[Teddybear91]

I realize it may seem silly to post this on a cpa exam forum but I was wondering if there was any merit to opting for an EA designation instead. Thoughts?

[jm962011]

I like this analogy: if the CPA exam is to graduating college with a bachelors, then the EA exam is to graduating high school. Obviously then, an MBA/MAcc/MST is to graduating college with a graduate degree 😉

If you're looking to go into public, the EA will not get you to manager level these days. It is just that simple. My firm has even implemented a policy that if you don't have the 150 credits needed to sit for the CPA exam, you can't even become staff. You'll be an intern while you finish grad school or get the credits.

[TheHoundThatRides]

What makes you not want to get a CPA?

BEC - 78 (August 2015)
FAR - 80 (November 2015)
AUD - 73, 67. (Ok I gotta confess I was even more lazy this time around)
REG - August 27th, 2016

[Anonymous]

There is nothing wrong with getting an EA. It just doesn't carry the marketability weight you might want for the long term.
Is there a reason you don't want to go all out for the CPA license?

[Anonymous]

LOL who would want to go through this effing process if they didnt have to..5-6 hours of study a day every day for months on end.

Most EA's aren't all the bright..that is why they are EA's…EA's ONLY specialize in personal taxation and rarely know anything about 1065-1120-or 1120's..They also arent always educated on the facets of business and planning for the future. Just think how many kids in undergrad graduated but just skated by there classes never really learning some of the stuff.

Before starting the CPA process I thought I understood everything but have come to the realization I didnt know it as well as I thought..after discounting bonds 6 hours a day you can do it in your sleep So you really learn he material and know it well with the CPA.

So If your goal is a personal business of only 1040 and schedule C clients..(which nothing wrong with that) then an EA is an easier route.

I do think you can bill higher as a CPA

My uncle ran an accounting firm for 40 years became a multi millionaire as an EA…

I used to think he was the smartest businessman ever..now I know more about tax issues I have lessonsed my opinion.

[60sixx]

I'm going to take issue with the person above that says EAs ONLY know personal income tax. NOT TRUE. There is an entire section of the EA exam that deals with corps, PSPs, and S-corps. We also have to know about trusts & estates. I work in tax (corporate), so it was easy for me (as was the REG section of the CPA exam) – but for most, it is not. As a matter of fact, the REG section had many of the same type questions regarding business entities that the EA exam does. And I know PLENTY of enrolled agents that specialize in business tax and planning.

Just wanted to throw that out there.

Now, that said, a CPA designation will definitely have more clout. But, *me personally*, in the tax world, a CPA designation means nothing to me – since tax is such a small part of a very broad exam. It's the experience that counts here.

AUD - 76
REG - 86
BEC - 76
FAR - 9/3/16

[jm962011]

I also disagree with the statement that EAs only know income tax. A tax manager at my firm (she became a tax manager before the whole “you can't go past senior without your CPA”) is an EA and she only deals with hedge fund and investment partnership clients.

[Missy]

*sigh* on the elitism with people who are taking the CPA exams. Having a CPA license doesn't mean you know a thing about taxes, it means that you passed an exam that included a couple dozen or so questions on tax, and could easily have missed half of them and still passed. Experience matters so much more than passing the exam when it comes to tax.

Plenty of EA's are more knowledgeable about taxes than their CPA counterparts. Its no reflection on people who choose that route, you certainly don't HAVE to be smarter to be a CPA.

The DIFFERENCE lies in your marketability and career goals. If you want to move up the ranks in public a CPA is more marketable, if you want to just hang a shingle as a tax preparer (bearing in mind a lot of taxpayers don't even know what an EA is) either way will work. CPA's generally have higher billing rates, as well.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[TheHoundThatRides]

@amohr23cubs

If your uncle became a multi-millionaire running an accounting firm, I think that is a more impressive sign of his intelligence than passing a MCQ exam would be. (which requires a very shallow understanding of each topic to begin with.)

BEC - 78 (August 2015)
FAR - 80 (November 2015)
AUD - 73, 67. (Ok I gotta confess I was even more lazy this time around)
REG - August 27th, 2016

[FIFOisbetterthanLIFO]

It is unfortunate when uninformed people post the facts of life on forums. @amohr23cubs

FAR - Passed (82)
BEC - Passed (76)
AUD - Passed (89)
REG - Passed! (81)
AICPA Ethics

Licensed CPA

[Anonymous]

as far as difficulty and scope of the exams is concerned: bottom line is CPA > EA just like CFA > CPA.

[Stilgoin]

There is a good reason CPAs are automatically enrolled agents. 😉

“An Enrolled Agent is a person who has earned the privilege of representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. Enrolled Agents, like Attorneys and certified public accountants (CPAs), are generally unrestricted as to which taxpayers they can represent, what types of tax matters they can handle, and which IRS offices they can represent clients before.”

^^^^^^^^per the IRS

Stilgoin, CPA

There are enough critics. Be an encourager

B | 62, 78
A | 73, 67, 79
R | 82
F | 59, 59, Waiting

Ethics | 93

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
~Winston Churchill

“In a world full of critics, be an encourager."

[Anonymous]

CPA's are not automatically enrolled agents. they are just among the three with JD's & EA's who can represent clients/practice in front of the IRS.

EA is a designation given by the IRS, CPA is a license awarded by each individual state's board of accountancy.

but if you meant CPA's are automatically licensed to practice before the IRS without passing any of the IRS exams, then yes you are correct. IRS honors the state CPA licensees because of the exams' rigor and all-encompassing nature.

[Stilgoin]

@eesti – 3 months ago, you could check the IRS website for a list of enrolled agents in your area, and they had the CPAs in my area listed on the EA list. That led me to believe that the IRS recognizes CPAs as enrolled agents. I do know CPAs are exempt from the EA examination. Maybe a CPA does need to fill out some form- possibly the ones in my area did this, but technically if a CPA is exempt from the exam, then they have already qualified to be an EA. Obviously, the IRS thinks a CPA deserves the designation, or they would not be exempt form the exam. Is that not correct?

Stilgoin, CPA

There are enough critics. Be an encourager

B | 62, 78
A | 73, 67, 79
R | 82
F | 59, 59, Waiting

Ethics | 93

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
~Winston Churchill

“In a world full of critics, be an encourager."

[Missy]

A cpa has all the same priviledges as an EA but they are not an EA. (your quote above demonstrates in what respects an EA is like an attorney or CPA in the eyes of the IRS.) If for whatever reason a CPA wants to be an EA, they still have to take the exam. (Think of the agent part of EA, the IRS is making a person their agent, the state accounting boards can't do that on behalf of the IRS).

If you see CPA's listed as EA's, that means they're both. Some choose to, for whatever reason. Some are EA's before they get their CPA. However if you search the IRS website for tax preparers, my name comes up (because I have a PTIN) and my credential is CPA. The other person in my town with the same last name is listed and says enrolled agent. Also the IRS website has this disclaimer:

Note: Attorney and CPA credentials are self-reported to the IRS. The IRS verifies attorney and CPA credentials before including them in the directory, but situations may exist where a credential subsequently becomes invalid after verification. Users should rely on the source of a credential (e.g. state board of accountancy or state bar) and not this directory for official current status. Additionally, the IRS does not endorse any preparer or credential over another.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Stilgoin]

Thank you mla11692. In February, I just looked up Enrolled Agents and the CPAs were on there. I do realize that the IRS does not endorse any preparer over the other, but including CPAs in a list for Enrolled Agents on the website implies to me that they feel they are both qualified to perform the Enrolled Agent duties.

Stilgoin, CPA

There are enough critics. Be an encourager

B | 62, 78
A | 73, 67, 79
R | 82
F | 59, 59, Waiting

Ethics | 93

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
~Winston Churchill

“In a world full of critics, be an encourager."

[Author]

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