CPA Exam and Big 4

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    Topic
  • #195905
    roughcpalife
    Member

    Hey everyone,

    I’m a new joiner to the big 4 this fall, and wondered what difficulties can arise if I haven’t passed any exams yet. Besides trying to balance studying and work, how do others at the firms see this? How does management view this? Will you be looked down upon? I am trying very hard but I am struggling to learn this material. With work coming around the corner soon, I am starting to accept what will happen and just want to know what I should expect. Thanks

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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  • #685989
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I think most have a policy that you cannot advance to Manager if you're not a CPA.

    #685990
    roughcpalife
    Member

    Is it completely uncommon to have associates not pass any exams when they start? Does anyone here have experience not passing the exams on their first tries while working big 4?

    #685991
    Mayo
    Participant

    “Is it completely uncommon to have associates not pass any exams when they start? “

    Nah, it's not uncommon. I'd say approximately a fourth of my class had not passed the exams by the end of their first year.

    “Does anyone here have experience not passing the exams on their first tries while working big 4?”

    Yeah, I never passed the exams while at the Big 4. Got rated 4 out of 5 my first two years (EY). They become much more of an issue as you hit Senior levels. By that point I had stopped caring about ratings though…

    SPOILER: They won't fire you if you don't pass, so just relax. If you wanna stay till Manager, then it is a must for most Big 4. I think for PWC you need to have the exams passed to be a Senior. (*eyeroll*)

    Mayo, BBA, Macc

    #685992
    UM1868
    Member

    About half of my class hadn't passed yet. Just get it done, but don't underestimate how hard it is to do. I am in a smaller office and pretty much have a perpetual busy season, its difficult. I used PTO recently to do REG.

    Bec-76 (7/14)
    Aud-81 (8/14)
    Reg-82 (7/15)
    Far- 82 (10/15)

    Moral of the story, don't do your CPA while working in Big 4 Public Accounting.

    #685993
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I started with Big 4 with only FAR passed. Big 4 hours plus studying is extremely miserable. The only way I was able to finish was by making major sacrifices. I woke up a few hours earlier than usual and studied in the office before work, studied during lunch, and went straight to the library after work for more studying (luckily I found a local library with great evening hours).

    Honestly, managers don't really care until you're not eligible for promotion because of it. From what I've seen in Big 4 (and heard from friends at other Big 4s) there's not too much flexibility when it comes to finding time to take the exam or study, but maybe you'll get lucky with an understanding team.

    Just make the exam a priority and you'll get it done. Seeing as most people don't make a career out of big 4, you'll probably need your license after you leave.

    #685994
    fuzyfro89
    Participant

    It's pretty much up to you to find the time to do it. They will not accommodate much to help you. Your team may let you take a full hour for lunch for you to study/eat, but that's about all. Most likely you'll end up studying 1-2 hours before work each day and weekends.

    No one will look down at you. You'll get raises/promotions just like everyone else until you're in the 4th-5th years and approaching manager level decision.

    Management won't look down, since they don't really care when it happens other than requiring it to become a manger.

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