I'm graduating this semester with my bachelors in accounting but unfortunately I will only have 124 credit hours. I need 150 to be able to sit for the CPA exam. My question is to those who have been through this, is masters a big deal in the accounting field? Or should I just pick up some courses at my local community college to meet the 150 hours minimum?
If you have a job lined up then I would get the necessary hours by attending community college. All that matters is being eligible to sit for the exam, pursuing the exam, and obviously getting certified. Only reason I have my MSA is because my firm paid for it. After a few years of experience nobody will care you even have a masters (assuming your're a CPA by then)
Thanks for the feedback. I know the CPA exam is difficult, did you take any courses that specialize in preparing for it? Did it really help?
I'm currently studying for the CPA exam and am using Becker CPA review self study materials. It's a truck load of material, and can be very frustrating at times, but everyone at my firm swears that as long you do the lectures and practice questions, you'll pass.
I'm in the same situation currently. Employers really seem to want candidates that are CPAs/CPA eligible or have a graduate degree in accounting. If you already have some professional accounting experience, it won't matter as much when trying to get an entry level job. I'm torn as to whether I should go for the Masters or just do the CPA exam. Since you will have to take some Masters-level classes to meet the CPA hours requirement, it might be worth it to just go for the Masters degree.
It's not just the 150 CR hours though, a specified number of those credits must be in accounting/business courses, do they not (I could be wrong)? If you can pick up those credits, all the more power to you, but I guess it depends on your situation. I did a five year dual BBA/MBA program with a concentration in accounting, because my school offered the fifth year at the same tuition as undergrad, and my loans and financial aid carried over. So all things considered it was a dirt-cheap MBA. I'm 3/4 of the way done with the exam, myself. Has anyone else found BEC to be the most aggravating to study for?
Do whatever it takes to get your CPA. It opens many career doors, not just in public accounting, but in industry finance jobs later as well.
Not to derail, but just out of curiosity, for those that are getting through the exam or have recently passed, how long do you guys plan on staying in public?
One thing I'll add in favor of getting the MBA: The MBA courses in Legal Environment and Federal Tax Policy should definitely help with preparing for REG MBA Auditing and Fraud will help with AUD Accounting Theory will help with FIN All the other annoying MBA classes they make you take should help you with BEC, provided you actually pay attention in those classes (I wasn't able to, unfortunately).
I have thought about pursuing an MBA. Of course I would want to get some work experience and some cash saved up before I do. How long does it usually take to complete an MBA program?
1 or 2 years depending on the program. If you have a bunch of business and accounting classes (and some math) from an accredited school on your transcript already, a number of the required courses may get waived.
Yes, many that a bachelors in finance will never open; can't even get an entry level credit analyst gig (thank god for the energy industry).
Personally, I think that a CPA is moved valuable than a masters in accounting alone. Depending on what you see yourself getting into in the future it could be nice to diversify with a finance masters or even economics
