[HoldMyBeerCPA]

I had a post a couple of days ago where I let the forum know that I got an offer for an audit associate role with a small CPA firm in Utah. I do not have any direct auditing experience, however, I do have experience in XBRL, A/R, A/P, Credit Card Reconciliations, Journal Entries, and Bank Recs. The most auditing I’ve done was for our company’s invoices and during XBRL filings when things in the financials wouldn’t add up due to miscalculations, omissions, etc. I don’t know how helpful that experience could be.

Fast forward to today, since I will in all likelihood accept the auditing job, I will need to put a plan together when it comes to getting ready for grad school and getting my CPA.

Backstory: I finished my bachelor’s degree at Cal State Fullerton in California in 2013. I graduated with 120 units earned. I did not take auditing or advanced accounting. I’m looking at doing a MAcc program that can be done online given the hectic nature of busy season. I sort of experienced it first hand as a Jr. Accountant/SEC Financial Reporting Specialist. It would be unwise to do an on-campus MAcc and work full-time in my opinion.

Due to finances, I will only be able to take an auditing course starting in the Spring 2016 semester (January). After that, I will hope to start my graduate studies in the Fall Semester of 2016 (August). It will take me 3 years from today (projected Summer 2018 semster) to complete my MAcc. Subsequently, I would look to take the exams and get the ball rolling towards getting my license

According to my research, I would be eligible to sit for the exam when I obtain 135 units, which would be at the end of the Fall 2016 semester.

My questions are as follows:

-What can I do to prepare for the audit associate role at my new job? I will start in a month.

-What can I do to prepare for the auditing course I will take in January? I have an old Cost Accounting Book and Intermediate Accounting book from my undergrad years. Should I start there by reading it cover to cover?

-How long would it normally take the average MAcc grad to study for the CPA exam?

Thanks in advance.

-Shawn

[MaLoTu]

Are you studying for the CPA, working full time, and doing your masters?

I worked and took 2 graduate classes … I wouldn't have been able to study for the exam on top of those two things. Realistically, you are going to work and do the graduate course or work and study for the CPA. Not all 3. IMO, I guess for what it is worth.

[HoldMyBeerCPA]

@MaLoTu: As of right now, I'm only working full-time. When I start my masters program, I will take two classes each semester, save for the summer, where I'll take one class. However, between this time and January. I'm assuming I should just go over my old books before I take the auditing course to be eligible for grad school.

[MaLoTu]

Hm. It doesn't hurt to brush up, but the only accounting subject you may use in audit is financial accounting or one that deals with stuff like reconciliations and journal entries. I don't think the cost accounting will help. Intermediate might. I think that you will be fine with your auditing class with your current level of knowledge of accounting.

[Anonymous]

Don't fear auditing so much. You'll do fine with it. You can always reference back to other materials (or Google) while studying if your auditing course references something you're not familiar with. Your new bosses may actually appreciate the fact that you aren't fresh out of studying auditing, since auditing students sometimes get the idea that their textbook is smarter than their boss, because their boss is teaching “real world” and their textbook is teaching “academic world”. Not just auditing students, any discipline, but auditing is the one we're talking about. Presuming you've been honest in your interviews about your knowledge, your new boss will anticipate you are pretty green with auditing, and be ready to teach you. By the time you get to your course in January, you'll have learned the basics on the job. However, if you want to study before your job starts, here's a $10-15 book that contains the full auditing standards as well as essentially “auditing textbook”: https://www.amazon.com/Wiley-Exam-Review-Auditing-Attestation/dp/1118277201/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1433588704&sr=8-3&keywords=wiley+audit Read through it before your job starts (yes, you can read through it in a month while working), and then you'll have a basis for your job and for your auditing class. The one I've linked in 2 years old, but plenty current enough for your purposes (just will want a current one when studying for the exam).

As for how long to take the CPA exams after MAcc, that depends on the student. I'd try to take ones related to what I was studying during the last few months of the MAcc (between second-to-last semester and last semester, take one that relates to the material studied in second-to-last semester, then right after last semester, take one related to material covered in last semester). Even without doing that, you've got 4 exams, at least 2 of which should be over material you've just spent 1.5-2 years studying. Personally I passed all 4 in 5 months with just a Bachelor's (and with all self-taught accounting courses – online classes in which the only thing the professor did was grade paperwork…literally), while working, with a job change, etc. I could've snuck the last one in a the end of my 2nd window, which would've been 3 months from when I started, but took vacation and focused on my new job instead. There's people on here who pass all 4 in a month or two with a Bachelor's and people on here who pass all 4 in 5 years with Master's, it just varies from person to person. MAcc should help you, though – I'd say non-busy season, you should definitely be able to pass within 2 windows (5 months).

[Author]

Replies