[jkpoker1]

Hey, I just wanted to ask some advice on this forum. I think I’m taking a break from the cpa exam after failing 3 parts in a row just using the wiley test book (I didn’t study enough and deserved to fail honestly). I just got a job at a top utilities company in the North East. However, my job doesn’t relate to accounting and I only do data-entry for the most part and help clients with questions regarding their accounts.

With this company, after 6 months I can move onto to other departments within the company and believe I should have a small chance at A/P because I have experience at a small mfg firm doing A/P and basically the responsibilities of a staff accountant in private. The pay is around $16/hr which isn’t bad because I will probably still live at home then and I live in a medium sized city so prices aren’t relatively high compared to bigger markets (NYC,Boston, Chicago, etc).

I feel like I should get my MBA if I don’t become a cpa and the firm I currently work for offers 50% tuition reimbursement. While in college, I slacked massively (was too interested in online poker, drinking, and skipping class) and didn’t really care about school even though I still maintained a 3.0 gpa which I think is quite impressive because I skipped a lot of class and didn’t study like you should for college. I feel like if I could dedicate myself to work+ MBA classes, I should be able to attain at least a 3.5 gpa if I just stay level-headed and realize what is important for my life. Does this sound like a good idea? I work for national grid and I believe having an mba would make me much more competitive vying for accounting jobs within the firm.

Thanks a lot for any feedback. I’ve kinda let go of wanting to be a CPA and working in public accounting. I interviewed with maybe 5-8 firms this past fall and getting letters declining me and not receiving letters from a few firms (even though I wrote thank you letters) really rubbed me the wrong way. I even interviewed in the past with a few small cpa firms that you would imagine to take me but to no avail I was not given a job. I might try for my CPA down the road and actually take a class such as becker but right now I’m really turned off by public accounting. Thanks for any advice regarding this post.

Quest to be a CPA

BEC-74 (7/13),
REG- ?? (8/13)
AUD-TBA
FAR-TBA

[Anonymous]

Just throwing it out there, getting the ideas floating. Are there internal auditing jobs that are floating around at the company because ever consider CIA? A lot of the people I work with couldn't handle CPA and became a CIA, a lot easier and the designation is respected.

I'm never a big fan of college, I didn't feel like I learned a lot and it was very time consuming.

[Anonymous]

Just throwing it out there, getting the ideas floating. Are there internal auditing jobs that are floating around at the company because ever consider CIA? A lot of the people I work with couldn't handle CPA and became a CIA, a lot easier and the designation is respected.

I'm never a big fan of college, I didn't feel like I learned a lot and it was very time consuming.

[Anonymous]

Short version: Don't give up because you failed 3 exams, but do stop with the CPA if you don't feel that it will be useful for your career goals.

Long version: People fail more than 3 times and still end up passing the exam, so if you want to be a CPA, you can be a CPA. People also become CPAs and never work in public accounting (if their state doesn't require public experience). I worked in public accounting for about a year, then switched to private, and hope to never worked in public as a CPA, because I don't like public. I could work in public again if that was the only job available, but I'd rather stay in private. 🙂 Also, the job-search is hard right now, regardless of who you are or what job you're looking for. So, again, if you want to be a CPA, you can be…and if you need some public experience to become a CPA, you can – eventually – get a job in public.

But…if you don't want to work in public and don't particularly want to be a CPA, then it may not be worth the time, money, etc., to try to become one. An MBA is a valuable credential in private accounting, as is the CMA designation: https://www.imanet.org/cma_certification.aspx (or maybe the CGMA when it becomes available – hard to tell when it's still just an idea). With an MBA and CMA, I doubt you'd run into any positions in private that weren't available to you because you weren't a CPA. An MBA alone might still have some closed doors (since it's more education, but not any certifications), but I don't think you'd see too many problems. The last position I saw posted for higher accounting jobs in my area specified “CPA, MBA, or CMA”, so I figure that with 2 of the 3 you'd be in good shape! (2 of 3 is my plan – CPA and CMA…I'm too cheap for a MBA. 😉 )

Oh, and if you've got a 50% tuition reimbursement, I'd definitely try to take advantage of it while you can. Even if you decide to continue pursuing the CPA, I'd still work on the MBA, because if you can save approx $15,000 in tuition over the course of your degree, that's quite a nice bonus! Just think – if it took 2 years to complete the MBA, that's like an extra $7,500 per year, which is like another $3.60 per hour! However, do check to see if there are any repayment terms. I worked at a national bank which had an education reimbursement plan – I think it was something like up to $2,500 per year. However, if you left the company within a year, you had to repay 100% of it; within 2 years was 75%; 3 years 50%; etc., or something along those lines. Since this was the job that I had during the end of my undergrad years and I knew that I wanted to leave after graduation to get an accounting job, it wasn't such a great plan for me…so, just something to check into and make sure that you don't leave the company 2 years from now for your dream job, and find out that you have say $12,000 due to them immediately! One other thing – it's been too long since I took REG for me to remember the details, but there's some figure that is the limit for tax-free education reimbursements in a year. I want to say it's around $5,000 – maybe $5,200? Anything beyond that counts as income and is subject to income tax, so just an FYI. 🙂

My personal view on the MBA is that the cost doesn't pay itself back, but if I had 50% reimbursement offered to me, my view on that might change! Just consider what it will cost you and what it will pay back.

[Anonymous]

Short version: Don't give up because you failed 3 exams, but do stop with the CPA if you don't feel that it will be useful for your career goals.

Long version: People fail more than 3 times and still end up passing the exam, so if you want to be a CPA, you can be a CPA. People also become CPAs and never work in public accounting (if their state doesn't require public experience). I worked in public accounting for about a year, then switched to private, and hope to never worked in public as a CPA, because I don't like public. I could work in public again if that was the only job available, but I'd rather stay in private. 🙂 Also, the job-search is hard right now, regardless of who you are or what job you're looking for. So, again, if you want to be a CPA, you can be…and if you need some public experience to become a CPA, you can – eventually – get a job in public.

But…if you don't want to work in public and don't particularly want to be a CPA, then it may not be worth the time, money, etc., to try to become one. An MBA is a valuable credential in private accounting, as is the CMA designation: https://www.imanet.org/cma_certification.aspx (or maybe the CGMA when it becomes available – hard to tell when it's still just an idea). With an MBA and CMA, I doubt you'd run into any positions in private that weren't available to you because you weren't a CPA. An MBA alone might still have some closed doors (since it's more education, but not any certifications), but I don't think you'd see too many problems. The last position I saw posted for higher accounting jobs in my area specified “CPA, MBA, or CMA”, so I figure that with 2 of the 3 you'd be in good shape! (2 of 3 is my plan – CPA and CMA…I'm too cheap for a MBA. 😉 )

Oh, and if you've got a 50% tuition reimbursement, I'd definitely try to take advantage of it while you can. Even if you decide to continue pursuing the CPA, I'd still work on the MBA, because if you can save approx $15,000 in tuition over the course of your degree, that's quite a nice bonus! Just think – if it took 2 years to complete the MBA, that's like an extra $7,500 per year, which is like another $3.60 per hour! However, do check to see if there are any repayment terms. I worked at a national bank which had an education reimbursement plan – I think it was something like up to $2,500 per year. However, if you left the company within a year, you had to repay 100% of it; within 2 years was 75%; 3 years 50%; etc., or something along those lines. Since this was the job that I had during the end of my undergrad years and I knew that I wanted to leave after graduation to get an accounting job, it wasn't such a great plan for me…so, just something to check into and make sure that you don't leave the company 2 years from now for your dream job, and find out that you have say $12,000 due to them immediately! One other thing – it's been too long since I took REG for me to remember the details, but there's some figure that is the limit for tax-free education reimbursements in a year. I want to say it's around $5,000 – maybe $5,200? Anything beyond that counts as income and is subject to income tax, so just an FYI. 🙂

My personal view on the MBA is that the cost doesn't pay itself back, but if I had 50% reimbursement offered to me, my view on that might change! Just consider what it will cost you and what it will pay back.

[jkpoker1]

I'm really depressed about the cpa lol. I have scheduled to take AUD in like 1-2 months and I honestly just want to skip it. I think taking a long break and possibly re-taking the exam down the road with a proper study program could work wonders. I honestly think I need becker or another program just to get 75. I think BEC is the only section I can pass just using the wiley test book+test bank.

Also I just took BEC and got a 71 and honestly thought I passed. The exam became simple (I probably did poorly on the 1st testlet) and I feel like the writing section is (was) simple. Seeing the 71 really put me in a poor mood because I just want to get my 1st section out of the way.

Quest to be a CPA

BEC-74 (7/13),
REG- ?? (8/13)
AUD-TBA
FAR-TBA

[jkpoker1]

I'm really depressed about the cpa lol. I have scheduled to take AUD in like 1-2 months and I honestly just want to skip it. I think taking a long break and possibly re-taking the exam down the road with a proper study program could work wonders. I honestly think I need becker or another program just to get 75. I think BEC is the only section I can pass just using the wiley test book+test bank.

Also I just took BEC and got a 71 and honestly thought I passed. The exam became simple (I probably did poorly on the 1st testlet) and I feel like the writing section is (was) simple. Seeing the 71 really put me in a poor mood because I just want to get my 1st section out of the way.

Quest to be a CPA

BEC-74 (7/13),
REG- ?? (8/13)
AUD-TBA
FAR-TBA

[mla1169]

Let's try this another way. You've identified a bunch of external factors (failed exams, job rejections) but haven't mentioned what you WANT to do. Where do you see yourself in 5 years if things went exactly the way you want them to?

Then the course to follow should become clear.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[mla1169]

Let's try this another way. You've identified a bunch of external factors (failed exams, job rejections) but haven't mentioned what you WANT to do. Where do you see yourself in 5 years if things went exactly the way you want them to?

Then the course to follow should become clear.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

If you've already paid for AUD, then study like your life depends on it for the next 1-2 months and see how it goes. You *can* pass AUD with just the Wiley textbook and test bank. Not saying it will be easy, but it can be done. It's the section that people are most likely to ditch the lectures and switch to the Wiley book. (Not saying that you can only do it with Wiley, cause obviously people do it with all review courses…but just saying that I've seen more people do switch from lectures to Wiley for AUD than for any of the others.) So, read that book from cover to cover, and do every MCQ that you can get your hands on. I assume you're working full-time but sounds like a fairly low-stress, no-overtime job, so you should be able to study for this exam more than thoroughly in a month, definitely be very well-studied in 2 months. Then, when you have 1 pass under your belt, re-assess whether you want or need the CPA. If you hadn't already paid for AUD, I wouldn't say this…but since you have, go kick it where it hurts, and then you'll be able to see whether you are intimidated by the CPA exams or whether you are realizing that they are not essential for your career goals and plans.

[Anonymous]

If you've already paid for AUD, then study like your life depends on it for the next 1-2 months and see how it goes. You *can* pass AUD with just the Wiley textbook and test bank. Not saying it will be easy, but it can be done. It's the section that people are most likely to ditch the lectures and switch to the Wiley book. (Not saying that you can only do it with Wiley, cause obviously people do it with all review courses…but just saying that I've seen more people do switch from lectures to Wiley for AUD than for any of the others.) So, read that book from cover to cover, and do every MCQ that you can get your hands on. I assume you're working full-time but sounds like a fairly low-stress, no-overtime job, so you should be able to study for this exam more than thoroughly in a month, definitely be very well-studied in 2 months. Then, when you have 1 pass under your belt, re-assess whether you want or need the CPA. If you hadn't already paid for AUD, I wouldn't say this…but since you have, go kick it where it hurts, and then you'll be able to see whether you are intimidated by the CPA exams or whether you are realizing that they are not essential for your career goals and plans.

[Author]

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