What percentage of finance/accounting professionals have a CPA?

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #202357
    startupcfo
    Participant

    I read there’s 650K active CPAs

    If we took all the people in public accounting services, private wealth management, consulting, venture capital, hedge funds, corporate finance, public accounting, and accounting professors, what would that add up to?

    OFC, you’d have to factor in the washouts that went into accounting, couldn’t crack the CPA exam and ended up being a kindergarten teacher.

    AUD - 93
    BEC - 87
    FAR - 77
    REG - 77
    ------------
    Corporate finance leader

    BEC - 87 | 02/28
    REG - 70 | 06/10, REMATCH | 08/30
    AUD - XX | 09/10
    FAR - XX | 12/10

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
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    Replies
  • #779264
    ScarletKnightCPA
    Participant

    I think you might need to also factor in those who began their careers with a CPA but let it expire as they no longer specifically needed it.

    Far: 76 (Wiley Test Bank)
    Aud: 77 (Wiley Test Bank)
    Reg: 61, 76 (Wiley book, Wiley Test Bank)
    Bec: 86 (Wiley Test Bank)

    MBA in progress

    #779265
    Missy
    Participant

    It's a tough question because you can be an accounting professional without even meeting the requirements to sit for the exam. It's almost like asking what percentage of medical professionals are doctors?

    Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

    Finance manager/HR manager

     

     

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

    #779266
    Ganondorf
    Participant

    “you'd have to factor in the washouts that went into accounting, couldn't crack the CPA exam and ended up being a kindergarten teacher.”

    Why would you assume someone who gave up on the CPA exam wouldn't be able to get an accounting job and would instead go into an unrelated field? There are plenty of accounting jobs that don't require the CPA. I will honestly admit that I am 99% sure I don't have the study habits required for passing the CPA exam, so I'm not planning on taking it. Yet I work in accounting. In fact, none of my co-workers are CPAs either. Not even my boss. The subject of the CPA did come up in my second interview. I said I wasn't planning on taking it, and I got the impression that if I had said I was planning on it, then I may not have been hired.

    #779267
    startupcfo
    Participant

    Nobody here made that assumption lol

    AUD - 93
    BEC - 87
    FAR - 77
    REG - 77
    ------------
    Corporate finance leader

    BEC - 87 | 02/28
    REG - 70 | 06/10, REMATCH | 08/30
    AUD - XX | 09/10
    FAR - XX | 12/10

    #779268

    @Ganondorf, you may not have been hired if you had said you were trying to further your career with the CPA exam?? Doesn't sound like any organization I'd want to be a part of… It is an interesting point you make though because I have noticed that some coworkers are jealous of the fact that I have a CPA and they do not. It doesn't make me smarter, but unfortunately, it makes me more qualified and trustworthy in the eyes of senior and executive management.

    Honestly, your reason for not taking the exam is the exact reason why the CPA is valuable to those of us who do. People figure the CPAs of the world are more disciplined and “studied” than those who are not CPAs.

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

    Licensed CPA

    #779269
    Ganondorf
    Participant

    @FIFOisbetterthanLIFO, their line of questioning in the second interview gave me the distinct impression that they would not hire anyone who wasn't going to stick around long term. If I was going to go for the CPA, then I couldn't stay there long term because I would need public experience under a practicing CPA. (I am in private.) The CFO is the only one here who is a CPA as far as I am aware. Even the controller is not a CPA.

    #779270
    Missy
    Participant

    Depending on the position I may not want to hire someone who announced they wanted to study for the cpa exams. Selecting and training good candidates is more time consuming than most people realize and if someone basically announces the consider the position they're applied for to be temporary I'll continue to look for someone qualified who isn't looking to use that position as a stepping stone. It can take a full year to get someone completely trained, you can't be thrilled to have to start searching again five minutes after someone is really immersed into a position. You don't hire someone overqualified or who intends to be overqualified in the near future. You can encourage career growth in your staff without hiring temporary employees. Usually you expect a person to stick around 3-5 years before looking to move up or move on.

    Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

    Finance manager/HR manager

     

     

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

    #779271
    startupcfo
    Participant

    @Ganondorf “then I couldn't stay there long term because I would need public experience under a practicing CPA. (I am in private.)”

    Okay, so what you're saying then, is that your concern would be allayed if there was a way to get a CPA without getting public experience yes/no? I work in NYC in private and have never worked in public accounting in my life. I am still getting my CPA from another state that doesn't require me to have public accounting experience, nor does it require direct supervision from a CPA.

    AUD - 93
    BEC - 87
    FAR - 77
    REG - 77
    ------------
    Corporate finance leader

    BEC - 87 | 02/28
    REG - 70 | 06/10, REMATCH | 08/30
    AUD - XX | 09/10
    FAR - XX | 12/10

    #779272
    Ganondorf
    Participant

    @startupcfo

    The public experience isn't my main concern. I just feel like I don't have what it takes to pass the CPA exam. My study habits are horrible, and that is likely never going to change.

    I thought college was pretty easy. Although I went to a state university which probably didn't have a difficult curriculum in the first place. I never studied much at all, but I still somehow managed A's and B's in all my accounting classes except tax which I got a C. My method of study was basically the night-before-exam cram session kind of studying, and I know that's not going to work with the CPA exam.

    Another thing is that I just really don't have a lot of career ambition. I feel like I would be okay with being a staff level employee my whole life. I'm not management material, and being promoted to management is the main reason to get a CPA in private industry.

    #779273
    startupcfo
    Participant

    @Ganandorf While that's an interesting excerpt from your diary, I'm not sure what that has to do with the original thread lol. But sure, I'll play along.

    I have nothing to gain from convincing you to be more ambitious, pass an exam, earn a promotion etc. But I will say this based on a decade of work experience and seeing a variety of environments and coworkers:
    You say you're okay with being a staff member your whole life – but have you considered that there may come a time where you can't even secure stable employment as a staff member?

    I've worked in 2 environments that, during an economic crisis or business downturn, had to make “staffing selections”. The FIRST thing they did was fire everyone who didn't have a credential, because they felt that the non-credentialed people were the kinds of people that likely

    1. crammed the night before instead of showing up prepared and stable
    2. dont have a lot of career ambition
    3. have horrible work/study habits

    Sound familiar?

    It is highly unlikely that you will stay at the same company for the rest of your life (whether you get fired, want to move, or hate your boss). When you apply for a non-management position, you are competing with 100-500 resumes for one job. Let's be SUPER generous and assume that you actually made it through the BOT filter *and* also made it through our HR person. So now I've got 30 resumes in front of me and I have to pick 6 to interview live. What do you think I, or whatever department leader you run into, am going to do when I see this resume?

    A) toss your resume and move onto candidate #29? OR

    B) call you in hopes of hearing some moving sob story about why you don't have a CPA, but how you found some mediocre state college to be a breeze??

    I'm not even writing this to be mean; I'm trying to get you to think a few years (decades) ahead.

    AUD - 93
    BEC - 87
    FAR - 77
    REG - 77
    ------------
    Corporate finance leader

    BEC - 87 | 02/28
    REG - 70 | 06/10, REMATCH | 08/30
    AUD - XX | 09/10
    FAR - XX | 12/10

    #779274
    Missy
    Participant

    Startup raised some great points above and I agree 100% but let's play devil's advocate, and say you do indeed love your staff position and choose to stay for the rest of your career. When at the age of 67 you realize social security isn't enough to survive on (assuming it even exists then) and your 401k is sad, and your employer basically pushes you out the door, do you want to be job seeking and competing for entry level jobs against kids who could be your grandchildren. I've seen it in my own family, people working at 75 because they decided at 37 they'd never need more.

    Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

    Finance manager/HR manager

     

     

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

    #779275
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I know this is not the intent of anybody posting, but somehow this thread feels like everyone is ganging up on Ganondorf. For what it's worth, I am super jealous that you are satisfied with your professional life, and I wish I had that kind of contentment.

    If you ever change your mind in the future, the option to go for your CPA will be there.

    #779276
    Missy
    Participant

    Well it IS a CPA exam support forum so the assumption is that people here intend to or have pursued the CPA exam.

    Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

    Finance manager/HR manager

     

     

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

    #779277
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    @mla: lol. Good point.

    #779278
    Lost1
    Participant

    It's embarrassing to ask your staff who is a CPA to generate a POA when you are not a CPA.

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

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
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