[DTXCPA]

I’ve been looking up some stats for MBA and CPA. I am currently working as a staff accountant in industry and we have CPAs with 4-5 years of experience working as senior accountants making $65k. On the other hand I have been looking up stats of good MBA programs in my state, Texas (UT Austin, UT Dallas, SMU, Texas A&M) and all of their stats show that their MBAs make starting salaries of 100-120k plus signing bonuses of $15k-20k. I do understand that these aren’t technically ‘starting’ salaries since these folks already have 3-5 years of experience, but still 65k vs 110k? Isn’t the gap too wide? Is an MBA from a good business school actually worth more than a CPA or am I missing something? I understand that comparing MBA and CPA is not fair since one is a degree and the other a license, but I’m talking just in terms of salary.

AUD - 80
BEC - 80
FAR - 78
REG - 80

DONE!!

[Bourne]

With a CPA you work an accounting job. With an MBA, there's a wide array of jobs you can work (financial analyst, etc.) To compare the salary of someone with an MBA to someone with a CPA in general is useless because someone with an MBA could be doing something completely different. It would be more appropriate to compare someone with say, a masters in accounting to a CPA.

AUD- 82
REG- 86
FAR- 86
BEC- 88

[DTXCPA]

You're right, Bourne. Let me rephrase my question. Does an MBA open doors to more high paying jobs vs a CPA, be it accounting or non-accounting?

AUD - 80
BEC - 80
FAR - 78
REG - 80

DONE!!

It depends on your school and the connections you have for an MBA, i know alot of people with an MBA who do not make that much.

AUD - 73(Gleim only), 79(Becker Only)

BEC- 67, 58(Gleim only), 71 (Becker) 😢

REG- 50 (Gleim only, totally unprepared), retake - April 2018 (Used Becker, Becker Final Review plus Ninja Monthly)

FAR-tba

Using Becker, Prayer & Anything else that will help.

[DTXCPA]

Oh yeah that's a major factor. I'm looking at no lower than the top 50 business schools in the country.

AUD - 80
BEC - 80
FAR - 78
REG - 80

DONE!!

[Superdude3000]

I would also say that getting a masters in something specific will yield better job opportunities than a standard MBA. For example, masters in taxation, masters in business analytics, etc… But if one has no idea what they want to do than an MBA would probably be best. Only get your CPA if you wanna be a CPA and don't focus too much on the money. I will say though that plenty of CPAs can make big bucks eventually, the license opens a lot of doors just as an MBA does.

REG - 92 (1/17)

BEC - 82 (2/17)

AUD - 89 (5/17)

FAR - 94 (9/17)

Rogers Elite + Becker mcqs/sims for all 4 exams

WA State Ethics Exam - 83, 83, 90 (9/17)

AICPA Ethics Exam - 95 (9/17)

1-year of work - complete (11/18)

Licensed WA State CPA

[Anonymous]

I don't think it necessarily automatically opens doors.

It's all about network in my opinion. Having an MBA means you were in class with some highly academic people and it is likely they went on to obtain positions at other companies. So it's more of like a badge of honor or “brotherhood” and when you meet other people with graduate degrees, you have that shared experience. Plus having a higher degree essentially means you have higher credibility in the eyes of the public.

But at the end of the day it's about network. You can have just a Bachelor's degree, but if you are well connected, have a great track record and the ability to perform, you will be right up there if not better off than the people with graduate degrees.

Also, like Bourne said above, many companies use credentials as a way to filter people out for high paying positions, so they will require graduate degrees for certain positions. But that doesn't necessarily stop the well-connected person who only has an undergrad degree from possibly obtaining the same role if he knows the right people.

[Superdude3000]

@BrickellCPA
Good point. I knew quite a few people that went to graduate school that had the personality of a doorknob. Networking is extremely important and if you can't talk to people then you likely are gonna struggle in a lot of fields. Assuming you have the ability to network though, and depending on your chosen career path I think the CPA license does open plenty of opportunities. I was on my university's student accounting board and had frequent communication with the accounting faculty and they all told me that the CPA license would take me just about anywhere I wanted to go in the accounting world. I guess only time will tell if they were right.

REG - 92 (1/17)

BEC - 82 (2/17)

AUD - 89 (5/17)

FAR - 94 (9/17)

Rogers Elite + Becker mcqs/sims for all 4 exams

WA State Ethics Exam - 83, 83, 90 (9/17)

AICPA Ethics Exam - 95 (9/17)

1-year of work - complete (11/18)

Licensed WA State CPA

[SaveBandit]

Honestly, If I could rewind time, I'd get my MBA from a top 50 program instead of going the accounting/CPA route. Most of the people I know who did Top 50 MBA vs Big 4/CPA make more money and work fewer hours. That's one thing they don't tell you when you major in accounting: The retarded amount of hours you have to work.

AUD - 94
BEC - 86
FAR - 85
REG - 90

If you pray enough, you can turn yourself into a cat person.

4 for 4

FAR 85
AUD 94
BEC 86
REG 90

[Missy]

I'd drill down deeper into those mba salary claims there's absolutely more to it than that.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

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

[Ne’O]

Coming from a Finance background, I would say it is harder post Sarbanes Oxley to get a CPA than it is an MBA from a top MBA school.
I say this having been at one of the top MBA schools.

I'm stunned CPAs get started at so little, and wonder how much it will change as supply vs demand of the pre vs post Sarbanes Oxley CPAs shifts.
We have a devil of a time finding competent auditors in recent years. The pool has evaporated rather fast.

I say all this as someone trying to become a CPA. If I were to go out and be employed by someone else, the new CPA pay would be a fraction of what I currently earn.
I'd be willing to pay near 200% of those starting salaries if I could find someone competent to do what I and another partner (also not a CPA) currently handle.

Ne'O

-Yes it's Ne'O.

AUD:  72, 89

FAR:  71, 80

BEC:  83

REG: 82

Newbie CPA Candidate

[Ivy]

Thought about the pros and cons half way through. But fraction of the pay, after what most of us went through? That is depressing!

[Anonymous]

I thought there would be more your MBA is not from a top 10 school so an MBA is worthless, don't do it.

I will always say more education the better. The problem is that people think that because you have an MBA you are automatically guaranteed a C- suite and a private jet. And that is where the problem lies. An MBA is just to get your foot in the door, it doesn't bestow any special rights on you. And if people understood that, life would be better for all involved.
It is an investment in yourself, and if you can do it, go for it.

[HoldMyBeerCPA]

If only I could convince some people in my family why I side with a number of people here about the MBA/MAcc. If you already have your CPA, I would only suggest obtaining an MBA/MAcc if your employer pays for it, or you think it would SIGNIFICANTLY add value to your brand.

"FACT": The odds of consecutively passing all four sections of the CPA exam on the first try: 7%.

Me: Hold my beer...

FAR (April 2017): 75+

BEC (May 2017): 75+

AUD (July 2017): 75+

REG (September 2017): 75+

Roger + Ninja Audio/MCQ/Notes (BEC & REG)

[Ne’O]

Ivy8313 said,

Thought about the pros and cons half way through. But fraction of the pay, after what most of us went through? That is depressing!

I think you are grabbing the wrong end of the stick, though not 100% certain. Only time will tell.
13 years ago an MBA with a CFA was worth a lot more than an MBA with a CPA. Now, it is most certainly not that way. I can throw a rock and hit an MBA with a CFA looking for a job that I don't want to give them. Meanwhile, I can't find a competent enough CPA to handle our CFO work. 8 years ago we had various CPA firms trying to get our small company's annual Audit. Now, so many of them are backlogged that they turn away. Even the offshore ones. The annual rise in the price of an audit is certainly outstripping inflation, and only seems to me that it will escalate.

A counterpoint is that technology including AI will make a fair number of accounting roles increasingly obsolete. Yet the human review and signature of a CPA will be required for a very long time.

My current viewpoint is that CPAs will increasingly become managerial overseeing non CPA staff, much as has happened with many doctors.
I've already seen a huge shift in the past 10 years. Right now, I'd be willing to pay a lot more for a competent CPA than a top 10 MBA.
Ultimately I am trying to partially solve this problem by becoming a CPA.

-Yes it's Ne'O.

AUD:  72, 89

FAR:  71, 80

BEC:  83

REG: 82

Newbie CPA Candidate

[Anonymous]

Curious what do you consider a competent CPA? Can you define it for your needs?

Not looking for a job, but I've done quite a bit over the years and curious if my experience would be considered competent based on your definition.

[Author]

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