked seven days a week, often eating sushi at her cubicle as she headed into evenings of more number-crunching. Promoted quickly, she soon supervised three other young auditors.

Late last year, Ms. DiCenso quit the accounting firm, frustrated that her annual bonus in effect rewarded her overtime at a rate of less than half the minimum wage. She now is a Wall Street securities researcher.

See full Article.