I loved working for the profession as a…
I loved working for the profession as a generalist, and following the merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand I worked in regulatory affairs and service development in response to major legislative and economic reforms (e.g. Anti-Money Laundering, Auditor Independence and ASX Corporate Governance, Carbon pricing, CLERP 9, Finance Function Effectiveness, Private Equity, US Sarbanes-Oxley, etc). The profession excels at responding to complex reforms and market leaders adopt this tactic to gain the high ground on new opportunities with multiple touch-points across the firm, as well as significantly reduce cost of sales and contain risk around the auditor’s expanding scope-of-service and client messaging. It’s a centralised business function (i.e. your client is the firm) with each campaign lasting 6 to 18 months and I was also Head of Research with a team of equity analysts.
At EY I was also an equity partner (i.e. an employer and not an employee) and suffered a work travel injury which left me with permanent radiculopathy, atrophy and pain management. I attempted to return to work on restricted duties, and around the same time against a backdrop of failing Federal legislation my immediate managing partner insisted that I start to deliver fee-paying services (i.e. audit, tax, advisory related services). In my opinion, from experience in regulatory affairs, that would have been a breach of professional standards as all fee-for-service staff must have specific qualifications and experience (and clients) to deliver audit and other services, albeit the profession is largely self-regulated. I was eventually expelled from the partnership and served with a debt even though I was not medically cleared to return to my own occupation, and had to go through the Supreme Court twice to secure access to the EY medical insurance policies. That was a 12-year battle and I never worked in any vocation or employment again as offers were simply withdrawn after a medical assessment.
The moral of the story is firstly, if you suffer a work injury make sure that your prescribed work/medical restrictions are recorded at the highest level in the firm, especially if you attempt to return to work before getting medical clearance; secondly, don’t assume that the partnership will “carry their wounded” or even recognise your work/medical restrictions; thirdly, don’t assume that a new employer will take on your medical risk if your restrictions affect a key aspect of your own occupation; fourthly, the partnership can require you to “bend the rules” regarding professional standards which your moral compass might not agree with, but that objection can carry a significant career penalty; and fifthly, the pressure to “fall on one’s sword” is huge in a partnership and whilst family support is hopefully a given, what is essential is a trusted career mentor or two that understand the profession (i.e. culture, APES110, KPIs, etc) including someone not affiliated with the partnership. Good luck - the profession is great but the leadership qualities vary enormously.