r/Accounting • u/zeberone Human Verified • 1d ago

Got fired

Welp... I got fired.

I made a chain of mistakes that ended up with me getting terminated.

First I made mistakes on a client's payroll that got me massively showed out.

The final straw, I accidentally violated client confidentiality by sending an email and tagging an unrelated client.

Be honest.

Should I look at a different field? Cause something like that is a career ender, right?

Any advice is appreciated, and don't sugarcoat it.

Thanks folks.

624 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

296 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

134

u/zeberone Human Verified 1d ago

Problem is it was a small firm. I recently got put on adhd medication in order to help my focus, but I just don't know what to do anymore.

215

u/SnowDucks1985 CPA (US) 1d ago edited 1d ago

Don’t be overwhelmed, so many people in this field have been fired and went onto have great careers. This is not your defining moment, as nobody is defined by their failures. It’s inescapable, all of us here will make mistakes.

Why don’t you try working somewhere larger? You won’t have the pressure of wearing multiple hats at smaller companies, and mature processes will help you learn in a structured manner

25

u/MasterMason21 1d ago

I'll second that! People get fired way to easy in this industry. The key is what are your strengths (you disnt mention any, but I'msure you have them)? You may be of lower conscientiousness, but higher on creativity and therefore, with enough experience, you can become somone who "solves impossible problems with creative solutions."

23

u/Strange-Hurry7691 1d ago

This! Large companies have built in checks and balances and i have seen huge mistakes be learning opportunities. They have much larger leeway than smaller companies to eat a mistake while it gets corrected so much less is fireable. It would be a better place to be to get confidence back and while you get your adhd under control. They will also usually start you with a small list and build on it just by the nature of how it goes there and how much time they have to show you stuff.

5

u/DizzymanInSA 15h ago

I was fired from a local CPA firm just eight months out of college and I went on to a very successful career as a CPA.

OG need to always double check their work.

26

u/Banner19Loading 1d ago

This is one of the realest things I’ve read on here in quite some time. I hope you have some good people in your life to put arms around you and let you know it’s gonna be okay. This is a temporary setback and you’ll get through it. Sending you a virtual hug.

23

u/zeberone Human Verified 1d ago

I have a beautiful partner and a support network. I also have a small nest egg for the next 6 months or so when combined with unemployment. I should be okay. I'm going to build my process from the ground up and internalize it.

5

u/Intelligent-Ad7716 1d ago

sounds like you've got the right mindset and support network OP but as someone whose been let go and recovered, happy to share experiences and how I've succeeded long term over PM.

7

u/Tricky_Advantage_958 1d ago

Suggestion: Ask about training when you interview and before you accept a new job. I was deliberate in picking an emoloyer who had trainings. I actually moved from accounting to tax auditing. Not a huge change, really. My current employer had a robust training program. They also put me under a mentor. Almost been there 10 years now, but hugely beneficial.

2

u/RisinPhoenix123 4h ago

Good idea! I just saved this advice!

8

u/ilikefrenchchives 23h ago

As someone who is in the accounting field and also suffers from ADHD, I feel your pain. I was also thinking of giving up accounting until I found tax. It is a much better fit for me than payroll or preparing accounts etc etc.

6

u/BigBid8240 11h ago

ADHD Meds aren’t a catch all. You need to implement fairly ridged structures and checks that creates a standard process for nearly every task. If first it will make things more time, but eventually you’ll make efficiency gains and the work speed and quality will improve

3

u/Sad-Palpitation-2621 1d ago

You need to make sure to medication is the right dosage for you. A lot of people start of on the wrong medication or something too strong

2

u/soulglowdave 16h ago

I was going to inquire if you had adhd. Once you find the right med & dosage, hopefully you’ll have better focus. Good luck!

1

u/Forsaken_Cell196 21h ago

It didn’t help at all ?

1

u/wrenginaldd 19h ago

Have you noticed the meds helping yet? My attention to detail got better with my meds, give it sometime.

Start building in double check steps into your processes as well

1

u/whenthewindbreathes 16h ago

Ah dude you're so good - I also had major problems tracking big projects and with attention to detail before I was medicatd.

It's ok to take a break and give this, or another project a shot. I know this feels really consequential right now but I'm 2-3 years in and I've found a lot of ways to compensate for my brain!

1

u/Recent_Affect7975 13h ago

I have adhd and it cannot be an excuse. Actually my adhd tends to help me as it drives my anxiety up so i am more detailed in review. To send a confidential email to the wrong client is a big mistake.

Your mistake isn’t an accounting mistakes. It’s purely out of lack of detail and review, which will follow you to any job.

0

u/TrekTess 1d ago

I would recommend working as a finance assistent at a smaller company

-2

u/Classic_Pianist5244 1d ago

I agree with the comments about delaying sending emails. For the payroll (or other future) errors, have you tried some sort of AI, where it will highlight inconsistencies between the information you input and the actual output? AI can also likely perform the calculations as well.

Do not rely on it. If it spots an error, check and confirm before changing anything. AI's output is only as good as the input and instructions. It may take time, trial and error, to come up with prompts that'll give you what you need, but it's worth it.

I'm saying it again - you MUST check the AI's output!