[Maverick]

I am a licensed CPA in my home state and I have three years of public accounting experience. I recently applied to a Big Four position and I am in the final round of interviews. However, I left off the first University that I attended as I flunked out due to poor grades. Will the Big Four ask for all previous college transcripts and will I be fired for leaving that off of my resume?

[SerenityNow]

My experience with this is that I worked for 2 of the Big 4. The first one I may have provided my transcript (can't quite remember but it would make sense for a new college hire), but the 2nd did not ask for my transcript. They do background checks, though. It is usually better to be forthright but your experience is probably enough. As long as your ending GPA is decent (which would include your bad college years) and your accounting core GPA is good, I bet they brush it off. I oddly had the third firm I work for request my transcript which pissed me off and put a bad taste in my mouth from the get go (I had 5 years experience at that point), did not end up staying there long. You may bring it up in your last interviews just so it doesn't apepar you were hiding it, but just provide an explanation.

[CPA1219]

Rest easy friend. Big4 use third-party background check firms to verify the information you provided, not perform an FBI investigation into your background. I omitted items from my resume and there were no issues.
It's a verification, not investigation. If you are actually qualified for the job, and elected only to put the job/academic items that substantiate your qualification, nobody will care. If I were a betting individual, I'd say there's a high likelihood you'll be just fine and stressing over nothing.

[monikernc]

I doubt they will care. You turned it around and it is history. It isn’t criminal and your subsequent colleges allowed you to move forward.

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

[AGI]

You are not required to list out all your colleges on your resume (just as you are not required to list all your jobs in your resume). I only provided what is needed to qualified my job. If your interview is not linked to your school (meaning you didn't get this job from your school), then they usually don't ask for your transcript. They usually ask for proof of education and certification, so your diploma and CPA license will be good enough.

Your second college usually ask for all your transcript when you are admitted, so your pervious credits are already being considered. It might not even be necessary to submit your second one if those credits were transferred.

—-
You do not have to mention any of these during your final round. HR is the one that will handle these problems. Your interviewer will not know these answers (nor do they care).

New York - NYC
Passed CPA Exam (11/2014)
In search for a position in NYC that will fulfills the license requirement.

[Author]

Replies