<p>Foosag, it depends on your interests. If you want tax, getting a MS in tax would be beneficial and different. Getting a MS in accounting will be similar to what you had in undergrad.</p>
<p>NYCdave, not sure anyone could answer your question.All industries mentioned need accountants. However, I would recommend starting with an accounting firm in order to get your experience for CPA. All public firms give more diversified experience,</p>
<p>Thefallenone, you don’t need a CPA to get a job. Most accounting firms will hire you while you are studying for your CPA. They do eventually want you to get your CPA .</p>
<p>Hi tax guy or anyone else,
Hi. I am new to the site but see a few questions relating to what I am going to ask and would really appreciate feedback as this site seems very useful.
I will be graduating in Dec 2012 with a BS in accounting. The CPA requirements is 150 hours. Since I am an accounting major, I already meet all of the accouting requirements and all I need extra is 19 hours to make the total credits equal 150(as I will have 131 hours from my undergraduate). They can be in any subject as I meet all of the accounting/business subjects for qualification to CPA. So my questions are:
my school offers a MSA/BMacc program that I can get into easier if I apply and enroll before getting my BS degree (you cant enroll in the program if you have already graduated or intent to graduate BS). I still have to take the GMAT but I meet the GPA requirments and should get in to the program for Spring 2013. The program is 30 hours of which all are upper division accounting courses. Do I go ahead and get the MSA degree as I need 19 additonal credit hours anyway to qualify for the 150 credits towards the CPA exam? (these 30 credits would need to be in accouting upper level grad courses for the MSA of course and not just in basket weaving(I can take the 19 in anything)! And instead of needing only 19 I would be taking 30, at least 3 more classes. I know the MSA degree would help me even more than my BS accouting degree in preparation for the CPA exam. This is one major plus for doing the MSA route, but besides that is there any benefits for having the MSA degree? Cost is not significant as I should be able to get it done in one year and cost about $8K.
Or do I forget the idea of getting my MSA Dec 2014 and start interviewing instead and hopefully land a job Dec 2013 with my BS degree? All of the Big 4 come to my school as well as other great companies. But my question here is what then do I do to prepare for the CPA? Do I just go to community college on the side and pick up the other 19 credits I need? Those of you who went to work for Big 4 firms right out of undergraduate school with an accounting degree, do you know how they expect you to get the rest of your 150 credits so you can get your CPA in 1-3 years after school? Do their on the job training classes satisfy CPA credits? Do they expect you to figure it out on your own (take classes on the side) but obviously continue to work? What is the approach from the Big 4 for getting remaining credits towards the 150 CPA exam when you got hired directly out of college with a BS in accounting? The individual should have all their accounting/business CPA requirements met from their BS in accounting but will probably still need from 120-150 (up to 30 more credits) in whatever to get the 150 total credits. Do the Big 4 want the employees to go get an MSA/BMacc so they have the additional credits in a meaningul subject even if not needed, just get credits from a community college in basket weaving or what is the expectation?
Do you think the benefit of if I could get a job in December with one of the Big 4 or any good accounting job and then work towards my CPA with the goal of getting it done in 1-3 years by taking the 19 credits at a community college while working has more advantages/future prospects/etc… than spending an extra year now getting my MSA, then sitting for the CPA, and then landing a job as I would of course have to work at least a year for a CPA before I could actually get my CPA. You may say it is a money decision as whether to go to work now or not, which I would understand but any other reasons for doing the MSA right after school or not bothering with it at all is appreciated. Unfortunately, I wont know if I have a job offer or not until Oct/December when I graduate and I have to decide on the MSA program by Septemeber.
My ultimate goal is to get my MBA but I know I have to work at least a few years to 5 years to get into a good MBA program. I could wait and get my extra 19 credits then and take the CPA exam but not sure there is a time limit for when you can sit for the CPA after getting your undergraduate degree? I will find that out. I know working for some firms I would get a bonus and other advantages for having my CPA. So I guess my real question on this one is, much advantage except for a possible bonus of having your cpa 2-3 years after your first job or just wait till after I get my MBA to get my CPA? Or if I plan on getting an MBA, and not go the accounting route, I guess there is no advantage of even getting my CPA is there?
Thank You all.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to get your 150 credits before you start working for the CPA firm. Working at these firms require a LOT of time and effort. It will be difficult enough to study for the CPA while you are there PLUS going for a masters.</p>
<p>I posted on the previous page about how I’m not sure whether I should declare my major in finance or accounting… From the relatively little knowledge I have of both fields, I find accounting more interesting than finance. I guess you could say I’d rather be managing the business than investing in it.</p>
<p>My only experience in accounting is a financial accounting course at my local CC and in DECA. </p>
<p>To anyone with a degree in accounting, what do higher level accounting classes consist of? I don’t mind preparing financial statements, accounting for depreciation, and journalizing entries. What can I expect in the future?</p>
<p>Taxguy, do you think a student would have trouble getting into a big four firm with a gpa closer to 3.0 (but not below it of course!) if they already have their cpa license? I have done pretty well in school but like many students, I have had trouble in a few classes. I am planning on staying in school and getting my MACC as well as my CPA. I just worry sometimes that my gpa isn’t good enough for the big 4.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. so do you know of really any advantage of continuing with the MSA program right after i get my undergrad in dec 2012 in accounting besides the fact it will get my 30 extra hours? i.e. finish school before getting a job so that i have my 30 hours fulfilled and wont have to try finishing them up while working for a big 4 or someone else? But if the big 4 or other firms pay for you to take a few classes at community college and they allow you 18 months roughly to satisfy the 30 credits (and they can be in basket weaving…) is it best just to graduate with undergrad and take a job if a good job is offered? i.e. no pay or other benefits to msa or do big 4 recognize msa being a good program?</p>
<p>So I want to go the CPA route, and I planned to interview this fall with the CPA recruiters for an internship, BUTTTTTTT…</p>
<p>1) I currently work full time, which I would sacrifice for an internship next summer.
2) I have 87 credits and and on PwC application at my career center it says you need 150 by fall 2014, I don’t think I will make this expectation because I currently do school part time (around 9-10 credits per semester, including summer)</p>
<p>Is that requirement for 150 credits by 2014 fall, a must? What if it took me an extra semester (winter 2015)?</p>
<p>It depends on the school and your other qualities. A 3.1 from an accredited but not good accounting school will probably not get you consideration from the big 4. A 3.1 from Texas A&M will get you big time consideration. It really depends on the school you attend, your age, how personable and articulate you are, and what other qualities you have. </p>
<p>Another thing I would heavily take into consideration if I was recruiting you would be how many units you took and if you worked while you were in school. A student taking 6-7 years to graduate with a degree since they are taking 12 units a semester that gets a 3.1 GPA is probably going to get tossed once HR reviews their transcript.</p>
<p>A student working 30 hours a week, demonstrating leadership and getting a 3.1 GPA while taking 18 units a semester is going to be considered much more than the aforementioned slacker. </p>
<p>It really depends. At firms we look at you as a package deal. I work for a national firm.</p>
<p>Shoot I forgot about the CPA license. Have you already worked in accounting and received a CPA license? IF so you are an experienced hire your experience will trump GPA. That being said what constitutes quality experience varies. Your CPA test scores will not wash away your GPA though. </p>
<p>IF you could get 2-3 years of experience at a regional firm or a large corporation and a CPA license you may get serious consideration for a senior job. I jumped from regional to national.</p>
<p>Jeremy I really can’t tell you anything you couldn’t learn yourself from proper research about upper division accounting coursework. If you want to know what it is like realistically just pick up a cheap out of date edition of an intermediate accounting textbook. How well you did in high school may not translate into good grades in college and vice versa. </p>
<p>I had horrible grades in high school and graduated top of my class in accounting. Accounting is the sort of field in which effort is far more important than intelligence. Accounting isn’t rocket science however it takes a lot of time to learn. Staying up studying all night before a CPA exam is not going to give you a pass I guarantee it. </p>
<p>You are 16 go have some fun before you commit yourself to the cubicle empire of 60 hour workweeks and demanding partners.</p>
<p>If you only want taxguy to answer, you should send him a PM. But since you posted, I’ll assume you don’t care. </p>
<p>At most schools a 3.0 will give you major problems (especially if your goal is big 4). Valley may be right in that if you go to a TOP school, it won’t hurt you as much. But even then, I’d assume that there are enough students with higher GPA’s to fill those big 4 slots (could be wrong though). </p>
<p>I went to the top accounting school in my state (not in the nation), and generally you needed at least a 3.4-3.5. The higher the better, obviously. </p>
<p>If you’ve passed the CPA exam, and are otherwise just below your competition in all other areas, it’d probably push you over the top into the interview slots. However, at a 3.0, you’re probably not even a “bubble” candidate. Sorry. </p>
<p>Whatever you do, don’t only apply big 4 (that’s not a smart idea in this economy- even for top students).</p>
<p>Hey guys I’m pretty sure this question has been answered somewhere in this 155 page thread but i didnt feel like going through all those posts so here it is:</p>
<p>I go to UT Austin which is arguably the top accounting school in the nation. We have an MPA program here which is top ranked as well.
If I get my MPA and work towards a CPA will I have a good chance at the Big 4?
How much will I make starting out?
How long till I can become a partner? How much is the salary then?
And if money is my main objective should I just go into finance? </p>
If you go to UT get a decent GPA and maybe some extracurricular you’ll get into big 4 pretty much guaranteed
Depends on a lot of things like location and such but I’d say 50K-65K first year salary
Again varies on a lot of things but 12 years I’ve heard is pretty quick. Junior partners get around 250k-300k depending on location because of the buy-in, it’ll jump pretty high from there as you get higher up though
I don’t know how UT recruits for finance so maybe check out your schools career center but if they’re not getting the likes of Goldman, JP Morgan, and other big banks I think it’ll be awhile till your making a lot. Maybe there are some BB and boutiques that recruit at UT but again check with your career center.</p>
<p>You seem to have this notion that accountants don’t make a lot of money. Yea they make less than investment bank equivalents but also have a lot more job security. Also your looking at just public accounting. Pretty much no one goes into public accounting looking to be a partner and if they do they change their mind on that pretty quick. Go into private industry after a couple years, work your way up to CFO and make bank on stock options while working 40 hours a week and not killing yourself with IB hours.</p>
<p>One more thing, no one (well almost no one) gets rich from a salary job, it’s all about capital gains. This means if you really wanna be rich start a business and create something. Finance guys just make money (a lot of money) off other peoples money, not really doing anything great or that someone else couldn’t have done. I mean, who is gonna be more remembered Jamie Dimon or Bill Gates? Bob Diamond or even Kevin Rose? That’s just my take and obviously do what’s best for you but finance isn’t the only way to get rich or make a lot of money.</p>
<p>So I’m going to a decent California State school located near LA and was thinking about switching from Finance to Accounting. Will I need to get an internship before I graduate to have a decent shot at landing a job? The school has a “class” that is for all intensive purposes an internship but they don’t allow you to sign up until you completed 300A+B (Intermediate Accounting) and I won’t be done with both of those until Summer of next year at the soonest.</p>
<p>Also if I double major in MIS+Accounting does that provide the ground work for IT auditing…even if it is completed at a mid level state school?</p>
<p>At what time should I be looking for Big4/Public Accounting internships? Also, I’ve heard that they sometimes offer jobs after your internship is finished (i.e. they’ll offer to hire you after one finishes their undergrad). If that is true, then would that interfere with one getting 150 credits/Masters to take the CPA exam?</p>
<p>Public accounting has good job security and can provide you with an excellent income. In reality no profession makes you rich. Even surgeons make a lot of money but I don’t consider them rich. Rich is some of the clients I have dealt with. The ones that have a net worth of 30 mil+ and have other people make their money for them while they kick back relax.</p>
<p>The best way to get “rich” isn’t going into investment banking, medicine, law or accounting(definitely not accounting). In all of the aforementioned professions very very few people make it to the top.The best way to get rich is to become an entrepreneur. You have a better shot of becoming a millionaire by buying into a franchise than you do become a medical doctor.</p>
<p>As a matter of fact I did a return for a franchise owner that owned dozens of stores and made eight figures a year. Now that is financial freedom. It has been a long time dream of mine to set up an “entrepreneur team”. I have solid accounting skills as a CPA and I have connections for capital. I would just people with management, marketing, legal and engineering skills. </p>
<p>Real money is in business ownership. Accounting salaries and partner earnings are miniscule compared to the business owners I have seen.</p>