[Sweet Home]

Hi,

I am a student from Saudi Arabia. I came to the US to get a Masters Degree in Accounting. I am still doing the GMAT preparation, and I plan to do the CPA examinations. I hope so and I think I can.

So, I searched online and found a lot of posts and info.. I was overwhelmed..

I don’t know where to begin!

Here is some info about me:

I have a Bachelor Degree in Accounting (112 hours).

I have NO work experience in accounting whatsoever.

I am in the US with an F1 visa

Haven't done anything yet.

[Sweet Home]

Thanks! I will see what I can do then I'll come back with probably more questions. You should know I reside in Seattle, WA. Have a good evening.

Haven't done anything yet.

[LongJourney]

You are more than welcome. I went through plenty of trouble without any proper guidance in my CPA journey so I love to help people with similar backgrounds as much as possible. I live in Dammam by the way (I'm awake due to bad sleeping problems). Happy Ramadan in advance!

REG: 80 (02/02/2012)
FAR: 91 (02/06/2012)
AUD: 89 (02/09/2012)
BEC: 79 (02/12/2012)

Ethics: 90 (02/11/2012)

[LongJourney]

You are more than welcome. I went through plenty of trouble without any proper guidance in my CPA journey so I love to help people with similar backgrounds as much as possible. I live in Dammam by the way (I'm awake due to bad sleeping problems). Happy Ramadan in advance!

REG: 80 (02/02/2012)
FAR: 91 (02/06/2012)
AUD: 89 (02/09/2012)
BEC: 79 (02/12/2012)

Ethics: 90 (02/11/2012)

[Sweet Home]

Thanks!

Happy Ramadan to you too! It is gonna be my first without my family around lol…

I appreciate your helping me especially that we share common things. I really want to make the helping process as much easier as possible for you because I know people are busy. You are in Dammam? interesting! Are you practicing Public accounting in Saudi Arabia? What did the American CPA help you with?

I read that international students mostly obtain the CPA certification and not the actual licence. So, which one did you earn? And if I earn the certification, will I be able to use the CPA title on my business cards and stuff? I know it's a silly question but I want to know whether I will be a recognized CPA or not!

So, I will be preparing for the GMAT at the moment -aiming for 550 to 600 score. Wish me luck because I just got 520 which is below my goal.

Anyway, I want you to know I admire CPA's. Thanks and I wish your sleeping issues get better :))

Haven't done anything yet.

[Sweet Home]

Thanks!

Happy Ramadan to you too! It is gonna be my first without my family around lol…

I appreciate your helping me especially that we share common things. I really want to make the helping process as much easier as possible for you because I know people are busy. You are in Dammam? interesting! Are you practicing Public accounting in Saudi Arabia? What did the American CPA help you with?

I read that international students mostly obtain the CPA certification and not the actual licence. So, which one did you earn? And if I earn the certification, will I be able to use the CPA title on my business cards and stuff? I know it's a silly question but I want to know whether I will be a recognized CPA or not!

So, I will be preparing for the GMAT at the moment -aiming for 550 to 600 score. Wish me luck because I just got 520 which is below my goal.

Anyway, I want you to know I admire CPA's. Thanks and I wish your sleeping issues get better :))

Haven't done anything yet.

[LongJourney]

Ramadan will probably be tough for you at the beginning but I'm sure you'll get used to it in no time.

I never considered working in public accounting (I'm more of a corporate accounting fan). The CPA was still useful though considering I was a little bit outdated with my financial accounting information and I didn't know a single thing about IFRS (the company I'm with right now are using IFRS) and of course the job hunt tends to be easier with the CPA. Full disclosure: in addition to the CPA I also hold the CMA, CIA, & CFE designations and I also got my MBA few years back.

Most states have abandoned the two-tier option where you are allowed to get the CPA certification without the license. I have an actual license from Illinois with full CPA privileges (until June 2012, Illinois also allowed getting registered without getting licensed and I did that too just in case I do not want to comply with CPE requirements in the future). Judging from your background, you can't get the certification without the license. Passing the exams alone won't entitle you to use the CPA title which definitely defeats the purpose of going through the CPA process if you ask me.

Your questions are not silly at all, I've asked all of the exact same questions and more myself and spent plenty of time researching in order to get the correct answers for my own use (you won't believe how many misleading information are out there!). I already got my license so these information are useless for me now but I know that they can be extremely helpful to others which is why I really like to share it.

Good luck with the GMAT! Pretty sure you will make it!

REG: 80 (02/02/2012)
FAR: 91 (02/06/2012)
AUD: 89 (02/09/2012)
BEC: 79 (02/12/2012)

Ethics: 90 (02/11/2012)

[LongJourney]

Ramadan will probably be tough for you at the beginning but I'm sure you'll get used to it in no time.

I never considered working in public accounting (I'm more of a corporate accounting fan). The CPA was still useful though considering I was a little bit outdated with my financial accounting information and I didn't know a single thing about IFRS (the company I'm with right now are using IFRS) and of course the job hunt tends to be easier with the CPA. Full disclosure: in addition to the CPA I also hold the CMA, CIA, & CFE designations and I also got my MBA few years back.

Most states have abandoned the two-tier option where you are allowed to get the CPA certification without the license. I have an actual license from Illinois with full CPA privileges (until June 2012, Illinois also allowed getting registered without getting licensed and I did that too just in case I do not want to comply with CPE requirements in the future). Judging from your background, you can't get the certification without the license. Passing the exams alone won't entitle you to use the CPA title which definitely defeats the purpose of going through the CPA process if you ask me.

Your questions are not silly at all, I've asked all of the exact same questions and more myself and spent plenty of time researching in order to get the correct answers for my own use (you won't believe how many misleading information are out there!). I already got my license so these information are useless for me now but I know that they can be extremely helpful to others which is why I really like to share it.

Good luck with the GMAT! Pretty sure you will make it!

REG: 80 (02/02/2012)
FAR: 91 (02/06/2012)
AUD: 89 (02/09/2012)
BEC: 79 (02/12/2012)

Ethics: 90 (02/11/2012)

[Sweet Home]

Hello again!

Wait are you genius or something? That is incredible, man! You hold all of these certificates! Mashallah. In what time period did you accomplish all of that? And did you get all of these professional certifications in the USA? Did you work in the US to get any of your certifications?

Haha I was overwhelmed reading all of your certifications.. I wonder how hard you worked to obtain them!

You know I contacted some of my professors and they told me that Colorado doesn't require a work experience for the CPA licence, but I am not sure of that. What do you think? Should I go for a Master Degree in Colorado then?

I am worried because I heard they are gonna update the (work experience thing or something). Also, I am worried because the USA doesn't give Saudis social security numbers anymore.

Also, I want to ask you something. Where did you get you MBA? And do you think I should go for any university? Does it matter if I graduated from this university or the other? I hope you get what I mean.

Thanks for answering my questions, people like you, with high qualification and willingness to help, are very rare!

note: I noticed something about your writing; you have magnificent writing skills. I know I am not as good, but I know good writing when I see it.

Haven't done anything yet.

[Sweet Home]

Hello again!

Wait are you genius or something? That is incredible, man! You hold all of these certificates! Mashallah. In what time period did you accomplish all of that? And did you get all of these professional certifications in the USA? Did you work in the US to get any of your certifications?

Haha I was overwhelmed reading all of your certifications.. I wonder how hard you worked to obtain them!

You know I contacted some of my professors and they told me that Colorado doesn't require a work experience for the CPA licence, but I am not sure of that. What do you think? Should I go for a Master Degree in Colorado then?

I am worried because I heard they are gonna update the (work experience thing or something). Also, I am worried because the USA doesn't give Saudis social security numbers anymore.

Also, I want to ask you something. Where did you get you MBA? And do you think I should go for any university? Does it matter if I graduated from this university or the other? I hope you get what I mean.

Thanks for answering my questions, people like you, with high qualification and willingness to help, are very rare!

note: I noticed something about your writing; you have magnificent writing skills. I know I am not as good, but I know good writing when I see it.

Haven't done anything yet.

[LongJourney]

I got my B.S. in 2005, MBA in 2009, CMA in 2010, and the rest (CPA, CIA, CFE) in 2012. I'm not a genius, just a fast reader with high self motivation. I got all of these certification while I was in KSA (took the CPA exams in Bahrain). Last time I've been in USA was approximately 20 years ago on a family vacation trip (I was still in elementary school). Studying for the exams was hard but more manageable than what you might think. The overlapping materials are certainly helpful!

Colorado definitely doesn't require work experience if you have completed your 150 credit hours although this won't apply after 2015. If you can finish it by then, then I would definitely advise you to do so. Don't worry about the SSN since you can exempt yourself by filling the affidavit I told you about earlier. There are other conditions for getting the education in lieu of experience exemption so read them carefully.

I got my MBA from KFUPM. My personal piece of advice, do not go to any university. I won’t give you the lecture about getting useful education, but I can assure you that you don’t want to graduate feeling that you have learned nothing. There are plenty of Saudi graduates who studied at US universities so you definitely want to set yourself apart in the market place. I'm guessing that you already made your own research by now (GMAT score was a good clue) so I wouldn't advise you to second guess yourself. Don’t even think about going to a university that isn’t accredited by AACSB.

Thank you for your nice comments. Good luck with your studies!

REG: 80 (02/02/2012)
FAR: 91 (02/06/2012)
AUD: 89 (02/09/2012)
BEC: 79 (02/12/2012)

Ethics: 90 (02/11/2012)

[LongJourney]

I got my B.S. in 2005, MBA in 2009, CMA in 2010, and the rest (CPA, CIA, CFE) in 2012. I'm not a genius, just a fast reader with high self motivation. I got all of these certification while I was in KSA (took the CPA exams in Bahrain). Last time I've been in USA was approximately 20 years ago on a family vacation trip (I was still in elementary school). Studying for the exams was hard but more manageable than what you might think. The overlapping materials are certainly helpful!

Colorado definitely doesn't require work experience if you have completed your 150 credit hours although this won't apply after 2015. If you can finish it by then, then I would definitely advise you to do so. Don't worry about the SSN since you can exempt yourself by filling the affidavit I told you about earlier. There are other conditions for getting the education in lieu of experience exemption so read them carefully.

I got my MBA from KFUPM. My personal piece of advice, do not go to any university. I won’t give you the lecture about getting useful education, but I can assure you that you don’t want to graduate feeling that you have learned nothing. There are plenty of Saudi graduates who studied at US universities so you definitely want to set yourself apart in the market place. I'm guessing that you already made your own research by now (GMAT score was a good clue) so I wouldn't advise you to second guess yourself. Don’t even think about going to a university that isn’t accredited by AACSB.

Thank you for your nice comments. Good luck with your studies!

REG: 80 (02/02/2012)
FAR: 91 (02/06/2012)
AUD: 89 (02/09/2012)
BEC: 79 (02/12/2012)

Ethics: 90 (02/11/2012)

[Sweet Home]

Thanks man! I was surprised you got all of these outside of the US.. I mentally linked AICPA with taking the exam in the US although I know it could be taken in a lot of places in the world. I wish you good luck! And I might come back requesting some information… I appreciate it!

Haven't done anything yet.

[Sweet Home]

Thanks man! I was surprised you got all of these outside of the US.. I mentally linked AICPA with taking the exam in the US although I know it could be taken in a lot of places in the world. I wish you good luck! And I might come back requesting some information… I appreciate it!

Haven't done anything yet.

[Sweet Home]

@LongJourney

Hi I am back!

I found a university that is accredited by AACSB, but they do not require GMAT if my GPA is 3 out of 4 or higher.

Do you think I should go for this university even though not requiring GMAT might indicate that the program isn't as good.

Haven't done anything yet.

[Sweet Home]

@LongJourney

Hi I am back!

I found a university that is accredited by AACSB, but they do not require GMAT if my GPA is 3 out of 4 or higher.

Do you think I should go for this university even though not requiring GMAT might indicate that the program isn't as good.

Haven't done anything yet.

[Author]

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