Everything you wanted to know or should know about accounting - Page 40

Spin03 · 06-29-2009, 06:23 AM

Not sure if this is the best place to ask this question, but if someone has any information I'd greatly appreciate it.

I just graduated from High School and I will be starting at a local Community College this fall. I am pretty much set on majoring in Business and I am currently most interested by accounting. I wanted to know if it is recommended to do basic Accounting courses (accounting 1A/1B) at my CC before transferring or should I wait until after transferring to start taking business/accounting related courses. Some schools I am interested in require Accounting to be eligible for transfer (Stern) but others do not (USC), but I don't know if they'd prefer to see me have taken an accounting course already if that is my intended major.

Also, how important is it to go to school in the region you want to work. For instance, I am most interested in living in either New York or San Francisco after college, so would it be advisable to go to schools such as Berkeley or NYU in order to have the most legitamite chance at finding a job in these regions, rather than going to USC and wanting to leave the LA area following graduation, based on that reason alone.

Thanks for any help!

taxguy · 06-29-2009, 07:10 AM

Yes, get your first year accounting out of the way.

As for going to a region that you want to work, it has its advantages since partners from firms in that region usually recruit at local schools.However, if you get a strong GPA, you can probably get an interview anywhere.

sp1212 · 06-29-2009, 12:20 PM

Living in either New York or San Francisco is not possible with an entry-level accountant's salary.

sp1212 · 06-29-2009, 05:19 PM

Edit: It is possible, but it will be rough.

Wrong word choice.

creamgethamoney · 06-29-2009, 08:40 PM

Quote:

No, not really.
big 4 doesn't mean anything to me anymore.
There are many other opportunities, national/regional firms, gov't, etc.

don't quote me on this because I don't have much knowledge of the accounting industry, but isn't it true that if you don't get into the Big 4, it's much harder to get the top jobs like CFO and whatnot? I was just looking at jobs, and many of the upper level management positions require previous Big 4 experience.

Plus, don't private sector jobs pay less/limit you comapred the the public sector?

jonahrubin · 06-30-2009, 02:07 AM

Payscale data I've seen(in textbooks and on the web) indicate that CMA's make as much as CPA's. So I think it probably depends. All the smartest students here want to go work for the Big Four so 15 years down the road I'm guessing the ones with the best careers will be those with Big Four experience. Whether it's Harvard or Deloitte, if you take really smart kids you are going to have some really successful alums in the long run. The issue is how much added value there is and how much is achieved by selectivity...

kluge · 06-30-2009, 01:27 PM

I found out the answer to my own question and thought I'd share. In California, if your college gives you credit for AP classes on your college transcript that credit does count towards the 150 unit requirement.

Sam Lee · 06-30-2009, 06:59 PM

Good for you, kluge. Congrats.

a_mom · 06-30-2009, 07:46 PM

Kluge, thanks for sharing the info. Hope this will motivate DD to work hard on her AP tests

Did you actually call the calif. board of accountancy?

kluge · 06-30-2009, 08:07 PM

I e-mailed the question to the board's license information division (I like to get the answer in writing, if possible.) They responded a couple of days later:

Quote:

we count all AP courses for which you are given credit on the transcript, regardless of how you achieved that credit

Note: this was in California. The rule may be different in different states.

Thanks, Sam Lee. I was PO'd about shelling out $100 per test for those AP courses back in the day, but they'll enable my son to have the full number of credits necessary for the CPA exam at the end of his four years. It's cheaper than tuition and campus expenses for an extra quarter, that's for sure....

itsyouitsme · 07-03-2009, 09:39 PM

I dont know if this a right place to ask this question.

But I'll appreciate if anyone would share their thoughts

I am a CCC student and pretty much decided on Business/Accounting Major.
I'm planning on transfering on fall 2010, but I havent decided where to apply.
I heard that USC has the best accounting school in cali, Cal is famous for their business major and UCSB is also pretty strong accounting minor. Anyone knows about Cal States? I heard San Jose State student dominate the big 4 in sillicon valley. Do they have a strong accounting program? thankss

a_mom · 07-03-2009, 11:18 PM

According to my friend who worked in one of the big 4 in San Jose, Santa Clara Univ. is the one dominate the big 4 in silicon valley. It has a strong accounting program. But it's a private.

Not sure how strong is SJSU, but SCU > SJSU.

trojanman10101 · 07-07-2009, 03:57 AM

I am looking into various degrees, and I have a quick question what is the major difference between a degree in finance and a degree in accounting? And what are the highest math requirements for each degree?

speedviper02 · 07-07-2009, 12:16 PM

What happens if your school doesn't offer an accounting major but only a BS in Business Administration? How would employers like the Big 4 look at this? I plan on going to Haas Berkeley but they don't offer concentrations like finance or accounting, so I plan on taking the extra courses necessary to sit for the CPA exam. If I get a CPA license would that be considered the same as majoring in accounting?

sp1212 · 07-07-2009, 12:16 PM

Trojanman, that's something that could be explained to you once you take the introductory level classes in finance and accounting. The highest math requirements depend your school.