[Mmilito]

Hey, so I’m doing this CPA exam and currently am a bank teller, I kinda of get the feeling this is maybe a red herring and I don’t know if without the experience I’ll even find anything should I pass all four parts…Any thoughts?

I got this impression from seeing the posting here about the accounting job interview tips

FAR 92
AUD 91
BEC 11/06/2011
REG 02/01/2012

[rknight21]

are you in college? and whats your age?

[Mmilito]

28 and just finished college last month

FAR 92
AUD 91
BEC 11/06/2011
REG 02/01/2012

[Minimorty]

Why would you not pass them? Do you think you will be more marketable without having passed them? If you want to get into accounting, pass the exams. If you want to be a bank teller all your life, then I wouldnt waste your time taking the exam.

[Anonymous]

It can be difficult to get a job in public accounting if you've been out of college and didn't go through the recruiting process, but in my experience, there are ALWAYS accounting jobs in the private industry, and its easier to get a job at a local firm if you are interested in public accounting. If you are worried about job security after passing the exam and worried that you might not find a job after passing…then i would recommend you look up some job statistics for the fasted growing fields and unemployment rates per field. In my opinion, accounting is one of the BEST career fields to get into because ALL business organizations-corporate, not for profit, governmental- need accountants! And the job market is even better if you are a CPA because the accounting regulations are only going to get more complex, not less, and businesses will need CPAs to help them with financial reporting.

[Mmilito]

Well the whole thing is not passing them (because I think I can, no matter what difficulties I have from them) I question the benefits from passing them, I guess that's the difference

FAR 92
AUD 91
BEC 11/06/2011
REG 02/01/2012

[mla1169]

I have no intention of going into public accounting (I'm far too old to make that big a career change LOL) , its just not my thing. However I want to be promotable to the level of a corporate accounting manager, or controller and the CPA designation is definately a plus in many fields even without public experience. Go check out the monster board or any other job search engine and use the keyword CPA. You will be surprised at how many types of jobs prefer the status.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

Do you really think all these people would sacrifice as much as we have, and worked so hard, for so long, just to obtain the CPA designation, if we felt like it wasn't going to be worth it?!?!

If you want to work in public accounting, then you HAVE to pass the exam and fulfill the requirements to get that license. Period. There is NO WAY to work in public accounting without it. If you want to move up in the banking industry, then no, you dont need it and it wont benefit you at all.

If you want to just work as a staff accountant, AP clerk, or bookkeeper forever, then you probably dont need the CPA then either.

But if you ever want to work as an accounting manger, controller, CFO…then yes, it is worth it!

[Anonymous]

” If you want to move up in the banking industry, then no, you dont need it and it wont benefit you at all.”

I can't really agree with that. Having a CPA and moving up to branch manager might be irrelevant, but having a CPA and landing a staff accounting position within your bank would be a good start to making your way up the ladder to a controller/regional accounting manager. My previous employer's controller AND accounting manager were NOT CPAs, which made me shake my head quite a bit.

I'm just curious though, where did you get your undergraduate degree? I actually landed my public accounting job through my undergrad program AFTER I got my MST from a different school. Don't forget about your Alma Mater's resources.

[kandisjoy]

This really isn't the point of this post – but I just thought I'd chime in since I can relate to the post by blake.justin.smith.

I'm a staff accountant at a community bank (publicly traded). I don't have my CPA license yet, but my boss (the controller) and his boss (the CFO) are both CPAs and are pressuring me to get my license. A CPA license can definitely help you move up in the world in the banking industry. 🙂 I know for a fact that my intention to obtain my license is one of the reasons that I landed this job. The fact that both the controller and the CFO are CPAs should tell you that a CPA license counts in this industry!

I currently do the financial reporting to the FDIC and FRB for the bank, and I also assist in our SEC reporting. I also do a lot of other reconciliations, but financial reporting is my main function. The knowledge that I have picked up from the CPA exam has definitely helped me out here.

FAR: 71, 77
BEC: 70, 82
AUD: 62, 78
REG: 71, 68, 85

CA Licensed 11/2011

[hilaryh_88]

Hi Mmilito:

I'm currently a bookkeeper for a few people and also for my family's plumbing company. I don't have any children yet and plan to be a stay at home mother. I have no interest in working for a Big 4 or anything like that for that matter. Why am I taking the CPA exam? I want the personal satisfaction of saying I'm qualified and that I was able to do it. No matter what your work goal, it will be worth it. It is challenging and you'll be amongst a select group when it is all said and done.

AUD - 82 Becker
BEC - 75 Becker
REG - 71, 82 Becker
FAR - 66,61,71,74,70 and #6 80!!!! FINALLY DONE!!! 9/20/12
Yaeger and Yaeger CRAM for the final battle!

[Mmilito]

My eventual goal is to own my own CPA firm so I guess my way of seeing it is that the exam is a gateway to get a job, but I get the feeling that when I pass the exam, it still won't land me the job which is for the experience I need. I am not looking to move up within the bank, there has been one accountant opening in 3 years and I didn't get a interview for that.

Btw, I got my degree from Queens College in New York, I live in Queens

FAR 92
AUD 91
BEC 11/06/2011
REG 02/01/2012

[Anonymous]

I guess what I meant was that a CPA license would not help you in the banking industry if you are a teller and your goal is to move up to a branch manager. YES it will help you in the banking industry if you want to work in the accounting department.

[Mmilito]

Exactly, in my bank the line is that “your just a teller” and “you know you can be promoted to personal banker”. I asked to help out on a mock audit team (its a bunch of asst. managers that go around and check audit procedures so that when the internal auditors are around there are no surprises) and the response was “your just a teller” and then told to do my job (which is selling checking accounts). Not to get off on a tangent tho

FAR 92
AUD 91
BEC 11/06/2011
REG 02/01/2012

[Anonymous]

” I asked to help out on a mock audit team (its a bunch of asst. managers that go around and check audit procedures so that when the internal auditors are around there are no surprises) and the response was “you're just a teller” and then told to do my job (which is selling checking accounts).”

You could mention the fact that you passed what is arguably the most difficult section of the CPA exam and you might actually be more qualified than them to to run through this mock Audit…of course, that might be a little awkward 🙂

Stay with it so you can “stick it to the man (or woman)” who said that to you.

Good Luck!!

[NDCPA123]

Am I missing something or don't you need 1-3 years of public accounting to become a CPA in addition to passing the tests?

AUD - 80
REG - 77
FAR - 78
BEC - 84

[Author]

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