[FPAnalyst]

I have a BA in Accounting and currently work as a Sr. Financial Analyst at an automotive firm in Detroit. Before this, I worked in Big 4 audit. I made the switch because I decided I liked corporate finance more than public accounting and corporate accounting.

I was thinking about doing a part-time MBA at my local university (University of Michigan) to advance my education while also moving me up to management. It will be fully paid for by my employer and is also the 6th best program in the country, so it’s pretty much a no brainer decision.

After I complete the MBA, I will have enough credits to sit for the CPA license. But will having the CPA/MBA combo be worth anything in the corporate finance field? I’m curious to know where (or in what kind of jobs) it will give me a leg up.

There’s also the CMA certificate, which seems to be just as respected as the CPA and is also more applicable to the corp. finance field in general. Would that be a better option?

Any advice? In what jobs would I have a leg up? What can I do with a CPA/MBA or CMA/MBA combo? Also, what salaries could I expect?

[Herd1101]

Agree with a previous poster, only worth it if someone else is paying for it. One thing it may do is make you eligible for a position that might be outside of the Finance dept that has a masters degree as required criteria. I would think many employers would value the CPA as a Masters equivalent but the MBA could potentially help in this instance.

FAR: 80 Feb-16
AUD: 81 April-16
BEC: 81 June-16
REG: Sept-16

[Jason]

@ FPAnalyst, although A71 is a good forum for accounting-related information.

Care to take a look at https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums ?
The information from the posters over there do have a tinge of elitist vibe, but the information sure does open a spectrum of reality of finance careers.

Filled with uncertainty, the treacherous journey has begun.

FAR: 02/06/16
AUD: 05/21/16
BEC: TBD
REG: TBD

[ohiostategirlcpa]

It does not really matter who is paying for the degree/classes. They don't give you better or worse professors and classmates if someone different than you pays your tuition. In general, nobody in the classes/cohort has any idea who pays your tuition, and few would care if they knew.

F91 A95 R90 B94
CMA since 2015
(Gleim books/PDFs, MCQs, SIMS)

[ScarletKnightCPA]

People are mentioning having someone else pay for your tuition because they are referring to return on your investment, not that it makes the academic rigor of the MBA superior or inferior.

Far: 76 (Wiley Test Bank)
Aud: 77 (Wiley Test Bank)
Reg: 61, 76 (Wiley book, Wiley Test Bank)
Bec: 86 (Wiley Test Bank)

MBA in progress

[ohiostategirlcpa]

A degree (and education in general) is not a financial investment. Colleges will not pay anyone back after you (or your employer) hands over the tuition money. To think that colleges will pay you back more than you gave them is an absurdity, when they won't even refund your original money.

Generally it is considered a service: they'll say that gave you a service (learning) in exchange for the money.

F91 A95 R90 B94
CMA since 2015
(Gleim books/PDFs, MCQs, SIMS)

[GHardesty]

@ScarletKnightCPA – Did I misinterpret the main question? If I did, hopefully it is a value add anyways. I would still advise, in this case, that the CPA plus audit experience is sufficient for financial management positions (and more). Even if the MBA is fully paid for, there would still be an element of time to the equation. As a part time student it could take upward of 2 years to complete. How long do you need to keep seeking additional credentials? University of Michigan (Ann Arbor area) would be a tough one, since it is a higher ranking program. I would still say that his current credentials are enough, unless there is an additional purpose to complete the MBA program (i.e. status, networking etc.). It's not a necessity at this point, it is more of a luxury item – a 2-3 year one.

AUD 80 05/31/16 (1x)
BEC 80 01/16/16 (3x)
FAR 78 11/23/15 (2x)
REG 87 02/29/16 (2x)

[GHardesty]

AUD 80 05/31/16 (1x)
BEC 80 01/16/16 (3x)
FAR 78 11/23/15 (2x)
REG 87 02/29/16 (2x)

[GHardesty]

@ohiostategirlcpa,

Yep – they're services rendered in exchange for cash. Services rendered via an educational institution does not satisfy the criteria to considered a financial investment of any kind in a technical sense. However, the intentions of the payments is to receive services that boost the marketability of the student once he/she graduates so that the career field of choice becomes available when that wasn't before. Nobody is suggesting that the college or university attended is going to pay former students back. There are so many people that have a lot of student debt and I hope they chose degrees that provide higher incomes to pay for the debt burden for the services.

AUD 80 05/31/16 (1x)
BEC 80 01/16/16 (3x)
FAR 78 11/23/15 (2x)
REG 87 02/29/16 (2x)

[Missy]

With a few exceptions, an education is obtained in the hopes of increasing earning potential. A few people truly seek the education as nothing more than a personal goal, but far more see it as a means to improve their standard of living-retire earlier, better home, better vacations, etc. This is the assumption when talking about ROI for an education. If it doesn't apply, it doesn't apply. But if it is the motivation, the expense of grad school is generally not recuperated in income for decades, if ever. Education is usually considered an investment, not many MBA's will accept a minimum wage job, they expect a position with a salary commensurate with their credentials as their return.

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

[ohiostategirlcpa]

ROI analysis involves an investor, an investment, an entity, and a return from the entity. For example a stock holder gives cash or property to a company, which then works with the cash/property to produce a financial return which goes back to the investor.

Which is the investor and which is the entity in the case of education, if the college is not in the picture? And how could the college not be in the picture, when they receive the money (investment)?

Are you saying that you are the investor and the entity in the same package?

F91 A95 R90 B94
CMA since 2015
(Gleim books/PDFs, MCQs, SIMS)

[Missy]

You're correct that the term ROI is a misnomer. The point is, the money spent on a MBA will not necessarily correlate to a proportional increase in salary.

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

[Anonymous]

“There's also the CMA certificate, which seems to be just as respected as the CPA and is also more applicable to the corp. finance field in general. Would that be a better option?”
I was interested in the CMA for awhile, but came to the conclusion that as far as I could tell, it wasn't nearly as well-known or well-respected as the CPA. It's also more expensive to maintain (at least in my state, the renewals fees for the CPA are significantly less than the IMA's renewal fees). So, I decided to go for the CPA instead of the CMA since the CPA is still the “gold standard” accounting certification. I'm not really interested in public accounting, my career has been mostly in (and I plan to stay in) private account, so the CMA would have been more focused on the field that I want a career in…but the CMA isn't well known and the CPA is. So, I would advise for CPA over CMA if you want to get an accounting designation.

As for whether the CPA will add value over the MBA or not, I'm not as familiar with the finance job market as the accounting one, but I think the CPA will still be valuable. I've considered moving to finance and the finance job postings I've seen have often asked for MBA and CPA, or asked for MBA or CPA, so I think both are regarded highly in finance. This would lead me to think that the combo would be beneficial, along with appropriate experience of course.

[fuzyfro89]

“Fuzy, could you name some “top corporate finance” jobs out there?”
A position at a company that regularly hires students from top-MBA programs in finance. Many “leadership development programs” fall in here for finance MBA students (GE, Amazon, Microsoft, General Motors, Delta Airlines, Google, and many others). Of course, if there's a certain industry you are interested in, that should be at the top of your list. Most corporate finance jobs are not widely known given there simply aren't that many alumni compared to other professions leaving (ex. consultants and bankers from top consulting firms and banks). Through firsthand knowledge, these programs all hire from top 25 MBA programs (many even more concentrated on top programs) and also pay top dollar.

“At the moment, my main goal is to stay within corp. finance and become an FP&A Manager at a large corporation. Would the CPA/MBA combo help me do that? My current plan is to get the MBA –> pass the CPA exam –> move up to FP&A manager or some other management role in corp. finance. Would that work?”
Yes, a CPA or accounting/financial reporting/financial analysis experience is needed to get into FP&A. It's possible to also do this with just a top MBA, CPA & MBA, or neither. For what it's worth, promotion to the “manager” level at most companies and beyond depends more on you proving yourself at the senior analyst (post MBA) level than any certifications.

In my experience, once you already work for a company, your network and job performance will get you promoted FAR FAR FAR (no pun intended) sooner than a degree or CPA. The degree and certifications are nice to have, but won't get you to manager and beyond without being a strong performer. I currently work at one of those companies listed above and have seen senior analysts come into the finance rotation program and get promoted to manager (in various finance functions) in 2 – 5 years. Some leave and get promotions at new companies, but the range is wide. Corporate is a very different animal than public accounting, consulting, or banking, because it's not an “up or out” path.

[ScarletKnightCPA]

@ohiostategirlcpa

You're being kind of overly obtuse and technical of the phrase ROI. The point is that you are doing your education for increase in future earnings. If the cost of the education is greater than or not much less than the discounted future cash flows that has resulted due to your education, then it may not be worth your time from a purely monetary perspective. If the cost is lowered, say by tuition reimbursement, then it may be worth your time from a monetary perspective.

Far: 76 (Wiley Test Bank)
Aud: 77 (Wiley Test Bank)
Reg: 61, 76 (Wiley book, Wiley Test Bank)
Bec: 86 (Wiley Test Bank)

MBA in progress

[Missy]

No, obtuse would be pointing out that ROI is simply an equation. It is (gain from investment-cost of investment)/cost of investment and that it is absolutely the correct terminology because gain from investment= increase in earnings as a result of the MBA and cost of investment is tuition. No tuition expended=better ROI period. Nothing in the ROI demands that we identify entities, etc.

You can go deeper and identify entities, etc. But that is a specific type of analysis and not the definition.

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

[Author]

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