I got a comment from one of my previous posts on Skills You Need When Working for the Big 4. It’s all about sacrificing some (okay, most) things in life just to make it as a CA or an auditor. The list seems simple enough – watch TV, play computer, clean the house – all normal things. What bothered me is that the commenter thinks he needs to give these up to be a CA and an auditor. Is this what it takes to succeed in the field of auditing?
I’ve often heard this before (and I’ve often said it before also) that working for a Big 4 or for an auditing firm (for that matter) may mean a not-so-balanced life.
But then again, really, what is a balanced life? To the one who commented, I can see it is experiencing the simple joys in life. What about to those that are in audit (or were in audit), what is a balanced life? Is it being able to leave your job and go home at exactly 5 p.m. every day and not work during the week-ends? Is it being able to go and watch your favorite movie whenever you want to (and not when you can)? Is it being able to go to all the parties and social gatherings and all those cool vacation places every year? Or is it just being able to leave your job and go and watch your daughter’s school play or organize and go to your son’s birthday party or be with your parents and siblings?
So what is really a balanced life? I’ve heard this question a lot even up to now but I still don’t have a clear answer nor do I have a clear definition of a “balanced life”.
When I was a junior in the 90’s, I have a manager who was already 8 years in the firm. He wasn’t just working in the firm; his whole life is his work in the firm. I asked him about his life and he told me that he’s contented. All he asked was that he’ll be able to go home to celebrate his or a family member’s birthday, anniversary and holiday. Pretty simple huh? Yet for him that is a balanced life.
Or let’s take for example some of my (previous) juniors. They work their @ss off, especially during the busy season. Even going to the extent of renting out a unit nearer to their clients’ offices (yes, they were that ‘devoted’ to the firm). But they also know how to party, to go out during week-ends and when busy season is over, man, they do know how to take a vacation (other local places, other countries, different one every year, etc.). And I never hear them complain that they don’t have a balanced life.
Or what about my previous boss? He’s a busy-body during the weekdays but he has a ‘policy’ that he will go home at exactly 10 p.m. every day (no matter if it’s busy season or not) and that, as much as possible, he will not go to the office during week-ends. He also takes his vacation time very (very!) seriously (we’re not allowed to call him even during emergencies). And yes, he is happy with his life.
So again (for the last time!), what makes a balanced life, especially when you’re working for the Big 4? I’d say it’s simple. A balanced life is relative. What may be balanced for one may not be balanced for another. Only the individual can tell if his life is balanced or not.
Knowing what you want and going for it, but at the same, knowing how to compromise when called upon to do so is also another way to look at a balanced life. It is knowing when you will do something that you will really want to do and when you will have to forego something because duty calls (and there is no way you can do both at the same time).
Meaning, when you have free time (read: not a busy season), you enjoy yourselves, go home early, stay home during week-ends, go to parties, vacations, etc. But when the busy season arrives, you also know how to work your butt off to finish everything on time. It’s a compromise – this balanced life. Don’t you think so?
