[jay1942]

Hey Guys I was curious what you thought the best way to get to 100k is.

a) Open my own CPA firm build and market myself

b) Buy a CPA firm

c) look for AVP, VP positions

BEC 3x 77 expires 1.30.16
AUD 2x 80 expires 10.31.15
REG 2x 86 expires 2.28.16
FAR... 7-15 .. 48* .. 77
* Did Not study at all

[Gatorbates]

B, without a doubt.

Licensed Florida CPA:
B: 71, 73, 79
A: 83
R: 78 (expired), 77
F: 74, 74, 80

It's finally freaking over.

[CPA Slayer]

For:

a) Do you have a great amount of connections???

b) You have that type of money to invest and stay financially stable???

c) Do you have the experience/criteria to jump to that high of a position???

100K is a big step. I am not saying it can be done in one year, but it is EXTREMELY tough unless you have many years of experience and credibility behind you.

FAR - 84
REG - 86
AUD - 90
BEC - 88

KO the test in 5 months even though I am a dummy!

Through God all things can happen!

"But, in our defense, accountants aren't really boring people.
We just get excited over boring things."

[Anonymous]

What're you jumping from?
30K? 60k? 75k?
That makes a big difference.

The path of lease resistance – AVP/CFO if there is opportunity.. the rest will require investment both financially and time.. you're not going to break even for awhile from the first two unless you have the money to freely invest.

[jay1942]

A) Infrastructure is already set up. I did this last year with about 20 clients made a little over 2k

B) I would take a loan out to buy the practice

C) Current title is CFO for a small company; which I have been doing for about a year salary is 75k positions before that was a sr. in financial reporting where i made about 65k

BEC 3x 77 expires 1.30.16
AUD 2x 80 expires 10.31.15
REG 2x 86 expires 2.28.16
FAR... 7-15 .. 48* .. 77
* Did Not study at all

[Anonymous]

Where you're starting from definitely will determine if or which of these options is possible. Also, what $100k are you going for – gross or net?

a) $100k gross isn't likely, cause building a firm takes a loooong time, and net is even less likely since there's a lot of expenses. Also requires the skills to attract clients.
b) $100k after paying for it or even after loan payments would be somewhat optimistic, but if you have the skills to manage it would be possible.
c) If you have the skills and experience to get a job as such, this would be the lowest-risk option.

The person who is qualified to do each of those would be different from each of the others, and only a relatively small percentage of accountants would be able to do any of those and get to $100k in a year.

[Missy]

regarding C, even as a current CFO (particularly with less than 5 years experience) it is exceptionally challenging to get interviews for a similar position with a larger company more willing to pay 6 figures. My personal experience with a similar situation is that you're unlikely to get offers from a company with 50+ million in revenues if your history is with a company of 10-20m in revenues. Your mileage may vary, however larger companies tend to look down on small company management with almost an elitist point of view.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

I haven't really found that experience with size of companies. I've worked for 50 billion dollar companies, 60 million dollar companies down to one million dollar companies. I've never had them look at me different based on where I had the experience from – they were more interested in my skill set. In my experience it's all relative, just more moving parts the more money and people involved. But again, all relative to your experience and where you are, etc.

If your'e looking for a gross 100K right off the bat and you have opportunity for a position at a bigger company then that would probably be easiest. The other ones will most likely take some time, and like mla said, it is contingent on the person and what you feel comfortable with taking on. I personally would never want to own my own company, I like the challenge and security of what is already established – however if that's something that you excel in it's definitely a good opportunity. Set a goal and go after it.

[Missy]

Thats interesting. I was a controller at a small (12m company) looking to get in as a senior accountant (realizing that I'd have to take a small step back) at a much larger company. Three of them told me that while my credentials were impressive they wanted someone with experience with a company of similar revenues.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

And I've never had that experience or ran into that road block before. I was in public for quite awhile and then bounced around since my husband is a teacher and we moved around a lot, hence the massive swings in the type of private industry. The one I'm at now is 60+ million with all the companies and steadily growing, and honestly none of them ever mentioned that as a hiring factor. Although it may have been much different if I were applying for CFO positions, I was looking more for middle management with a chance to work my way up so I always had multiple counter parts in various departments.

[ScarletKnightCPA]

If there was indeed no perceived difference then big 4 experience wouldn't be held in such high esteem and high demand. Of course there is a perceived difference in perception.

Far: 76 (Wiley Test Bank)
Aud: 77 (Wiley Test Bank)
Reg: 61, 76 (Wiley book, Wiley Test Bank)
Bec: 86 (Wiley Test Bank)

MBA in progress

[taxsage]

It all depends on the real life scenarios, but I would say a) is probably the hardest. I am also wondering what kind of public accounting experience you have? If you do not have audit or tax experience then it will be hard to attract new clients to start a public accounting firm or preserve old ones if you buy into an existing CPA firm. Based on the experience you listed it seems like you could provide solid bookkeeping skills and maybe compilation services. The problem is that solid tax and audit experience can be billed out at rates well over $100 an hour and high end bookkeeping services probably sell for under $50 a hour. I am not sure that you can even market yourself as a public accounting firm without either the tax and audit experience.

Its also worth mentioning that I think long-term wise you are better off keeping the CFO title for at least three years. So I recommend making 75k a year and build up your consulting practice on the side. I don't think you can get a CFO/VP job at a larger company with a year of experience as a CFO at a smaller company.

[Claudia408]

Move to SF/Silicon Valley. Guaranteed over $100k with a CPA.

BEC - 75 (3x)
AUD - 78 (3x)
REG - 67, 66, Aug 1
FAR - 54, Sept 8

[Anonymous]

Didn't see the OP's additional info post before I made my post, so…

a) Profit-wise, you'd be expecting to get 50x what you did last year. That's huge growth. Not at all likely. To have made 2k last year is no indication that going full-time would allow $100k this year. It'd mean you might be able to make $100k in a couple/few years if you network well, but I wouldn't count on $100k in a year. That would seem overly ambitious to me.

b) If it's a firm with established customers (not a “McTax” type place with frequently changing customers), then unless there's a lot of employees carrying over, I would anticipate a lot of customers leaving, so factor that in when planning future income. I would anticipate below $100k first year because a lot of customers won't know what to expect from you so will leave for a year, then after being disappointed elsewhere think about coming back.

c) A 33% pay raise with a job change for same title (though bigger employer) is possible but pretty impressive usually…and as taxsage said in the post above me, keeping the current CFO job for a few years is probably advisable. If i was hiring a CFO and a guy applied who had only been at his current CFO job for a year, I would be hesitant, cause I'd be worried that if I hired him, I'd be looking to hire again in a year when he left me for the next step up. Granted people aren't going to stay at a job forever, and that's life, but when it's someone in a higher-level job, you want to think they'll be there for a few years at least, so someone who is leaving a similar role after a short time is likely to be concerning.

[Author]

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