While moving from public to corporate accounting is almost always easy, going the other way can involve a pay cut. "If you don't have any public accounting experience, you have to start at the entry-level salary," warns says Joan Kampo, director of human resources for accounting firm WithumSmith+Brown, based in Princeton, N.J. "If someone is coming from corporate accounting, even if they have general professional experience, they may not get the same wage they're accustomed to because they don't have the technical experience."

An experienced corporate accountant without a CPA may receive a slightly higher wage than someone right out of college. However, she would make less than an accountant who's been in the business for the same amount of time, has their CPA, and worked in a public accounting firm, Kampo says.

Credentials Make a Difference

Still, the tight hiring market has made firms such as Aarons, Grant & Habif in Atlanta more willing to hire mid-career accountants who want to move to public accounting. "My best hire was someone coming out of the healthcare industry who wanted to change his whole focus," says AG&H Internal Recruiter Michelle Robinovitz. "He had the personality, spirit and passion, so we took a chance and he took a chance."

Kenneth Breaux, CPA, joined AG&H in 2007 after being laid off from his $120,000-a-year position as an internal auditor for a Fortune 100 insurance company. "It was the best move I've ever made," he says. "The hours are a little more grueling in the busy season, but that was explained upfront. Of course, I wasn't new to long hours, having 22 years in the profession."

Some, but not all, of those who left the corporate side to join AG&H were already CPAs. "They all understand they have to come in and prove they can cut it," Robinovitz says. "We gave them a teeny bump in compensation and as reviews came around, we gave them a big bump."

More than Salary

Steven Elliott, CPA, MST, a senior tax associate at Janover Rubinroit in Garden City, N.Y., has moved between public and private accounting several times. Three years ago, he took a $5,000 pay cut when he left a public accounting job to work for a law firm doing trusts and income tax work for clients. "In all my years of accounting, it was my easiest year ever," Elliott observes. "There weren't any late nights, even during the tax season."

What drove him out? "I got bored," he says. "If I had been in my 50s, it would have been a great place to retire from." As he warns young accountants he works with as a mentor for the Massachusetts Society of CPAs: "There's a balance between being bored and being over-stressed."

Advice for Fence Jumpers

If you're inclined to make the leap yourself, keep in mind you're going to have to go in at a salary equal to the folks that already work for the firm you're joining, says Kathy Downs, division director, finance and accounting for Robert Half, Inc., in Orlando. "Within those firms, they have issues of internal equity," she explains.

If you've been working in corporate accounting for $40,000 and the class coming into a CPA firm makes $45,000, you'll get the $5,000 pay hike. "But if you've been making $55,000, you have to go in at $45,000 because you don't bring anything of relevancy to the job," Downs says.

There are exceptions: If you've worked, say, a year in public accounting, then went into industry and want to come back, you may be able to capitalize on your experience, Downs says.

If you have the education required of CPAs in your state, Downs recommends finding out if you can sit for the CPA exam and then get any required public accounting experience. Passing the exam may help you overcome the challenge of convincing a public firm you have the chops to play ball on their court. "They're going to introduce you to their clients, put the time into training and then you could realize it isn't fulfilling enough or the career path isn't quick enough," Downs says. "If you get an interview, they'll want to understand why you'd take a step back or make a lateral move."

Acceptable responses to that question include:

• You didn't realize earlier in your career the importance of having a public accounting background.
• You get bored going to the same place and are seeking diversity in clients.
• You have a desire to specialize in a particular area of accounting, such as Securities and Exchange Commission reporting, that requires a shift into public accounting.

Think Before You Leap

If you don't have the CPA and need additional education, you may want to address those requirements before you try to move into public accounting. "The thought is, if someone didn't get the CPA without the demands of public accounting, why should I be inclined to think they can do it (once they’re working in public accounting?" Downs says.

Originally published August 26, 2008

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