[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

I am considering an MBA, but I am not sure if it will benefit me. I currently have a MAcc and am working on passing the CPA exam. I will be starting as an as an entry-level auditor next month at a public accounting firm. My plan is to do 2 years in audit and then transition into the business advisory side. I am wondering if it will be beneficial to get an MBA once I move into an advisory role. If it would be helpful, would the ranking of the school matter much? I do plan on making a career out of public accounting and have no desire to move to industry or work in IB. I am interested to hear everyone’s thoughts because most articles I read about MBAs say that it is not worth the investment.

I tried to see if there was already a thread for this topic, but could not find one.

[waitingforscore]

I can only tell you my experience. I graduated in 2006 with my BS in Accountancy and already had a job at a small, regional CPA firm where I am still employed. I enrolled in the MBA program to gain the necessary 150 hours because at that time I was kind of burned on acctg and wanted to explore some other topics. I graduated with my MBA in 2008 from a school that is consistently ranked nationally for it's MBA program. At my firm, nobody really cares that I have an MBA and we even have “Business Advisors” in our firm's title. It didn't grant me any more money/promotions. I won't say that I regret having it because I think that the bigger companies still look favorably at the MBA but in public accounting CPA is king. I just found out today that I passed all four sections and it's pretty sweet! Good luck!

Roll Tide Roll

[waitingforscore]

I can only tell you my experience. I graduated in 2006 with my BS in Accountancy and already had a job at a small, regional CPA firm where I am still employed. I enrolled in the MBA program to gain the necessary 150 hours because at that time I was kind of burned on acctg and wanted to explore some other topics. I graduated with my MBA in 2008 from a school that is consistently ranked nationally for it's MBA program. At my firm, nobody really cares that I have an MBA and we even have “Business Advisors” in our firm's title. It didn't grant me any more money/promotions. I won't say that I regret having it because I think that the bigger companies still look favorably at the MBA but in public accounting CPA is king. I just found out today that I passed all four sections and it's pretty sweet! Good luck!

Roll Tide Roll

[wizards8507]

It's worth your time but probably not worth your money. If your employer won't pay for it, that's probably a sign that it's not something they value. That said, if you can get all or most of it paid for, it's definitely valuable to have.

NY CPA

[wizards8507]

It's worth your time but probably not worth your money. If your employer won't pay for it, that's probably a sign that it's not something they value. That said, if you can get all or most of it paid for, it's definitely valuable to have.

NY CPA

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses.

-waitingforscore Congrats on passing the CPA exam!

One other question I have is if the firm is paying for it and you plan on staying in public afterward, does the school's ranking really matter at that point? In that case, I am not getting the MBA to change jobs, so I am wondering if it matters if I went to a state school's weekend program instead of trying to go to a top 20 school.

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses.

-waitingforscore Congrats on passing the CPA exam!

One other question I have is if the firm is paying for it and you plan on staying in public afterward, does the school's ranking really matter at that point? In that case, I am not getting the MBA to change jobs, so I am wondering if it matters if I went to a state school's weekend program instead of trying to go to a top 20 school.

[waitingforscore]

@djnick2838…If your employer is paying for it and you have the will and desire to complete the program then I say do it. I don't think that the ranking of the school really matters at all, especially if you are staying at the same job. It can only help you in the future and make you more appealing down the road to any prospective employers.

Roll Tide Roll

[waitingforscore]

@djnick2838…If your employer is paying for it and you have the will and desire to complete the program then I say do it. I don't think that the ranking of the school really matters at all, especially if you are staying at the same job. It can only help you in the future and make you more appealing down the road to any prospective employers.

Roll Tide Roll

[tough_kitty]

I'd just make sure that the MBA program you choose is with the school which is AACSB accredited.

I have MS Accy & General MBA. Can't say MBA added much value in terms of $ but I did like the classes and I worked as staff on campus at the time so I got a huge discount.

I agree with what others said, but if you decide on getting MBA, definitely consider a more valuable concentration such as Finance or Project Management.

Also, what I like to do – I go on indeed.com and do a search for MBA/CPA just to see which positions consider “and/or” which for me would be a huge advantage since I'll have both.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

I'd just make sure that the MBA program you choose is with the school which is AACSB accredited.

I have MS Accy & General MBA. Can't say MBA added much value in terms of $ but I did like the classes and I worked as staff on campus at the time so I got a huge discount.

I agree with what others said, but if you decide on getting MBA, definitely consider a more valuable concentration such as Finance or Project Management.

Also, what I like to do – I go on indeed.com and do a search for MBA/CPA just to see which positions consider “and/or” which for me would be a huge advantage since I'll have both.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Author]

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