THERE'S a common misconception that public practice is a retirement haven for CPAs. The narrative goes something like this — you grind away in the corporate world, collect your pension, then leisurely set up an office as a sole practitioner. But this one-size-fits-all view simply doesn't hold water.

Take me, for instance. Fresh out of college and with three years of solid experience in an audit firm under my belt, I took the plunge into starting my own practice. It wasn't a post-retirement move. It was a calculated leap I was ready for. Now, after weathering the storms of running my practice for seven years, I can tell you one thing — public practice is no walk in the park.