In public accounting, you are exposed to numerous type of companies, big – medium – small. It is a natural progression that if you choose to leave public accounting (I highly suggest you leave, more to be discussed later) the next logical step is to go to one of these companies. Often times it can be one of your clients. Net, always keep your eyes open for the business and culture that you would find it interesting to participate in.
Public accounting will teach you accounting, it does NOT teach you business. I have witnessed accountants that purchase businesses with the grandeur of thinking they can run the business by the numbers, this will never create long-term shareholder value in most businesses. Business is about numbers and that is where accountants create value, successful businesses are about people and how they interact with each other. I have found that most accountants like to be right, most people do, and for the most part, the professional produces these types of behaviors in that the debits will always equal the credits.
Successful businesses provide the culture for people to do their best, smart people are the people that get other smart people to do intelligent things. Business is about goals and how to accomplish them given a mission statement recognizing that people will make mistakes. Embrace mistakes! Mistakes mean you are learning. A culture that encourages thinking like an owner assigns responsibilities and allots blame for learning is a recipe for a successful organization. An interesting book on this topic is Principles by Ray Dalio.