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The $130k Accounting Hire That Lasted 5 Months
A senior accountant was hired on $130,000 + benefits, and let go just five months later for underperformance. Situations like this are painful for everyone involved—costly for the firm, damaging for the candidate, and often completely avoidable.
I saw this LinkedIn post from Christine Foggiato. She has kindly agreed for us to share it here.
"I'm just off the phone with a Senior Accountant who was let go after 5 months in his role, and unfortunately I wasn’t surprised.
Background before he started the new role:
-8 years experience in public practice
-CA qualified (Chartered Accountant = CPA)
-Business services compliance experience with SMEs $500k–$3m turnover across 5–6 different industries
-$85,000 + super
Sounds underpaid, right?
He thought so, and so did his new employer, who didn’t do a technical interview.
He secured a new role on $130,000 + super. HUGE pay rise. Five months into the role, he was let go for underperforming. Candidate isn’t happy. Accounting firm isn’t happy.
He should never have been offered $130,000 + super. This is what his REAL experience looked like:
- 6 years working as a junior to intermediate accountant at a very small firm using dated software
- During that time, 50% of his client base was sole traders <$400k turnover
- Almost no Div 7A or FBT exposure (Australian tax rules)
- Zero client contact
- 2 years working as a “Senior Accountant” on $85,000 + super, doing essentially the same work as before
- Largest client had 4 entities in the group
- Reviewed and mentored bookkeeping work and completed the occasional simple tax return
Whilst this accountant had 8 years experience and a CA, he was essentially a high intermediate when he accepted the $130,000 + super role.
What can we learn:
- Recruiters and TA managers: you need to understand the firm an accountant is coming from. Ask about client size, group structures, technical exposure, level of responsibility. You don’t need to be an accountant to ask these questions.
Hiring managers: you can’t assume capability, especially if you don’t know the source firm. Don’t pay overs just to get a bum on a seat. Make sure experience actually aligns with the salary."
This LI item was posted by Christine Foggiato on Monday March 16, 2026. Christine is the owner of Riverside Recruitment, based in Queensland, Australia.
Giles Pearson | After 18 years as a partner with a large public accounting firm, Giles founded Accountests to help those recruiting accountants make better hiring decisions
