Lessons from Big 4 Busy Season

An accountant’s worst nightmare: Busy season (especially at a Big 4)

At least that’s how it is made out to seem. But is it really that bad?

I’ve been through a couple at this point and here are my thoughts and things you should know.

#1) The hours

My hours during busy season were 9 am to 11 pm/midnight (approximately) on weekdays.

I would take about an hour from logging off at the office to logging back on at home. Sometimes I’d squeeze a 20-minute workout in too. And when I worked from home the hours were about the same with an hour-long workout break.

Weekends were about 6-8 hours in total.

Not ideal but not horrible either. And to be honest, the part that I hated the most was giving up sleep and time with friends. Those are essentials for me.

#2) Mindset

Staying positive and good-spirited really helped me during busy season. Your attitude will completely determine your experience. Thankfully I had a good attitude about it all.

To be honest, I did not mind the work and the hours that much. It’s going to sound weird to say but in a way, I almost enjoyed busy season.

I had a similar thing with the CPA Exam too and I think it’s because of the attitude I had. I viewed both the CPA Exam and busy season as a time for me to learn a lot, challenge myself, and embrace the struggle. I felt like I was accomplishing things and growing and to me that felt great. Yes, the hours of both the CPA Exam and busy season kinda suck, but life is all about what you choose to focus on, and I chose to focus on the fact that I was working hard and learning. Remembering those 2 things helped me keep a good attitude about it all.

And also just embrace it. You’re an accountant during busy season. It’s almost a badge of honor. Own it and embrace it. Get through it and you can be proud of how hard you worked when it’s all over.

#3) Sustainability

But for me, it is not sustainable. I don’t understand how people can stay in Big 4 for years and years and keep doing this every year. 

Like busy season is a third or fourth of your entire year. 25-35% of your year is spent essentially in hiatus focusing day in and day out on accounting.

I think that is ok for a few years in your career but I can’t imagine giving up that much of my year to work every single year. And I think a lot of other people my age are the same way.

It just really is not sustainable in my opinion. At least for me. I’ll do it a few times but not for my whole life.

#4) You learn a lot

I learned more in busy season than I did in all my other time combined. It is so much work and at such a fast pace that you have no choice but to learn. Sink or swim.

And it’s funny when you go to leave and start interviewing other places they won’t even ask you how many years you worked at your firm they will just ask how many busy seasons you had. Because honestly, 1 busy season is like a whole year of experience condensed into 3 months.

So at least you learn a lot.

#5) Stress

Your stress levels will depend on several things. Your teammates, your manager, and just what kind of engagement you are on. Those are all out of your control. But make sure you control the things that you can.

Do things that make you happy and feel normal and relaxed.

Take care of your mental health and do things to decompress. You need to. Because yes, work might get stressful, but your health is the most important thing. And the firms will tell you that, but then when push comes to shove your manager or senior associate or whoever will be pushing you to work and not reminding you about your health. So make sure to look out for yourself.

Try to get good sleep. Go for some walks, get physical activity. Try to get outside. Try to eat right. See your friends.

Because if you don’t make that effort you are going to end up staying inside, eating bad food, not exercising, and not seeing any friends. Make it a priority to stay healthy and decompress. Your health is everything.

Conclusion:

I hope I didn’t scare anyone too badly but I am trying to give my honest experience with all this.

It is a tough time but it’s not as bad as it sounds. Especially if you keep a good attitude about it. Remind yourself how much you are learning and try to feel good about your hard work and effort.

But make sure to make that effort to take care of yourself during those busy weeks. 

Overall, it’s not too bad. You will be ok. And, anyone telling you about their experience will be completely subjective and unique. You will have to wait and see how it goes for you. 

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!