[Fibi]

I need your advise to decide if I should go for an MAcc or give myself a try with CPA. I look for a chance to get into accounting/finance and work in industry. I am an international and just moved to the US with not much experience in accounting but only have some work experience in accounting clerk and investment banking. I have an MBA in Marketing and BA in Finance and banking from outside of the Us. I have enough business credits but I need 21 more credit hours in accounting to meet the requirement at my state for the CPA exam. Thus, I wonder if I should go for a MAcc to get accounting credits, to have chance to attend career events, networking and a good internship to get my foot into the accounting. Or I should take some extra courses online from UNA for example to meet the requirement and prepare for the CPA and hopefully to get a job after pass the exams. Thanks a ton!

[waffle_house]

In my opinion, MAcc is a waste of money (no one cares if you have a masters in accounting). Just get your extra credits at a community college and take the cpa exam. You can still attend career events and network if you look around because you are never promised a job either path.

[Fibi]

Thanks Waffel_house. I do not think I should compare a MAcc to a CPA. I just still cant be sold for CPA because I do not like Audit and public accounting but prefer a financial accounting/financial analysis/ Corporate finance part. But anyway, for its reputation and demand, CPA I am in.

[Anonymous]

A 3rd option to consider would be getting a Bachelors in Accounting from a US School to get the Accounting credits that you need and to get exposure to the networking events, etc. It would be cheaper than the MAcc and might provide the job opportunities that you seek, while also getting the Accounting credits that you need to be eligible for the CPA exam.

Usually I would advise against a MAcc, especially as a 2nd Master's, and especially without job experience. However, given that you need the additional credits to sit for the exam, and given that you also feel the need for the job resources, it might be an OK option if you can find a cheap one that is heavily recruited. If not, though, I would definitely encourage finding cheaper options (online courses like UNA or LSU, or community college courses) to complete the credits, because I don't think a MAcc will really add much to your resume beyond what a Bachelor's and MBA already have done.

[Sand Wraith]

To be honest if you don't like auditing nor financial accounting meaning doing entries and preparing statements then why would you consider CPA? Add to that your Bachelor's degree is in banking and investing so why not consider CFA? Or if you want something that doesn't need as much time you could look into CMA.

AUD ... Passed
REG ... Passed
FAR ... Passed
BEC ... Passed

I'm Done!!

[Fibi]

@Lilla Thanks! I never thought about that 3rd option you mentioned but now I will look to see if any school accepts transfer credits from my previous degrees. If not I ll go with those online courses.


@San Wraith Thanks! I thought about taking CFA back in 2006-2009 when I was in investment banking and but I think investment banking is not for me. Now I want to be in financial accounting/corporate finance in industry. Regarding CMA, I plan to take it after getting the CPA, as a boost for the accounting/finance management part.

[Missy]

CPA is in demand in industry as well. I've never worked a day in public accounting but am a finance manager in manufacturing. Your best bet is to look at job listings for the types of jobs you prefer. Very often even for those types of jobs you'll see cpa preferred. Even if the listing doesn't say as much, often having the cpa is a point of interest that can get your foot in the door for a fraction of what a MACC would cost.

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

[Fibi]

@mla11692 Thank so much! Your advice energizes up my confidence ^^. I did see plenty of positions such as entry lever of Staff accountant, Financial analysis, treasury analysis, controller etc prefer CPA. So, I think I will get on the CPA part then will use it to try to bridge the gap of not having much experience in my background. Fingers cross.

[Missy]

Just make sure of your state's requirement for licensure, every state is different and some absolutely require Public experience while others will accept industry accounting experience.

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

[mystical guy]

I think your first thing you need to do is performing feasibility analysis – how confident are you about getting through the CPA without a MAcc, given that you don't have a Bachelor's in Accounting from the US? The CPA is challenging for a lot of people, some of whom have a MAcc (US) and great GPA (I know because some of the people I took the MAcc with gave up on CPA because they failed too many times).

If you feel very confident that you can tackle the exam without a US MAcc, I would say that's your best and cheapest option. MBA is overrated, unless you get it from an Ivy League school. I know because a couple of MBA holders were working as Customer Service at my old job.

Good luck with your decision. Just remember, don't do something you're not passionate about unless you have to. Also remember that many companies don't like to sponsor international students who don't have a work-permit/green card. Be prepared for that, if you don't have either work permit or green card.

CPA - Since 2015
CISA - Smashed 2012
CIA - Passed 2015

[Fibi]

@mla11692 Again thanks! In my current state they require 1 year of experience but do not strictly from public accounting experience. But I will double check this. And I do not plan to stay here long since the job market seems limited to me. So, I plan to take the exam in my current state but not sure where next to be licensed.
@Mystical guy You bring up many thoughtful points to me. I so appreciate! Currently, I do not have so much confidence if I can pass the CPA exams. Thus, I plan to take courses to meet the education requirement and at the same time practice and take the exam of that part. For example, I plan to take Financial reporting I,II,III (UNA) in the first quarter, 2016 then take FAR in April. Then if I make it through FAR maybe Audit courses and AUD, etc.
And I agree with you about the MBA.
Now, I think with my current background I will have to do what helps me become more competitive and appealing to recruiters to get a good job in this field. And luckily, I have the green card so do not have to deal with extra headache of working permit.

[Author]

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