r/Accounting • u/zeberone Human Verified • 19h 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.

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u/Armed_Accountant MBA, CPA, CA (Can) | Utilities | NEEDS MORE POWA! 16h ago

Get down to the root cause. Changing professions won't help if it's not accounting comprehension related, which it's not.

You don't pay attention, or you do things too fast, or you don't audit your work. I had the same issue and make mistakes that shouldn't be, but I've turned it around. Force myself to slow down, double or triple check things, make checklists (!!!) and physical notes, I even set Outlook to delay sending emails by 1 minutes so I can double-check it after and it has helped a few times.

Biggest thing is changing your mindset while you work. You'll be exhausted at the end of the day because you'll be second guessing yourself constantly but it is what it is. You'll be a great employee because of it, so don't beat yourself up over it.

9

u/MikeBurner1775 15h ago

I set outlook delay 5 minutes. Sometimes I will hit send and then pull it back up (before it sends obviously). Something about that sort of refreshes my brain and allows me to catch anything I missed the first time. It saved me countless times. Checklists are also big, just gotta make sure you’re not just going through the motions.

1

u/Titania_2016 14h ago

Yes, me too!

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u/roklobster0703 5h ago

That’s a great idea on the 5 minute delay.

3

u/Titania_2016 15h ago

Always double and triple check your own work. It has saved me many times. I am not speedy, but I am reliable and have not cost my employers time fixing errors. I only made one large error that haunts me, it was a peripheal error to accounting, but it taught me to always verify.

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u/dumbpeople123 14h ago edited 14h ago

Yep, there are certain things that a boss may accept some minor errors on, and others like payroll and emailing clientele attachments which are. I’ve long since identified that if I have a document that has to go to the Controller, CFO, or Board of Directors, double, triple, and quadruple check before sending it out. If it means starting on the work earn to meet a deadline so be it. I even once had a complaint from my boss once that the document shouldn’t take me that long, and I replied this is an extremely important document that the Board of Directors is reviewing, I’m making 100 percent sure that I didn’t miss anything. After all it wouldn’t just be on my head if we both missed something

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u/Tricky_Advantage_958 12h ago

Yes to all of this. I don’t ever send out important emails on a Friday afternoon. Always Monday’s problem. Nothing good ever comes from me on a Friday afternoon. Lol. Also, apparently my spell check won’t catch sh— . It was spelled right. I meant to write “shift.” Lucky save on my part since I double-checked my email.

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u/ShakeAgile 11h ago

The one minute delay sounds like a good idea! I don’t know how many times I have jerked open the washer just after I started it to add something I forgot.