CPA + MBA = Corp Finance?

BK696969
Tue, 25 May 2010 14:25:13 +0000

I would avoid going directly into an MBA program out of college. If you want to get into corporate finance, it doesn’t hurt to start off as an accountant at a place like a mutual fund so long as you got the MBA later. If you would like to remain in the investment world, in whatever capacity, it might be wise to pursue a CFA Charter. The designation is more concerned with financial statement analysis and valuation of assets, which seems to be something that you were interested in.

I think both a CFA charter or the CPA designation would look good on a resume when applying to a good MBA program. I received an MBA from UT Austin, and we had both CPAs and CFA charter holders in our class. There were definately more CFA holders though. I would even go out on a limb to say that CFA may look a tad better on your application than CPA does. Just for the simple fact that you would be more employable in a post MBA style job in investments.

The restrictions for CFA are three years of experience in a relevant field. They are pretty liberal with what kind of experience is necessary. The good thing is that you take the exams while working and it typically takes three years to complete all three levels of the examination.