I was wondering why Neil was so quiet lately
My RSS feed didn't send me the news that Neil has taken his blog offline.
And, having realized it's offline, I'll twist a classic phrase and tell you that I've come not to bury his site, but to praise it.
I've known Neil since a little time before the School of Accountancy, where we got to meet face to face - and we coincidentally ended up sitting a row away from each other during the UFE - and his site has always been a great beacon of professionalism that anyone writing about their job should be keen to emulate. I hope he can bring his archives back up at some point in time.
His insights and observations were worth reading, and I think they still will be even if he doesn't talk about the Day Job. This is Krupo engaging in idle speculation, but when you work for industry the rules might understandably be totally different when it comes to how they want you writing publicly, especially when your full name is attached to everything you put out there for public consumption.
Ironically I've found myself working with internal auditors, just not Neil's company - wouldn't that be a peculiar coincidence?
Doing internal audit work, while you use a lot of the skills you've gained over the years in this setting, it's nevertheless a very different kind of job, and not just because you're now working as part of "the internal company", not the "external auditor". On the UFE you're trained to shift your mental gears for this scenario. And this is proof, really, that it's more than just a mental 'game', but a reality of life.
As this long-running conversation illustrates, it's a rite of passage for a crazy-high number of young CAs to jump to another company after they become a "full" CA. In fact, after telling some of my friends that I qualified for my CA, they immediately asked, half-jokingly, "so when are you leaving?"
Oh they're so funny.
Of course since then I've had a half dozen phone calls from recruiters. 7 calls if you count the double-call from another one of the Big Four firms.
Weird timing.
Anyway, Neil - I hope the conversation can continue, but regardless - remember to have fun, and good luck!