[Future-CPA]

Hello everybody,

Here is my story, I hate accounting with a passion(nice introduction in a forum where the majority have a passion for Accounting :)). I graduated with a BSBA in Finance with a concentration in Economics in 2004 and a Master’s in Finance in 2008. In school, I loved finance and hated accounting. For a finance major, I felt like accounting was the necessary evil us Finance people had to go through, i-e classes that were imposed to us not by choice but because we had to at least understand accounting to make it in the real world. After graduation though, I started working in corporate finance and couldn’t escape accounting anymore, I had to deal with Accounting on a daily basis and even now as an Analyst I spend my days reviewing financial statements. I’ve come to realize that Accounting is just part of my life and I should embrace it and maybe I will love it. (btw I aced all my accounting classes and the head of the Accounting dept. at my school tried to convince me to switch my major from Fin. to Accounting, I just had no interest in an Accounting career). I guess my question is , can one be a CPA if they do not have a passion for Accounting? I know its a weird question to ask, but I just wanted to get other people’s perspectives on this. Also, I realized that with all that education in Finance, I probably have about 3 accounting classes, so I need to take more Ac. classes before I can actually sit for the exam in my state. How hard is it for someone with a Finance backgroup to truly comprehend the Accounting issues/topics that are necessary to pass the CPA? I think one thing that turned me off of Accounting were journal entries, I just couldn’t understand that for the life of me 🙂 ( I know it’s very basic accounting, but it still doesnt make sense to me ). Thank you all for your input!

[Anonymous]

Future: As far as understanding accounting concepts with your background, I'd say Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR) & Business Environment & Concepts (BEC) are topics you're going to have seen before. They encompass what most think of when it comes to accounting: journal entries, financial statements, general business concepts, etc.

My opinion, (and this comes just from trying to explain these topics & courses to friends) is Auditing and Tax can be difficult for someone without a solid accounting background to pickup . They are more niche areas and can be difficult to grasp even for those with accounting experience.

[goodluck2everyone2]

cant believe I wasted 5 minutes of my life reading this thread

cool story bro

[Future-CPA]

Emu13, yes taxes are my weakness. That's I think the part I enjoy the least. I never took an audit class so don't know what to expect. Any tips for someone who is not familiar with those 2 areas ? Thanks

[jelly]

What about taking some kind of financial statement analysis class, if you're looking to understand financial statements, and how they can be manipulated (through journal entries and other devices)?

I'm not really sure how studying and passing a licensing exam will help you conceptually understand all the moving parts, b/c it really is just a giant, 1 inch ocean of information that's tested. Everything really starts to come together when you repetitiously deal with different client scenarios, which is probably where you are at.

Couldn't pass again!

[Future-CPA]

I actually took a few financial statement analysis classes while in college and currently my job as an analyst is merely about analyzing financial statements and making decisions about the companies liquidity, leverage, revenues,profitability, trends, debt capacity, cash flows, tangible equity, ect. So basically I read 10ks and 10qs daily to do my analysis and write reports, so I don't have a problem with that. If you ask me though to put together a financial statement from scratch,I think I could do it if its simple enough but when it starts getting complicated, I will have issues. And I think after all that is the main difference between Accounting and finance, accountants understand all the rules and regulations to put together a financial statement while in finance we don't really focus on how to put them together but what the numbers tell us about the company's financial condition and how to interpret them to make investments or credit decisions .However, I do think understanding the accounting aspect Is key and that I'd one of the reasons why I want lo take the exam among others . Thank you

[Minimorty]

@Future – The CPA Exam is not that difficult. If you have a finance background and you are good at what you do, you will have no problem making the transition to an accounting mindset to get the exam out of the way. The content on the exam will help you in your career. I would recommend you go with Becker. Try to get your company to pay for it, but even if you are coming out of pocket it is still worth it.

I graduated in 2005 with my undergrad in Econ and worked for a business valuation firm for a number of years before taking the exam. I took no accounting classes in college, so I had to take 24 units to sit for the exam. I took Intro to Everything type courses and then sat down with the Becker materials. I passed all four exams in 5 months, working full time, married, newborn, and two year old. I just mention all of this to show you that it can definitely be done. I have no doubt that you will be able to pass the exams if you put forth some effort.

Good luck!

[Future-CPA]

Hello minimorty, thank you for our input. For a review course, I think I'm leading more towards Yeager after seeing a sample/video of each class. I am very traditional when it comes to learning and the old school white board works best for me I think. I like the energy of Roger as well but thought he was going way too fast not giving me enough time to really grasp the concept he was talking about and tha would b an issue for me. Becker seems more tailored towards people who want a refresher and since I need all the basics, Yeager is clearly a winner for me. I haven't started yet, nor do I have any experience with these courses besides the free previous they offer but that's where I'm leading for now. I have submitted to my company and I'm waiting to hear back from the. The total cost of classes plus reviews and exams was about $5700 so I'm really oping they will pay for it. Thank you again 🙂

[Author]

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