[sums]

I am a International graduate, passed my CPA tests and have a lil less than two years of experience. I have been working for small firms and my experience has only been with state and local governments and NPO audits. Now, after being done with my CPA I want to get into one of the Big 4s. The question is would it be a best choice to go back to school, get a MBA and go through college recruiting to land a job with them? I went to school out of country so I don’t have any connections with alumni or anything else that I can use for referrals. What is the best approach for someone like me? Sending in online resumes won’t help at all.Anybody out here who can help me make a decision? Some insights would be really appreciated.

Thank you

AUD84,FAR82,BEC77,Reg79

[potatogun]

A masters is not a requirement for audit. Given the 150unit requirement for some states though it can make sense for students.

If you were not able to get into big4 from undergrad, the masters can make sense if you don't have any public experience. It is difficult to get into big4 as an entry-level if you don't have the public experience to help you transition.

And sums I work for a big4 in california.

FAR 92 - AUD 91 - REG 94 - BEC 86

[sums]

I do have some public accounting experience. And I seriously dont want to go back to school. I will try networking and talking to people for sometime and see where it goes.

AUD84,FAR82,BEC77,Reg79

[numbercruncher]

Sums,

What does it have to be a big4? I worked at a mid-size (about 150 CPAs) firm and I have to say I got to work on EVERYTHING tax, audit, you name it, it gives you great experience. Going from a small firm to a huge firm may be difficult but try working your way up.

Also the big4 does do a lot of government contracting (at least in my area) so if you have government experience you could go in as a contractor to get your foot in the door – this will depend on your area.

Maryland Candidate:
REG: 73(11/2010) 84 (01/2011)
BEC: 65 (5/11) 01/22: 79!!
AUD: 85 (08/2011) FAR: 81 (11/2011)

[sums]

Numbercruncher,

I want to get into Big4s because as I have seen BRAND NAMES do matter. Also because I am trying to get out of governmental and npos. I want to gain experience in for profit and publicly listed audits or atleast gain industry experience in a publicly listed company. I am actually trying to get out of what I am doing right now.

AUD84,FAR82,BEC77,Reg79

[jeff]

Plenty of my classmates went Big 4 and I didn't go to a name brand school. From my impression then – and then working with Big 4 alums (who got out because they hated life), Big 4 firms want someone with a high CPA as a benchmark and then ultimately it's how you present yourself and how you interact with others that gets you the job.

A high GPA gets your foot in the door – then it's on you from there on out.

Just my impression…

The short answer to your question is no – you don't go back to school to get your big name MBA and $50k+ in debt to show for it.

[sums]

Thanks for the reply Jeff. After getting insights from so many people here I get the point. And no I am not going back to school instead I am working on networking and trying to talk to people of interest. I have started off with LinkedIn, have contacted 3 BIG 4 recruiters so far, haven't heard from any. I didn't ask for a job directly, gave a brief introduction about myself and asked if I could add them to my network.. non of them replied.

AUD84,FAR82,BEC77,Reg79

[Author]

Replies