[Anonymous]

Hi, can someone give me advice. So I don’t have an accounting degree. I have an economics degree. I’ve been a finance manager/sr analyst in my 10+ years of work experience. I’ve been debating whether to pursue a MBA (con- very expensive) or CPA (pro- less expensive, con- cheaper but not guaranteed to pass). If I take the required accounting classes and hours from an online school, will that be sufficient to help prep for the exams? Has anyone out there gotten their CPA after taking online courses.

[j_accountant]

I'm really wondering what OP ended up doing. I am also planning on taking the exam with absolutely no accounting experience. Hardcore science background with plenty of test taking experience.

[Tim]

You need to take accounting courses just to qualify to take the exam. You may as well do a MSA program and then take it. That's what I did although I made the mistake of putting off the CPA exam for like 4 years instead of doing it right when I graduated. I looked at MBA but it didn't seem worth all the extra courses I would have had to take over the MSA program.

Also make sure to get quality internships while you're in school. Particularly in the case of the big four, your chance of being hired plummets once you're out of school.

[Ne’O]

I largely agree with Aaronmo, Missy, and Tim.
You can basically buy an MBA – you're going to work for a CPA.
These days in many states you need complete half an MBA to become a CPA.

I started the CPA pursuit with about 15 years of finance & trading operations experience, plus a half dozen NASD (FINRA) licenses. I nightschooled an exec MBA program while my wife was getting MBA. Still, as a former science major, I was forced to take years of undergrad accounting, statistics, law courses, and complete a masters. Even with my science background and most of an MBA complete, I was required to take one more CS course before they'd let me sit for the exams. With over 200 college hours, they still dismissed enough of my science college work that it was a little touch and go at the state level to meet all their required ticklist when getting the CPA.

Over 25 years, Times change: collectively an undergrad Ivy league education, Ivy league MBA, CFA, and CPA- the CPA was the longest grind. As someone said, in the end you are basically super cramming for several final exams to be taken in a 4 or 5 hour exam. Then you will do it at least 3 more times.

The MBA and CFA are somewhat in decline, having seen their top pre Great Recession. No, not even a top Ivy MBA is that special anymore. George W. Bush had one, but I wouldn't hire him for my company's needs. Historically the CPA is least respected, as it was much easier to get pre govt regulation and there are still many pre Sarbanes ones around. When we hire an auditor, first thing I check is whether the auditor got their license pre or post Sarbanes. It tells me much about the level of competence to expect. But those will be your seniors for another decade or two.
I can say with confidence that there will be a shortage of CPAs in the long run. Govt regulation requires them on so many levels, in the USA, Canada, and internationally. It will take a decade before people don't think of CPAs as primarily people who do taxes.

When push comes to shove, I'd rather hire a CPA.

Newbie CPA Candidate

[Anonymous]

Ne'0 – You have ivy league degrees and CFA ?

[Anonymous]

CFA is definitely lot more challenging and more prestigious than CPA. Anyone currently studying for it here? If so, what material are you guys using?

[Anonymous]

I'd go for the CPA if I were you. As some others have said, MBA is a rather useless degree that can, for a price, be obtained by any idiot. I hate to say that, but these days it's true.
It has much, much less prestige as a credential than it once did. The CPA carries more weight because you have to pass these 4 godawful exams – but if you have a good memory and can remember a lot of material, and if you have the prerequisite academic hours and degrees that your state requires, you can take the CPA exams. If I were a hiring manager and I saw that you had an MBA, I wouldn't think much of it. If I saw that you had a CPA **and** some really good work experience to go along with it, your resume would be at the top of the stack. Mind you, there are a lot of dumb CPAs out there, just like there are a lot of dumb MBA's out there. What you do with your knowledge and experience paints the whole picture, not merely credentials. Although, CPA currently is considered one of the best ones to have. You are probably correct in that CPA is cheaper. Assuming you get a review course, that will be somewhere between $1 and 3 thousand dollars. I'd recommend Gleim for $1,000 – it's access 'til you pass. Assuming you pass all four exams on the first try, that will run you another thousand dollars or so, between what you pay to NASBA to take the tests and what you pay to your state board for their fees. Then after you pass, I think it's another few hundred bucks for background checks and fingerprinting and such. All in all, it could cost as little as a few thousand. Isn't an MBA like 15-20K minimum? Too rich for my blood. Like some others, I did both online and community college courses. All told, it probably cost me about $8K for my education.

[Author]

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