students push for networking, compensation clarity, and creativity as the path to success in a changing profession.
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accounting arc – student-led conversations
with chayton farlee
center for accounting transformation
when dominic piscopo, cpa, compared his first big 4 paycheck to his weekend bartending income, he had one reaction: disbelief. “i clocked 100 hours during busy season, and the check wasn’t much different than what i made in two nights at the bar,” he recalls.
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instead of shrugging it off, piscopo started asking questions—lots of them. he gathered salary data from peers across firms and discovered his cohort was underpaid compared to the market. presenting the numbers to leadership, he helped secure a nearly 10% raise for his entire group.
“that was the moment i realized transparency could change the profession,” piscopo says.
piscopo shares the story on accounting arc: student-led conversations, hosted by accounting student chayton farlee. the two explore how networking, pay transparency, and building side projects can help students and young professionals stand out in an industry struggling to recruit and retain talent.
farlee opens the episode with a lesson: “too many students think a 4.0 gpa guarantees the job they want. it doesn’t. networking and experience do.”
piscopo agrees, describing how case competitions, improv, and working nightlife gave him social skills and visibility that grades alone couldn’t. at deloitte, he saw firsthand how recruitment often came down to who left an impression in the room. “top students didn’t always get picked,” he says. “if nobody remembered you, your gpa didn’t matter.”
after leaving deloitte, piscopo turned his compensation frustration into a platform. he built big 4 transparency—a free, anonymous salary database for accounting professionals. launched on reddit as a weekend project, it quickly went viral. today, it houses more than 20,000 entries, and even some big 4 firms use it internally.
“the goal was simple: stop having one-off conversations about pay and put the information in one place,” piscopo says.
for students, it’s a game-changer. instead of walking into interviews blind, they can now benchmark by role, city, and level. “you don’t want to hear, ‘we pay market rate’ and have no clue what that means,” farlee says.
both piscopo and farlee emphasize that building something—whether a podcast, newsletter, or startup—signals initiative and adds value to networking.
“a podcast is just a networking call you get to share with the world,” piscopo explains. he credits his own show with exploding his professional network and even attracting sponsors and speaking opportunities.
farlee agrees: “the people you want to connect with are busy. they may not have time for coffee chats, but if you create a platform, you’re giving them value back.”
the episode also touches on the broader accounting pipeline challenge. students often hear only about tax or audit, but piscopo notes the growing opportunities in advisory, r&d credits, and virtual cfo services. “these are high-value, high-impact roles that rarely get discussed in the classroom,” he says.
farlee adds that networking is the only way students discover these options: “if i hadn’t gone outside the classroom, i never would have realized how many doors exist.”
the conversation closes with three takeaways for students:
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get involved. join clubs, volunteer, or compete in case studies.
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know your worth. use data to benchmark salary and ask informed questions.
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build something. start a project that showcases initiative and creates opportunities.
summing it up, piscopo says, “take swings. even your failures are interesting stories that set you apart.”
10 key takeaways
- networking is more valuable than gpa in career advancement.
- outside-the-classroom activities build skills and visibility.
- compensation transparency empowers students to negotiate fairly.
- big 4 transparency offers 20,000+ salary benchmarks for accounting roles.
- building projects (podcasts, blogs, newsletters) enhances credibility.
- recruitment often favors memorable personalities over top grades.
- advisory and niche services are growing opportunities beyond tax and audit.
- compensation in accounting improves significantly after early years.
- transparency fosters trust and retention in firms.
- gen z is reshaping the accounting profession with boldness and data-driven decision-making.