shogun98
New member
Any CPA's here. I'm thinking about going back to school for accounting and then becoming a CPA. I guess I'm looking for the pros and cons of becoming a CPA.
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Any CPA's here. I'm thinking about going back to school for accounting and then becoming a CPA. I guess I'm looking for the pros and cons of becoming a CPA.
I am a financial auditor and a CPA. It is a good field to be in if you don't mind working long hours during certain times of the year. If you have any specific questions I will be glad to answer them.
Any CPA's here. I'm thinking about going back to school for accounting and then becoming a CPA. I guess I'm looking for the pros and cons of becoming a CPA.
I'm a CPA. I worked at a Big 4 firm, a mid-tier international firm, and now I am an assistant controller for a very large multi-national corporation.
The pros: accounting is consistently one of the strongest fields as far as hiring from campus. There are lots of career paths you can chose (auditing, tax, consulting, private industry, IRS and other gov't - the FBI loves CPAs). The work is usually challenging, and depending on your career path the advancement to a manager level role is fairly quick. Also, when I worked in public accounting the hours in the non busy season (generally summer) were very flexible and often allowed me to sneak out to the golf course for a round in the afternoon. And while the demand for experienced professionals has taken a small hit with the economy, I can tell you I switched positions twice in the last two years and received a pay increase of 15% and 25%.
The cons: as Jeff Hacker said the hours can be (brutally) long (particularly working in public accounting or around month/quarter/year end close), continuing ed requirements, independence requirements (if you are a CPA at an accounting firm), and big firms/consulting often require extensive travel.
Thanks for all the replies, you answered most of the questions that I had. I think I'm going to start looking into going back to school. I don't think I'll mind the long hours or the traveling right now since I don't have a wife or kids.
Great choice.
I plan on being the Canadian version - a CA, but I've talked to people up here who hold both a CA and a CPA.
How did you guys choose which of the Big 4 to work for?
I've got answers from up here, but I am curious as to if it's the same on the US
Interesting question there. I did not understand until I was going through the recruiting process at college. We essentially all do the same work i.e. professional services so advisory, assurance and tax services. The thing is there is a distinct difference in the cultures of the firms. This would hold true between the firms i.e. PwC, E&Y, Deloitte and KPMG. But even within the firms there are differences in the cultures in the offices as well so PwC Atlanta compared to PwC New York. For me personally i saw myself as a better fit with PwC from a personal standpoint in comparison to others that recruited at my school. You will be spending quite a bit of time with these people so you want to make sure that is feasible with whichever firm you choose. And honestly they are all good firms with good reputations. Hope this helps.
hate to bum a post off the OP, but those of you working in big firms... looking for a general idea what people are making.
my wife is a CPA, has 6 years experience, and has a masters in accounting. we live in st. louis and she works for a small firm, 20 people, and her pay is low i think.
last year she made 55 i believe. maybe lower.
hate to bum a post off the OP, but those of you working in big firms... looking for a general idea what people are making.
my wife is a CPA, has 6 years experience, and has a masters in accounting. we live in st. louis and she works for a small firm, 20 people, and her pay is low i think.
last year she made 55 i believe. maybe lower.
Ah yes then, there is consistency across the board.
I went through the recruitment phase this past fall, and even interviewed with KPMG, but I was too young to secure a summer co-op.
Everyone said that all the companies are the same as far as pay and work - the only difference was the company culture.
I really enjoyed being around most of the big 4 firms. With the exception of one... But I'm not going to name names.
hate to bum a post off the OP, but those of you working in big firms... looking for a general idea what people are making.
my wife is a CPA, has 6 years experience, and has a masters in accounting. we live in st. louis and she works for a small firm, 20 people, and her pay is low i think.
last year she made 55 i believe. maybe lower.
First year managers (5/6 years experience) at larger firms probably make $65k-$85k in Philly depending on the firm and performance level of the person. NYC, Chicago and LA would certainly be higher. No overtime is paid (I know some smaller firms do pay OT).