[Anonymous]

I am looking for advice on how to get my career in accounting moving. I apologize if this post is too detailed and long but I feel very stuck and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I would really like to get into auditing at the big 4 and currently I am working at a small cpa company in which majority of the services provided is personal/small business tax returns and bookkeeping. I took this job so that I can gain some kind of experience while finishing the cpa exams. My undergrad gpa was low and since I can’t fix that, I am trying to figure out how to go around it.

I know that getting my cpa license would get some employers to overlook my gpa, however a lot of you have stated in this forum that the big 4 always look at gpa. Also as I understand most big 4 employees get their jobs by being recruited from campus.

Do any of you have advice on what I should do next after passing the cpa?

Should I go get my masters so that I could get a good gpa and have the chance to go through campus recruiting?

-although I rather not get my masters because I acquired enough credits through undergrad for the cpa license

-would it be hard for me to get into a good graduate school with my gpa problem?

Should I go to an mba program?

-this requires a certain amount of work experience?

-would the gpa be a problem here also?

I have friends that work for big 4

-would passing the cpa and having them pass my resume along increase the chances of getting a job or would the gpa still be in the way?

How about the other auditing firms?

-would gpa be a problem there also?

So based on my situation what would you recommend for me to do? Should I forget about big 4? Should I forget auditing and go for something else within accounting ?

[Spock]

There has been a lot of these “Low GPA —-> Big 4” topics lately and some general advice applies to every one.

First – GPA matters, and it matters most to large firms and applies greatest to those applicants with less work experience.

Second – CPA is a plus but having a sub 3.0 GPA will scar your resume enough to make most every employer concerned.

Third – How you go about recruiting is important and there are basically 2 ways. First is OCR. Yes, most intern/entry level positions come from campus recruiting and are the best method for obtaining a spot at the big 4 and regional firms. However, these spots will be more strict as to what grades they will accept, (i.e minimum 3.0/3.25 GPA cutoff). The second way to go about recruiting is networking. If your grades are sub-par this is the best method to use as you can make up for low stats by demonstrating your motivation and showing your desire for whichever firm/position you are targeting.

Put yourself into the shoes of the recruiter reading your resume. You are in the office with a pile of mostly faceless resumes in which half or more will not even be given interviews. The easiest to exclude are those with obvious typo's and those not meeting certain (read major & GPA) requirements.

My university(big 4 target) had master's students with 3.5+ GPA's not get interviews from big 4 and even some large regionals; So keep that in mind as well. All in all, yes, you can get into big 4 or any other firm for that matter with a low GPA. Will it be difficult? Yes, but you'll just have to go that much further to show you deserve it more than the next guy.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply.

Is it worth it for me to go get a masters now?

Would a high gpa and a completed cpa increase my chance of being recruited from graduate program?

Is the time and money spent on masters worth it if it's not guaranteed that I would get recruited from campus into big4?

[m1kal]

Show them that you want the job. Pass the CPA and the doors will open. Good luck all.

REG - 76
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[Mayo]

“Is the time and money spent on masters worth it if it's not guaranteed that I would get recruited from campus into big4?”

There's no real good answer to this. Just realize that going back to school, taking out debt in the process, is risky. I think if you're willing to do anything and everything to get a big 4 job, then go ahead.

However, if you're less than 100% dedicated, I don't just mean grades here, then don't do it. Getting a big 4 interview is pretty formulaic, so read a few pages worth of posts on this board to get more info on what that formula is.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Spock]

@CPAMODE “Would a high gpa and a completed cpa increase my chance of being recruited from graduate program?”

I don't mean for you to take this the wrong way but, what do you think? Use some common sense. Of course a high GPA and having cpa passed increases your chances. That said, as I mention in my above post, there are many qualified applicants with great resumes that don't get big 4/large regional gigs.

As Mayo stated, it is a very structured process of hiring at the big 4. They want a certain type of candidate, a “safe” candidate, and unfortunately for those with sub 3.0 gpa you will be seen as a risk relative to the 3.5+ all other things equal.

[Anonymous]

How long have you been out of school and working at your current job? Getting into big 4 right from school, they definitely look at your GPA. If you've been out of school working for a bit you could apply as an experienced hire, and while I don't know if GPA is still important then, I wouldn't think it was as important if you had work experience and the CPA done.

If anyone here has been a big 4 experienced hire they could probably tell you better. While GPA is a great divider for college recruits, I would think it would be less important as an experience hire. That's just my thoughts, I don't have any experience to confirm it unfortunately.

[Author]

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