Going straight to private accounting?

swimcatsmom
Fri, 20 Dec 2013 00:57:44 +0000

I believe most, if not all, States require public accounting experience to become a CPA. The time required might vary from State to State. My State, for instance, requires one year of pubic accounting experience.



By contrast, most PRIVATE firms that want corporate accountants only hire when an opening comes up which is not NECESSARILY every year.

I don’t think this is true at all. Well, it is true for all companies, private or public, that they only hire when they have openings. I don’t know of any firm that hires when it has no openings whatever the field. But the part about private companies not having openings every year is probably quite inaccurate except for very small companies that only have a small accounting staff. In my experience, most large corporations have huge accounting departments and are continuously hiring accounting staff. In my State, there are lots of large corporations that aggressively recruit new college graduates every year. There are probably more of them taking on interns and being involved in the University job fairs than there are pubic accounting firms.

I currently work in public accounting but my previous experience was mostly private. Personally, I much preferred private. Lots of accounting students go straight into private accounting, but may have no intention of becoming CPAs. I do think having the public accounting experience may be beneficial and probably necessary if you want the CPA. Check the requirements for your State.