[atabiaka]

Hello everyone!
Just a week ago i found out that i passed all 4 exams. it took me 6 months and i hoped that once i pass i’d have a raise in my salary pretty fast. However, after i talked to my employer I found out that evaluation will be only in the end of November, at best! I am currently at $50K salary, i have over 2.5 years experience (under CPA supervisor), i am taking my last two classes for license requirements.
I do have options to interview for positions with a $65-75K salary. While i feel like i want to see what my employer can offer to me before i move somewhere else, i feel very disappointed that i have to wait at least till the end of November (knowing my office i think it will take longer). Also, i think my boss, as CPA herself, does realize that i expect raise and that i do have some other opportunities.
In addition, i have more responsibilities now!
So i guess my question is whether i am jumping the gun and it’s normal waiting window of two months or i should do something and maybe move on.
Thanks!

[CPA CMA]

I received my certificate like a month ago but nothing happened yet…

Master of Professional Accountancy (MPA) 12/17/2014

BEC 76 (10/3/14)
FAR 75 (10/24/14)
REG 83 (4/6/15)
AUD 75 (4/20/15)
Anticipated Licensure: August 2016

CMA part 1 passed (6/15/15)
CMA part 2 Passed (9/4/15)
Anticipated Licensure: August 2017

[SaveBandit]

I work in industry also, and I got a high 5 for passing…which begs the question, are any of y'all hiring?

Also, the Robert Half guide makes me LOL. I can't speak for other areas, but for my city, it is way, way out there. I have no idea where they get their “averages” from, but they are way too high. A local CPA firm here in town publishes a yearly guide that is much more realistic in terms of ranges.

4 for 4

FAR 85
AUD 94
BEC 86
REG 90

[bhunt815]

If your employer doesn't value your CPA designation then you need to find a new employer. That's like saying they don't value a college education. This is something I worked hard for, and I WILL be compensated for it. Fortunately, my employer understands that. My raise will be in the 20-30% range (we are still negotiating) but I don't really know if that's normal.

FAR 04/11/2016 - 84
AUD 05/12/2016 - 79
BEC 07/06/2016 - 81
REG 08/29/2016

[Anonymous]

The Robert Half guides are way off. I have been searching for a job and finally just found another. The RH salary guides are very inflated.

When I was in industry and my supervisor found out I was pursuing my CPA they flat out told me that I would not get more money for being certified. My raises came with job changes. The highest I got was a 20% raise after leaving a Big 4 firm for industry. For my company, the audit committee pushed for certifications because then we could do a lot more of the testwork that our external auditors needed and they could rely on our testing. This actually saved them a lot of money in the long run.

As the person above noted, I don't think that getting the CPA means that you are entitled to a raise and if you do not get a raise then your employer does not value you. It really comes down to what Lilla mentioned, what more do you bring to the table. It's the same as being in public accounting. No one gets a raise for having their CPA. The CPA designation becomes of value when you get to manager level because a lot of firms will not promote you to manager without your CPA. Some you won't even make it to senior. When I was interviewing I had one Director tell me that seeing someone having a CPA does not mean they are going to be good at the job. He said that to him that just tells him that person is a good test taker, it does not make you a better employee as compared to someone who does not have their CPA.

[Anonymous]

Congratulations on passing the exam. I also passed the exam this year and I got my CPA license. I'm expecting a 2-3% raise for 2017.

I don't expect to stay very long after they pay annual bonuses at the end of Q1. 😀

[mvhoover]

I wanted to bump this one to 2020 to see what people's thoughts are: I am told that once I pass at my firm, they do not really give any big raise. They sort of just expect people to become a CPA. The problem is, that there hasn't been a new CPA here for over 7 years.

My question to everyone is this: Once I am licensed here in the next few months (give or take if I passed my last one a few weeks back or have to retake it in April) should I leverage my new position for a pay raise which I think is competitive for a CPA? Meaning, should I get an offer from another company, and then go to my employer and ask for something similar to keep me here? It would take at least a $5,000 bump to get me to stay (They normally only give 3% a year which is ~$2,000 or so) ideally, I would like to get closer to a $10,000 bump in the next two years or so. Or should I just go straight into the market of looking for another job and not even bother trying to get a nice raise while in public accounting?

I hate to be this way, but I have mouths to feed and we recently bought a home. While I love budgeting, I do not believe I can wait 2-3 more years for a salary bump that I could get this year by changing jobs over the private sector. I am at small/medium Tax firm in Texas and am completing my third busy season (1 as an auditor, 2nd year in tax). I actually really enjoy the outlook of my career at the current firm. I like that I can build my own clientele and that they pay overtime wages during tax season. However, they do not really do the whole “senior” or “manager” thing here. I worry that I am selling myself short by not getting leadership experience in these early years. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated! Since I know people will ask, I will say that my current salary falls somewhere in the 55-60k range. Benefits are terrible. Healthcare is expensive at the firm.

[jombe]

Based on my experience at >200 employees firm, we didn't get any major bumps for getting your CPA. They did reimburse you for all the costs & gave youa 3k bonus I think when you passed the exams (I passed before I joined this firm, so I don't have first hand knowledge).
–
Only time you got a major bump is when you made manager and you couldn't make manager w/o your license, so… yeah. If you are looking for a major bump, definitely get out of public and go private. Problem w/ this route though is you don't get major bumps in private either after you make the switch, so make sure you negotiate your starting salary to the point where you think you can happily work for at least 2 more years w/o much raises.

FAR - 94 (10/4/15), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
AUD - 99 (1/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
REG - 96 (4/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
BEC - 91 (7/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ

581 days of listening to lectures, reading texts & 10,000+ MCQs...

[fuzyfro89]

@Mvhoover:
Same experience as the last poster, from a large firm (big 4, and national/large regional firms from friends who told me) that passing the CPA was sort of expected during your first couple of years. Many had just finished Masters programs and took the summer to knock out all or a few sections, and that expectation was that you'd be a CPA.

With that said, your market value DOES increase once you have a CPA license (not just exams passed, although that's a step forward too) and 1-3 years of experience to be fairly marketable to other accounting firms as well as industry positions. Smaller firms can be less structured sometimes, so you have to negotiate vs. having the path somewhat laid out for you.

I'd frame that conversation as part of ongoing feedback/coaching/goal setting with your manager(s) and owners. Think of the goal setting both in terms of skill development, work efficiency, you progressing to have a CPA license, as well as growing your career and ask how they view compensation as a part of that. Some people get all weird talking about money, but if you put it in the right context, it's a sensible conversation, and then managers know that it's something on your mind. They'll (eventually) need to get back with you on some sort of future targets or estimates, knowing that if they blow you off then eventually you will have to look elsewhere. So long as the firm is doing reasonably well, the owners are not clueless, and you are performing at your job, they should be open to that dialogue. They won't negotiate necessarily at once, but much more likely to be willing to come and set up some mutual goals on a 3, 6 and 12 month basis.

[NYSCPA]

When I first started at my current job, I was explicitly told “Getting your CPA license will not translate into an auto increase in compensation” – My response was, “While I completely understand that “having a piece of paper” doesn't translate for me internally/here, it does increase my marketability externally.” The rest is self explanatory.

@Mvhoover You are essentially asking for a 10% pay bump which isn't uncommon/unreasonable. Realistically you could put yourself on the market and see what other firms are offering a CPA with 2-3years of experience.

Unfortunately, these situations really boil down to, The market says I'm worth XYZ, either you are willing to pay me that or your not. Be mindful to make apples to apples comparisons. A CPA with 2-3years of experience at a small 2 partner firm, shouldn't expect to make what a CPA with 2-3years of experience at a Big 4 firm makes, given the difference in work (hours/clients) and firm revenue

[Author]

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