[Anonymous]

I am 1 section away from completing the CPA exam. Now I am starting to think what will I do and where will I go next. I have 10+ years of experience in different fields of accounting of which 9 months in public accounting in my native country, 5 years abroad, and 5 years in my job here in US. I would appreciate any insights on which path I should take for my next career move.

1. Public accounting – I only have 9 months of non-US experience in audit and that was 10 years ago. What will be my chance of getting picked? I am a supervisor and I am heavily involved during audit in our company so I know the auditors, one of the partner, and a manager (email only, not personal). Will it be appropriate to contact them via email/linked and ask if they can fill me into any available position that I may fit in their firm?

2. Small CPA firms. Does applying to small CPA firm, a good idea too? I don’t have US experience in public accounting so I’m thinking I may have higher chance with them than the bigger firms. Maybe a good stepping stone?

3. Should I look into private industry as well? If I go private, what about the experience requirement for the CPA license? What factors should I consider in choosing which industry to go without leaving my dream of becoming a CPA?

[Anonymous]

Let me ask you a couple questions: What's your goal career wise (however specific or general your current goals are – “comfortable salary as a staff accountant” or “CFO of Caterpillar”)? And, what state are you in?

In some states, you can easily get your experience requirement met in private, and may be able to meet it with the 10 years of experience you already have; in others, you would be required to go public. So, part 2 and 3 of #3 is hard to answer without knowing your state. #1, #2, and part 1 of #3 really depend on what your goals and dreams are.

To just give an example from my story: I worked for a year in small-firm public accounting (wasn't even a CPA firm -just a guy who had done taxes and bookkeeping for 20+ years and had his own firm) – business acquaintance who was a CPA signed off on my experience (in KY, doesn't have to be supervisor – anyone who is a CPA can sign, regardless of your relationship) after I'd left that job and started one in private accounting. I'm now Controller at a college, which was my goal title-wise, and pretty well fulfills my other career objectives (reasonable compensation, awesome work/life balance, etc.). So for me, I got what I wanted with a combination of #2 and #3…but that was my dreams in my state; I don't know what your dreams are or what state you're in.

[Anonymous]

@Lilla First of all thanks for sharing your thoughts and your story! I live in VA. My ideal career (no specific title) is same as yours, reasonable compensation, work/life balance and a challenging role. Right now I'm flexible with my options. If I land on a job in public accounting, as a tax professional/accounting services, I am planning to start my own firm. If I get a job as auditor, I will stick around a little bit to build up more experience and probably go into private later (I noticed large companies prefer CPA and public accounting experience). I guess the real challenge for me is finding the (right) company to give me that chance.

I like hearing other people's advice/opinions based on their experiences.

[Author]

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