[PCO2727]

I live in Los Angeles, CA, just finished up all the required accounting units and now applying for the exam and studdying BEC.

I have zero interest working in public because I hear the horror stories of the long hours. I am a father with split custody of a 6 year old, so a regular work schedule is important to me. I am interested in internal audit, analysis, or managerial functions. My goal is to work in one of these and move up the ranks to be a controller / CFO someday.

I plan to also get CMA and CIA, because I feel that the wider scope of knowlege will make me more competitive to be in a position of financial leadership. I have 1.5 years of pt time experience (20 hours a week) doing bookkeeping for my dad’s construction management company using QBO and Excel. Otherwise, no accounting experience. By the time I pass the CPA, it should be 2 years of PT experience.

From the position of that type of experience and the CPA passed, what prospects would be likely open to me that are not in public?

What do I know? Im just a guy

[Mayo]

Mostly Staff accountant or Staff internal auditor. If you have a CMA then maybe a staff FP&A position. So yeah..mostly staff positions that you'll have to work up to a Senior level.

Just keep in mind that most accounting/finance positions are generally recruited through the university recruitment process. So it's kind of slim pickings once you leave school. Also, the certifications you mentioned, are nice and will garner attention, but I'd only put one (CMA or CIA) on my resume. So for a cost accounting/FP&A position, I'd put the CMA/CPA. For internal Audit I'd put the CIA/CPA, and for a staff accounting position I'd put the CPA only.

Question, why are you trying to get all three? Seems excessive as hell.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[PCO2727]

I want all 3 because I want to have a wide amount of accounting knowledge, and demonstrate that to employers. Not just for today, but as years go on. Like I said, Id like to end up controller / CFO somewhere, or actually start my own practice

What do I know? Im just a guy

[Mayo]

Just realize that it makes you look unfocused if you have all three on there. Especially if you have zero experience.

Besides, getting a CIA will not improve your accounting experience or knowledge. It's mainly to improve your understanding of auditing methodology. Which is not really all that helpful to a Controller/CFO beyond what is learned in the CPA exam. It'll be your experience that will really give you the expertise you need.

But hey, if you have the time to do it, it's up to you…

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[PCO2727]

Ok, I'm more interest in CMA over CIA. So perhaps Ill just focus on CPA CMA. Thanks

What do I know? Im just a guy

[Missy]

Just remember experience is the big bang. The credentials are nice but trust me plenty of people feel the CPA is a golden ticket and are shocked how competitive the job market still is. Not saying CPA/Cma isn't worth it, but they won't stand on their own because you'll be competing against candidates with similar credentials plus whatever experience they've earned Also make sure your experience,qualifies you to take the CMA.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

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

[Mayo]

^+100.

OT: What happened to the Ninja Hiyas?

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Lisa_Jane]

@mla11692 YOU ARE SO RIGHT that I thought the CPA was a golden ticket and it is not at this point. They still want the experience and it seems like you have to have line for line experience for any new position you apply for. I think the market is still competitive now but there are way more job listings than I saw 6 years ago.

FAR Passed 5/28/14
AUD Passed 1/22/13
BEC Passed 7/12/13
REG Passed 5/9/14
Virginia CPA license issued July 2014

[Pete]

Competitive is an understatement. I graduated 5 years ago and haven't managed to get into any substantial, career building positions. I think region is huge in the job search. My area and California are pretty weak I think. Despite having passed 3 portions of the CPA exam and having a few years book-keeping experience, i'm not getting much in terms of interviews. The few i've gotten, i've gotten turned down for because someone with more experience comes along. The sad reality is that these jobs are fairly low paying.

In fact, having passed the CPA examination has worked against me in a few positions, since they fear I will leave, going into a public accounting firm. Networking is key in the search. I've gotten a few great connections at firms; however, without 150 credit hours, you're basically screwed in today's economy (as many of my connections have told me). Because of the fact you basically need campus recruiting as well as the 150 hours, i'm getting an MBA program to simply change my “graduation date” on the schools recruitment website, hopefully getting a fresh start with the cpa examination in hand. In short though, CPA alone will help usually, but it's still brutal as crap out there.

B=84 This exam was such a b**** that I thought I failed-don't know how these things work
A=76 Slacker I am, I'll happily take it
R=81 I LOVE taxes
F=80 I don't wanna get banned for an expletive I'm thinking with "yea" proceeding it

[Sang]

Have you considered working in a mid-size CPA firm, instead of the big 4?
I think you can gain a lot of the accounting knowledge that you want by working as an auditor in a mid-size CPA firm.

When you apply to become a controller or CFO in the future, I think you will be at a disadvantage when you compete against other applicants with public accounting experience.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

I have the same goals as you. I never wanted to work in a CPA firm before, because I didn't want to work over 40 hours per week. I wanted to get an entry level accounting job in a company, and then work my way up within the company. In the future, I want to become a senior accountant, accounting manager, or controller.

I now have 6 years of experience working as a staff accountant; doing accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and bookkeeping.
For the past year, I have applied to many accounting jobs in the Houston area, and I have not gotten many replies. I think I got only 2 phone interviews with recruiters, and nothing came from that.

I think my lack of experience in other accounting fields is the main reason why I am not qualified for many of the jobs that I applied to.

I believe getting a CPA license will help me somewhat with my career, but I think working as an auditor at a big 4 CPA firm or a mid-size CPA firm will help me even more, with the experience and knowledge that come with it.

FAR: (5/24/16) | (7/16/16)

AUD: (9/07/16)

BEC: TBA

REG: TBA

FAR: (05/24/16) | (07/15/16) | (10/22/16)
AUD: (09/07/16) | (11/29/16) |
BEC: TBD
REG: TBD
Using Roger CPA Review + Ninja (MCQs, Notes, Audio)

[Missy]

Lisa_Jane, even for me personally with 20+ years experience, 5 of which management when I applied to my current position I was their third choice! First choice also a CPA, had more experience than I do including big 4 (which I don't have) but she got another offer at the same time and went that way. Second choice was a CPA, almost as much experience as I but they felt him to be a better personality fit, he declined the salary. Then little old me got the nod. Its brutal because even if you're applying to a job that doesn't REQUIRE a CPA, if a CPA applies the bar was just raised. If the job doesn't require big 4 experience but one or two applicants have it, they get attention.

I laugh now because my boss insists I am his right hand and relies on me for everything (his background is sales so he knows nothing of the admin side of running a business.) and I say not bad for #3 huh?

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

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

[Lisa_Jane]

@mla11692 You are right about #3 being just fine because you love your job and your boss appreciates you. It is very interesting to hear that we all have similar stories. A Big 4 partner I used to work with (I was his exec assistant years ago) said his daughter is interested in accounting and she has lined up an internship at a Big 4- and she is only in high school now. I think the problem we are all facing is that we are working with accountant types who rely on lists and statistics and do not use intuition or thinking out of the box for hiring decisions. For my next move I want to work at a place where I am valued for what I can actually do. I have no interest in the drudge work of public accounting at this point. I think the accounting industry gets away with their hiring practices because they can, but there can be high turnover because even if folks are hired, workers are not really happy and they leave. I think it is such a big lie is for the AICPA to tell people that accounting is a great field with lots of opportunity, especially if you are a CPA. The reality is you have to get an internship in public acct first, preferably Big 4 and then pass your CPA exams right away. From then on you climb the ladder and you are in demand. The rest of us are chopped liver. I also distinctly remember that when I was at that Big 4 so many staff, seniors, and managers hated accounting and public accounting and left for other fields. If you happen to actually like working with numbers in accounting, the career path is discouraging. There are lots of fields besides accounting where you can apply your skills and that is what I’m going to do.

FAR Passed 5/28/14
AUD Passed 1/22/13
BEC Passed 7/12/13
REG Passed 5/9/14
Virginia CPA license issued July 2014

[Shovel]

Have you looked at your local universities for entry level roles? They often have positions called staff accountant, financial associate, assistant analyst, etc… They appear to be 9 to 5 jobs with possibly a good amount of PTO, tuition reimbursement and other benefits.

AUD 11/15 91
BEC 1/16 83
REG 2/16 79
FAR 7/16

[Lisa_Jane]

@Shovel- I have seen ads in the past- even at my old alma mater where I did my undergrad degree. The next time I see an ad I will jump on it. I'm sure one of these days some employer will take a chance on my potential. Thanks for the suggestion!

FAR Passed 5/28/14
AUD Passed 1/22/13
BEC Passed 7/12/13
REG Passed 5/9/14
Virginia CPA license issued July 2014

[Anonymous]

If you have any entrepreneurial or innovate spirit at all, my advice would be to run far away from any mid size or large company. In my career before I because a CPA, I have found that larger companies lack innovation and do not reward innovative thinkers or risk takers. They reward people who have warmed seats longest, preserve the status quo, and support the real money makers. They have a system to chew you up and spit you out.

CPAs are really lucky because we actually have a profession that we can practice without needing to have a huge business behind us. If you can find a smaller company in a growing industry, that is the ticket! If you can make yourself a critical piece of a small business or firm, you will be set. The trade off is that you will have to think longer term and be creative with your compensation.

Tax, Bookkeeping, Financials for Small Companies, etc.lend themselves to working/building a small business that you can eventually own. Auditing, Tax, etc., for mega corporations on mega corporations is a recipe for 60-80 hour weeks until you get chewed up and spit out.

I live on a surf beach in Central America…that is part of my compensation package..being able to live and work from wherever I want!

[Lost1]

OP, I understand your reasons for not considering public but I think with your background and what you want to achieve, public accounting will probably provide the best chance. I graduated college late (in my late 20's) and was fortunate enough to get a job at a F500 company. Like Akkula said above it's much harder to get noticed in big companies. The hierarchy and politics – they don't want you to come up with better ways to do things, they just want you to enter the data and show up in pointless meetings. I was bored at work and my self-esteem was low.

I am now a rockstar senior at a small tax firm. I think tax is pretty interesting. I feel like I really learned so much not only tax but business in general. Your exposure is much much better in client service industry. It's really true public accounting is like a bootcamp for accountants. Public accounting will provide better networking too since the turnover is pretty high in public. If you have the drive and willing to put in work to advance fast, you should consider public accounting (small firm would be better IMO).

"If you can do it, I can do it better."

[Author]

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