Today I am sitting in a conference room at one table with nine other people.
I will sit in this conference room for over 14 hours today, and each day, including weekends, for the next two weeks. I have already been working like this for 3 months.
I will eat every meal of the day here, over my computer.
I will answer staff questions, prioritize manager ad-hoc requests and fix 'review comments' continuously until the audit ends. The only time 'review comments' end is when the financial statements are issued. Managers and Partners will continue to change their mind and demand tweaks to workpapers until the last minute, and often times after that too.
I will do ridiculously tedious work all day long, and not learn a thing, for 14 hours.
The current purpose of my life is to match numbers together to provide 'reasonable assurance' that the financial statements we are auditing are free of 'material misstatements'. What a life.
At least we have windows and work in midtown. Some other teams work worse hours in a basement rooms with no windows, in places like Jersey City, White Plains, or Stamford.
The Lehman Ex-CFO has an interesting take on working these hours and maintaining this kind of work/life 'balance'. She says don't.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/is-there-life-after-work.html?_r=3&
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