[Anonymous]

Hi,

Just wanted to see how many people work in the oil and gas industry. Anyone looking into the APA?

[Anonymous]

Guess there is not a lot of oil and gas people.

[Last_First_MI]

I am in Oil and Gas. I work in the Midstream/Downstream area. I am an analyst on the operations side of the business. APA is overrated CPA is sufficient. APA is typical of the O&G industry as they have the attitude that they are holier than thou. Accounting is accounting is accounting no matter where or what industry you are in.

[Anonymous]

im interested in knowing more ,, they offer it in the cpa review course of univ of hpouston

[Anonymous]

I started in public and now work for a small CAP extraction company. I should have the cpa done soon but where I live there is a lot of oil and gas. I was wondering if the APA would give me a edge and if there was any ROI.

[Last_First_MI]

I have worked in O&G for 6 years now. I've worked in a fully integrated giant to the little MLP midstream company I work for now. I have never really known anyone with the APA designation nor have I heard of it benefiting anyone or holding anyone back. However the CPA has held back, hence why I am getting mine. If you really want to write you own book in O&G become an engineer. They in my experience are treated like gold. I look at the APA as a way to differentiate the coveted oil and gas knowledge from the rest of the world. The companies all seem to want people with JIB experience or Revenue Accounting experience in upstream mostly as that is where lots of this lies. The fact of the matter is anyone with an accounting background and isn't a bump on a log can learn and pick this up quickly. As far as getting an APA I guess its a way to get yourself in the door better than other candidates, but I bet if you ask most hiring managers in the industry about the APA they won't even know what the designation is. If you put a resume in front of a hiring manager in the industry and they had to choose between a CPA or APA I am pretty certain they are going to go for the CPA.

[Last_First_MI]

Another thing is in the six years I've been in the industry I've been through 2 rounds of layoffs and one of those rounds I got laid off. So I don't know if taking the time to tie yourself to this industry has the best ROI. Its an industry that is notorious for layoffs.

[Anonymous]

I am the JIB accountant with my company. So I guess that will workout for me long term. I guess getting my masters or the CMA is a better use of my time.

[Last_First_MI]

I would also pursue CMA and Masters plus if you ever want to get out of industry you can transfer that knowledge everywhere. With the APA you spend a lot of time and money to really make yourself industry specific.

[plspray4me]

I have passed three parts of the APA, had to put on hold until after the CPA. It is alot of non accounting related material. Almost have to be a engineer for some of the sections. Overall so far it seems to be somewhat useful…

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[Last_First_MI]

I just polled 12 people (all accountants) in my office and not one of them has even heard of the APA certification.

[Author]

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