Inferior Imitator

ep·i·gone n. A second-rate imitator or follower, especially of an artist or a philosopher.

Friday, September 26, 2008

The Big Thing That’s Going On

Back at the beginning of August, the Iowa City office was informed that national firm (hereby after referred to as CG) was no longer going to have an Iowa City office. We are now affectionately calling it “being fired”. It’s not just happening to us, CG is closing all one partner offices, but that didn’t make it less of a shock.

There’s a possibility I could have had a job up in the Cedar Rapids office, but they didn’t offer, and I didn’t ask. I’ve spent seven years building a reputation and visibility in Iowa City – if I went to Cedar Rapids, I would have had to start all over again. Fortunately, I’m going with another option. The three senior employees of Iowa City are purchasing the Iowa City practice from CG, and I, along with all the rest of the office, are following them to the newly formed company.

One of the things I liked best about working here was the people I worked with, so I’m glad they’re taking this on and giving me the option. I’ll still be working with all the same people, with pretty much the same clients. We won’t be doing audits anymore, but I’ve been trying to get out of auditing for three years now, so that won’t be too much of a sacrifice, though I’ll miss my audit clients. As soon as the Children’s Museum found out I wouldn’t be working on their audit anymore, she asked if I’d be interested in serving on their board, so maybe I won’t have to miss all of them.

So for the past six weeks, we have been preparing. Notifying clients, wrapping things up, negotiations, starting a new company. Well, I’ve been mostly wrapping things up, other people have been doing the rest. October 1st is the day we officially begin as a new company. CHG, for short.

Even though I’m in the same office with the same people doing the same work, I’m still switching jobs, with most of the implications. Dealing with COBRA and rolling over my 401(k) and signing up for new health insurance and all that. My brief financial crisis a couple weeks ago involved paid time off. Only in an accounting firm would they make you pay back time off that you’d taken and not yet earned. Due to a misunderstanding on when vacation time was earned, I thought I was going to have to pay back $1400 of vacation time I took to go to Alaska and I panicked. I’m lucky enough not to be living paycheck to paycheck, but that’s an awful lot of money to give up over vacation I took in good faith that I would be around to earn it. I was wrong about owing that much, and I’ll be breaking evenish. Poor Jeannette is in worse shape, though. She’s within two months of being fully vested in her 401(k), so she’s losing 30% of her employer contributions.

We’re pretty excited about going out on our own. We won’t have the support of the firm behind us, but they won’t be looking over our shoulder anymore, either. Plus, one of the partners is still planning on retiring in 3-5 years, and I’ll have the option of buying him out if I want to. There was no way I was going to have that option that soon with CG, and I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go that route with them. The idea of a bigger share of a smaller firm is a lot more attractive. In the meantime, I’ll still have the option of more responsibility sooner with CHG. I was feeling pretty stagnant, career and personal growth-wise with CG, so this really is a blessing. I have a feeling I’ll be much less frustrated with my role at CHG, since I’ll have more of a say in shaping it.

9 Antiphon:

2:58 PM, September 26, 2008, Blogger Ems

Wow, that is so exciting! I am very happy for you. I hope this is the change you needed to feel a bit more productive in your job. When you said that you wouldnt be doing audits anymore (before I read the rest) I thought, good, she hated audits...lol. Then I read the rest. I think its kinda crap that you have to pay back your vacation when its not really your fault this is happening. I could understand if you quit or something... And being on the Board for the Museum could be kinda cool, too. But it would be adding one more thing to your long list of things you have to do... So congrats on this new stage.

 
3:12 PM, September 26, 2008, Anonymous Anonymous

I'm glad this is exciting news. When you were being so cryptic, I was worried there was a health crisis or some such.

Praying that everything works out wonderfully for you!

 
4:22 PM, September 26, 2008, Blogger Joe

Congratulations! I would never want to go back to national firm life, and I bet you'll feel the same way.

 
5:46 PM, September 26, 2008, Anonymous Anonymous

I'm glad this bad news has turned into good news. It's always nice when that happens!

 
6:17 PM, September 26, 2008, Blogger Mindi Scott

Excellent. I'm glad you're excited and re-energized!

 
6:41 PM, September 26, 2008, Anonymous Anonymous

Cloud, meet silver lining.

 
2:42 PM, September 27, 2008, Blogger Dogeared

Although it sounds a bit of a sudden shock, it sounds like it's worked out better for you in terms of prospects and job responsibility changes - if buying into the company in 3-5 years is something you want to do, that's fantastic that you get to do it. As far as I know, paying back unaccrued holiday is normal here. If I get 24 days leave a year, that works out to 2 days per month. If I quit in January and had used 4 days, I would have 2 days pay deducted from my pay, as I'd have used February's leave. But that seems normal to me - otherwise I could use all 24 days in January and February and quit on March 1st ;-)

I'm not sure what would happen if a firm closed its office or went bust - I can understand that pro rata should really still apply in fairness to people who spread their leave more evenly - but equally, you never got the chance to work the time needed to accrue the leave.

Sorry - I'm rambling in a comment on your Blog. So let's end with a big yay for you being happy with how things have turned out, and excited for what the new firm means and can offer you. Happy and excited are good, and you deserve them - you work hard, and you should get something that reflects and rewards that! [hug]

 
11:15 AM, October 01, 2008, Blogger CosmicAvatar

I'm glad that the shock has turned into something so positive. Always cool when that happens.

 
12:56 PM, October 08, 2008, Blogger Eileen

Wow! This all sounds really, really positive. Yes, big shock at first, but it seems to have worked out in the best possible way. I'm happy for you.

Also, it's not just accounting firms that do that thing with annual leave, trust me! I thought I was going to be in a similar situation a while ago, but luckily (depending on your perspective!) I didn't need to worry about it.

 

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