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I am planning to become a Bookkeeper or do Payroll for a few years before getting my Bachelor's in Accounting. My overall goal is to leave the United States and work abroad. I know the Big 4 has firms all over the planet, I don't know about other firms though. Roughly how long in the industry do I have to work before I get the opportunity to go abroad?
Would love to work in China, Singapore, Australia or even some parts of Europe My thinking is that it takes 10 years or so but I keep getting these stories online from expats that worked at Firm A and got transferred within 3 years or so to Firm A in Country X. So I'm not sure.
I've always wanted to work and live abroad. Can't keep this wanderlust at bay
I am planning to become a Bookkeeper or do Payroll for a few years before getting my Bachelor's in Accounting. My overall goal is to leave the United States and work abroad. I know the Big 4 has firms all over the planet, I don't know about other firms though. Roughly how long in the industry do I have to work before I get the opportunity to go abroad?
Would love to work in China, Singapore, Australia or even some parts of Europe My thinking is that it takes 10 years or so but I keep getting these stories online from expats that worked at Firm A and got transferred within 3 years or so to Firm A in Country X. So I'm not sure.
I've always wanted to work and live abroad. Can't keep this wanderlust at bay
I think it may depend on factors like how many other people in the company want to work abroad and may apply for open positions. If you can afford to do some interning for the companies you are looking at before getting a job with them, that may give you some inside info on working for them abroad. Is there a reason you could not simply apply for open positions they have in other countries rather than "putting in time" in the corp in the US?
Simply put, I would need to put in time for a US company in order to get the money saved for a Bachelor's in Accounting or a CPA in the future. Foreign countries don't really have CPAs from what I recall. And it's also a Plan B. If things don't work out in the foreign country, I could move back to the USA and get a job that pays relatively well because of my B.S. degree and CPA as opposed to only having the Associate's and still having that entry level job.
Bookkeeping and payroll are not really considered accounting jobs. Working either one of those jobs is almost definitely not going to help you get into a big 4 firm. While there is no CPA abroad there are other professional designation that are the equivalent. Getting a CPA may not help you get a job abroad. Outside of the US most countries follow IFRS (international accounting standards).
Being a bookkeeper or payroll admin are kind of dead end jobs, but they will give you a wage to cover the college costs. I believe most states now have a 150 hr requirement for sitting for the CPA exam, so you might as well get a Masters degree. Why not do undergrad in accounting and a foreign language? Then a masters in Internation Business?
Accounting standards can sometimes vary by country, but much of the world is standardizing and the plan is for the US to eventually move into these international standards. A solid accountant should be able to learn the international standards.
Going to work for a large multinational like PWC or Deloitte would give you a good opportunity to go abroad. I have known of a few accountants on long term assignments overseas.
@Suncc49: That's what I'm doing. I'm taking the bookkeeping jobs for a few years here in the states to help pay for my undergrad in Accounting. As for International Business, I did research online and they pretty much said degrees in International Finance and International Business aren't that coveted compared to just getting an Accounting degree. Pretty much, it was said getting an Accounting degree and then getting a job abroad opens more doors and is much easier to work abroad than just getting International Business degree.
-shrugs- I don't really know tbh. I'm not planning to work at the Big 4 until I get my undergrad out of the way.
wrong major.... I'd do study abroad in college or attend an Asian university as a foreign student if foreign accounting is your dream.
I never met a foreign accountant while living as an expat....I've met lots of different expats but never an accountant.
I was one. And met a lot of them. I see this as a fairly typical occurrence in big public companies.
OP - one path that might get you where you want to be is to try and get a job with a big public company as an internal auditor once you get an accounting degree.
@Suncc49: That's what I'm doing. I'm taking the bookkeeping jobs for a few years here in the states to help pay for my undergrad in Accounting. As for International Business, I did research online and they pretty much said degrees in International Finance and International Business aren't that coveted compared to just getting an Accounting degree. Pretty much, it was said getting an Accounting degree and then getting a job abroad opens more doors and is much easier to work abroad than just getting International Business degree.
-shrugs- I don't really know tbh. I'm not planning to work at the Big 4 until I get my undergrad out of the way.
Masters of Accounting is good, but focus your courses towards something useful internationally, like cost accounting. If you get a Masters in US taxation, it won't help much abroad.
I really like that you are focusing on paying as you go with no debt!!
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My thinking is that it takes 10 years or so but I keep getting these stories online from expats that worked at Firm A and got transferred within 3 years or so to Firm A in Country X. So I'm not sure.
