[a_rodriguez01]

Hello everyone. I’m curious to hear from CPAs whose certification has opened unexpected career paths.

My background:

Like many of you I entered the accounting field by accident. I come from a poor family and I took up accounting on the assumption that jobs in this field were plentiful. But I had no idea what an accounting career would entail. I struggled through my accounting courses but managed to get an Associates, then a Bachelors degree in accounting.

I did an accounting internship in a big international commercial bank in NYC, and that opened the doors to my subsequent 15 year career path in corporate banking. The prediction that jobs would be available turns out to have been true in my case.

Early in my career I took two parts of the CPA exam got a 74 and 71 in Auditing and Regulations, respectively. At that point I decided not to continue studying for the exam because I was convinced I did not want to go into public accounting. I was also convinced I wanted to pursue additional education in an unrelated field. Ironically, in college I only got A’s in my philosophy and literature courses. So I went back to school a couple years into my accounting career to study philosophy. Several years later I earned a Master’s degree studying philosophy and political theory, all the while working in corporate accounting, being married, having three children, and actively participating in outside volunteer work.

I’ve struggled all these years to see if there is any way I can pursue a career that allows me to use much of the knowledge I’ve gained in all the areas I’ve studied. It seems nearly impossible.

But recently I realized that entrepreneurship might be what I am searching for. And I also realized that the best way to start a business is to capitalize on what I have already been trained in. Which is why I plan on taking the CPA exam. CPAs have instant credibility and I believe that credibility will open up doors for me to maximize the skills and knowledge I’ve gained over the years in both my accounting and humanities studies. In case you’re wondering, in my current state of residence I can use the Masters degree I earned for the 150 credits, and my non-auditing experience is valid for licensure, and my non-auditing accounting background qualifies for the CPA experience requirements.

So,what do you all think? Does this seem like a reasonable way forward for me? Do you have any similar stories to share?

Thanks

AR

[Sang]

If you want to use your philosophy and political theory degree alongside your accounting degree, you can aim to work as a CEO, CFO, controller, or accounting manager for a Not-for-Profit company.

My first accounting job was at Goodwill Industries in my hometown, with a population of about 100,000 people.
The CEO was making over $130,000 a year. At the time, my goal was to replace him one day.

I suggest that you research to find some Not-for-Profit companies that you would be willing to volunteer for, and then see if they have any career opportunities.

Good luck!

FAR: (05/24/16) | (07/15/16) | (10/22/16)
AUD: (09/07/16) | (11/29/16) |
BEC: TBD
REG: TBD
Using Roger CPA Review + Ninja (MCQs, Notes, Audio)

[monikernc]

Hit the road as a public speaker in business/accounting ethics, logic, and critical thinking. I think companies would pay big bucks for you to speak to all levels of employees/mgmt/directors. Look into speaker's bureaus and start developing some content. If you would like this your background might be a good fit. You will need a youtube channel and a twitter account.

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[a_rodriguez01]

Thanks for the input. I'll definitely take it into consideration. I would love to hear some of your stories too.

[If I can, u can too!]

Thanks for opening up this topic a_rodriguez01. I had been curious myself too.

I'm reading some article and I'm seeing information system accounting being one of best options. Do any of you know what type of jobs this might be? I'm thinking accounting systems implementation/integration being one like helping to upgrade accounting system while ensuring data integrity/logic is robust?

My 1st degree was IT and have years of experience doing IT, mainly various systems admin. I had been an accountant for 2 years (financial reporting). Now with CPA, I'm contemplating what paths I should take.

Licensed CPA since Apr 16
Order in sequence of passing
FAR-71,71,79
BEC-80
REG-72,77
AUD-56,72,72,72,80! Thank you, thank you, thank you Lord!
FAR/BEC/AUD: Becker & Yaeger lectures (Wiley & Ninja MCQs). REG: Becker lectures (Ninja MCQs).

[monikernc]

hokinizeu, my background is IT so when you find a spot, save a space for me 🙂

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[If I can, u can too!]

monikernc, of course, will do for ya. i'll stay tuned for Jun 8. my projection says 94!

Licensed CPA since Apr 16
Order in sequence of passing
FAR-71,71,79
BEC-80
REG-72,77
AUD-56,72,72,72,80! Thank you, thank you, thank you Lord!
FAR/BEC/AUD: Becker & Yaeger lectures (Wiley & Ninja MCQs). REG: Becker lectures (Ninja MCQs).

[monikernc]

thanks for the vote of confidence but it will be nowhere close to that score. i am just hoping for a pass on this to be done. i am still studying everyday.

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Andyred04]

hokinizeu/monikernc, I'm not sure if this is exactly what you had in mind but I know there are IT auditors in public practice. I used to work at a bank and we would have our external auditors (who were specialized in computer systems) come in and try to do stuff like breakdown our firewall, access our databases, access private customer information, etc. and then issue an audit report on what they were able to do.

It seemed pretty interesting but definitely not something someone without an IT background could do. I’m sure all large accounting firms have these types of engagement teams. Maybe that’d be something to look into.

FAR: 80 (Gleim, Ninja Notes, Ninja MCQs)
REG: 87 (Gleim, Ninja Notes, Ninja MCQs)
BEC: 87 (Gleim, Ninja Notes, Ninja MCQs)
AUD: 8/27/16

PA Candidate

[If I can, u can too!]

@Andyred04 appreciate your input, sounds more like a cyber-security/IT type job. cyber-security definitely is the future.

Licensed CPA since Apr 16
Order in sequence of passing
FAR-71,71,79
BEC-80
REG-72,77
AUD-56,72,72,72,80! Thank you, thank you, thank you Lord!
FAR/BEC/AUD: Becker & Yaeger lectures (Wiley & Ninja MCQs). REG: Becker lectures (Ninja MCQs).

[a_rodriguez01]

Thanks again for the comments. The suggestions about doing non-profit work is interesting. I definitely have an interest in education in general. I could see myself as a key contributor to something like a start-up school. Again, I've already worked in the accounting field. I'm just looking to see if it makes sense to get my CPA for the purpose of moving beyond accounting per se.

[Sang]

Maybe you can build a charter school?

FAR: (05/24/16) | (07/15/16) | (10/22/16)
AUD: (09/07/16) | (11/29/16) |
BEC: TBD
REG: TBD
Using Roger CPA Review + Ninja (MCQs, Notes, Audio)

[Author]

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