Everything you wanted to know or should know about accounting - Page 160

firefly99 · 10-12-2012, 01:01 PM

I've been reading this thread for a while but am nowhere near the end. I apologize if what I'm asking has already been answered. I just graduated with my bachelor's degree in criminal justice. I'm not qualified for any jobs so am considering returning to school to get my master's degree in accounting so that I can pursue forensic accounting.

What are my options in terms of achieving that goal? Would I have to get my master's, or is there another route I could take? I am currently in NJ but, if I go back to school, will be applying to schools in SoCal (SDSU, USC) since that is where I ultimately want to live. Obviously, I would need to meet CA's requirements for their CPA, so I want to bear that in mind.

Also, what could I do in the meantime to get some accounting experience? I've considered job shadowing, but does anyone else have ideas? I know that no one will hire me, even to do simple bookkeeping stuff, since I don't have accounting experience.

ajymerced · 10-12-2012, 04:52 PM

A questions I have about having a career in accounting: If you work as an accountant, will you have to do work outside of work? Like homework is what I'm trying to say. This may be a confusing question, so I apologize if it's misunderstood

acaden · 10-14-2012, 01:31 PM

wickedmaniac, I suggest you learn how to use an apostrophe. Clients don't pay the fees they pay for work lacking basic grammar skills.

jetlag89 · 10-16-2012, 11:40 PM

Hi guys,

How would recruiters at the Big 4 or any mid tier accounting firm think of a student who doesn't intern or work at all during their Masters program. I will be completing my BBA in Accounting this semester with 1 & 1/2 years of internship experience under my belt.

The Masters program is a 1 year program, and I honestly don't feel like working during that time. Instead I just want to relax and network. Ofcourse, I won't be doing NOTHING, I'm an active volunteer and I plan on leading a few volunteer projects since I'll have the time.

What do you guys think? Should I continue interning or can I quit and take it easy?

ajymerced · 10-18-2012, 02:27 PM

"A questions I have about having a career in accounting: If you work as an accountant, will you have to do work outside of work? Like homework is what I'm trying to say. This may be a confusing question, so I apologize if it's misunderstood"

Can anyone answer?

allyphoe · 10-18-2012, 02:52 PM

What do you mean by homework? I think most adults with professional-type jobs "take their work home" to some extent - I often talk shop, or catch up on my tax mailing lists, or mull over some thorny aspect of partnership taxation, at home. Sometimes I have professional obligations (client meetings / continuing ed / volunteer work) that happen evenings or weekends.

The work needs to get done, and you can either do it all at the office or do some of it at home. Depending on the person and the work, sometimes I find it easier to work late, and sometimes I find it easier to work from home. Most of the year I don't have so much work that needs to get done in such a short time that I have to choose between working at home and living at the office.

ineedanid11 · 10-23-2012, 12:37 AM

Can I get people's opinions on being tax volunteers for the IRS? It sounds like it would give me at least some good experience/knowledge but I don't know if it's actually useful or not. BTW, I am in my first semester in accounting.

brahski · 10-23-2012, 07:40 PM

reply to ineedanid11

any sort of accounting related volunteering will make you look like a better candidate, it gives you experience as well. i don't see how it will be negative. i say go for it and try to get that experience.

Viddar · 10-27-2012, 11:11 PM

Sry about the thread necro but from what I can see there isn't a lot of love for the CSUs in this thread.

Tell me if you get ur masters of accouning from a CSU does that mean you just wasted ~$50k and wont work at a job that pays more than $12/hr or does it mean that you are just less likely to get hired by a big 4 but still have a decent shot with smaller firms. Assuming your GPA and other credentials are nothing out of the ordinary.

Fazal1993 · 10-28-2012, 06:33 AM

Hey guys I want to become a chartered accountant and the thing is that i am going to get a Canadian passport within three years so i have to do my bachelors from Canada. Firstly I want to ask that if do bsc accounting and finance or bcom with accounting as a major, would it make a difference in my career path, secondly if i do CA from canada is it internationally recognized, lastly what is the best way of pursuing a career in CA

tylerd1994 · 10-28-2012, 06:12 PM

Hey guys I could use some help here,

I live in Ohio and have recently been accepted to Bluffton University and Ohio Northern University. I really like the small size private vibe. I graduate this year and will also have 40 credit hours completed from Post Secondary at a local community college. This is essentially 1/3 of my bachelors degree. This gives me a huge head start and I'm very excited about it. Now to my question, I don't know what to compliment my accounting major with. I know I want some sort of graduate degree. I've been doing a lot of research and I can't quite come up with a solution. My first goal was to get my degree and then go into Law focusing on taxation. My worry is that if I do not go to a top level school I won't get a job. I plan on staying local and I don't want to move to a big city, I love the country. I would like to have the law degree, but I think it would be a bad decision if I wouldn't come out any better financially compared to just being an accountant and getting my CPA. What would you guys reccommend on doing? There seems to be a lot of options and I'm pretty stuck. Get an MBA, Masters in tax, double major etc.

I'll take any opinions because I haven't gotten too much useful information through research. Thanks!

allyphoe · 10-28-2012, 06:50 PM

Work for a while. It'll help you decide.

bthomp1 · 10-28-2012, 10:48 PM

tylerd, you might look into Miami University's four-year program to get the bachelors and MSA. Sounds way cheaper than law school. Miami will have a much smaller campus feel than OSU of course; both schools are well respected accounting programs that are heavily recruited by the big four accounting firms. You might be able to squeeze in the finance major, too, in four years with all your credits.

Master of Accountancy Program : Combined B.S./MAcc Program

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://c...EnNku3LnUGArSg

Also, your forty credits from cc may or may not be one-third of your bachelor's degree. It probably would be close to one-third in a liberal arts major, but business schools often have a lot of required classes that might not be transferable from cc's. You need to look at the requirements for the particular business schools you are interested in.

taxguy · 10-29-2012, 09:22 AM

ineedanid, I participated in the IRS VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program around 1983. Frankly, it wasn't that good at the time. There was no review process. Only poor , low income folks came in with very easy tax returns. I didn't think it was worth it. Maybe things have changed since then.

allyphoe · 10-29-2012, 10:40 AM

VITA's mission is to assist low-income folks (who otherwise would be pressured by the walk-in tax shops to buy audit protection and RALs). VITA has a scope limitation, and complex returns are out of scope. The intake sheet / preparation process is intended to provide a minimal double-check, and if you feel uncomfortable with a return, there should be a more-experienced person who will either help you out or take it over.

VITA is community service, not job training. The value in it is not the skills you develop, although for someone with no prior tax experience at all, it does give you some skills. The program local to me won't take students who haven't already completed the individual income tax college course, though.