[Anonymous]

Does this bother anyone else? I feel like I need to vent…

I know there is no way to ask this question without coming off like an elitist jerk but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t annoy me. Let me preface this by saying I have a pretty liberal definition of what I consider to be an accountant (anyone in public, private or gov’t that performs assurance, audits, tax, etc.) BUT I do think there is a “line” (e.g.HR block employees or bookkeepers.)

I realize this bookkeeper is proud of their “Associates Degree” (if they even have that) and may work very hard in the “Accounts Payable Dept” or whatever and that’s fine. But when a licensed CPA or a 150 credit hour CPA candidate with public experience are also called accountants and the average layperson mistakenly considers these roles comparable well I feel like it cheapens the latter’s accomplishments.

When someone tells me, “Oh you’re an accountant? My friend XXXX is an accountant too!” I really have to bite my tongue because what I want to say is, “No, your friend XXXX is a bookkeeper who cuts checks and stuffs envelops all day.”

Why is it a lawyer or a nurse has to have a license to be called those things but anyone working in any accounting dept. of any company can run around with impudence calling themselves accountants?!?

So when I overhear said bookkeeper rambling on about being an accountant I’m left with two options. Either:

1) Be a total douche and cut them down with a statement like, “Oh me too, what state are you licensed in?”; OR

2) Swallow my pride, let them have their ego boost and stop being such a jerk inside my head.

Let me just say number 2 is very difficult for me sometimes….

[jeff]

CPApending …

You are more than welcome to post here as long as you stop complaining publicly and privately about other posters.

As you've said numerous times … it's my site … I can allow whom I want to post.

Perhaps you can go start a competing site and then write a book on what to do when your site attracts people of different personalities, accomplishments, egos, levels of tact or lack-thereof, and how to referee it.

Write the book … I'll read it … I obviously need it 🙂

-jeff

edit: self-HiYa so jenuno1 doesn't feel alone. By the way … until I got some emails from him … I thought jenuno was a woman named Jen. True story.

[Anonymous]

Me too Jeff!!

What is it that gets posted when people start acting dumb Rocket Ship?

[mmcgrad1]

I can understand why people got upset by the comment mini posted based on his history. Ironically, mini's response to the OP (which I think was to point out titles don't equate to technical abilities) involved it's own elitist view.

Personally, I don't care what titles one has or how many times it took them to achieve them. However, I do care about how well they perform the function of their profession. I'm sure we all have met people who have degrees, certificates, licenses, or positions and suck at their job. We think WTF, how did they get there? I think that's why these exterior representations of one's abilities are really overrated.

Let me see your work!

NIU CPA Review Correspondence is awesome!

I passed all four sections on the first attempt

[jeff]

“Rocket Ship” is the battle cry when things get really bad. 🙂

[Anonymous]

It's not a point of attracting different personalities, egos, etc. it's about letting two people constantly cause trouble and then deleting the posts of someone who dares complain about it. It's about letting two people run around belittling others who didn't take the exam in the same order, the same number of times, at the same computer as these two posters. “Anyone who doesn't pass in X attempts doesn't deserve it”, “I can think of X number of people who are CPA's who don't deserve it”, and so on and on and on.

There are plenty of personalities around here, including myself, but if you look at the problem posts there are two that are constantly causing the fray. Websites come and go and usually it's one or two people like those mentioned who end up running down post counts.

At some point you begin to lose credibility Jeff when you celebrate someone like Jomarie but then let these two posters run down someone who clearly deserves her CPA license just because they feel like they are better than others.

I can self-delete by not posting here, that's not a problem. I just couldn't resist pointing out the obvious yet AGAIN.

[Anonymous]

Oh haha

Usually as I laugh my butt off at the ridiculousness (real word) of people it gets posted a couple lines after, therefore, thought that is was it was for. I thought the Drama Ninja was for when things get really bad. Oh well, keep posting you crazy people I love it! haha am I instigating like Jenuno? maybe so…

[Minimorty]

LOL. Just caught up on everything. Too funny.

@bnrhilton – Good question. To answer your question honestly, “I'm not sure.” I'd have to think about it some more. If you had to wait three years to take AUD again, I would say that you probably shouldnt lose credit for the ones you already passed. I dont think there would be as many fails as there are now. Under the current system, failing isnt a huge deal. You just take the exam the very next quarter. Having only three tries to pass a test will increase the importance of passing and people will go into the exams more prepared.

[mla1169]

well Mini, fortunately for some of us, the exam is a revenue machine for the AICPA. lol! In fact I swear if they could figure out a 2nd tier test so people could take the same section twice in the same window they would (I wouldn't agree with it but anything for the almighty CHA CHING.)

I also think (easy for me to say now that I'm done) if the test were more expensive, people would be more incentivized to pass in fewer attempts. But I don't think that the # of times you take the exam is at all indicative of what kind of employee you'd be. Babe Ruth would agree!

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[sarah210]

I have been both a “bookkeeper” and a “staff accountant” in terms of job title (i.e. what the employer called the job I was doing). I have not worked in public accounting (yet!), and I'm not a CPA, obviously. In my experience, the work I did as a bookkeeper and a non-public staff accountant was basically exactly the same– journal entries, AP, AR, payroll, reconciliations, etc. Actually, as an “accountant”, I did less, because my duties were more segregated. I actually prefer calling myself a “bookkeeper” because it sounds kinda literary in a Charles Dickens sort of way.

Anyway, I guess it doesn't bother me when bookkeepers call themselves accountants. It would bother me if they called themselves CPAs, though.

REG- 53, 91
BEC- 88
FAR- 62, 85
AUD- 85

Ethics- 93

[Anonymous]

@mini

So, what if it wasn't a 3yr cooling off period but more like the bar or MCAT (can't remember which). One or both require you to petition the governing body if you fail more than 3 times. I don't think Mini's idea is too far fetched. Would I like it, of course not but not because it isn't fair but because I am lazy. I wouldn't want to restudy for ones I have already passed which I wouldn't be in the situation I am in if I would have studied harder at the beginning. I am a crazy person that likes taking responsibility for myself, I know…nuts.

[Minimorty]

@akb – Something like that could definitely work. I would hate, though, to add a human component to the process. I like rules that are cut and dry. Either it is, or it isnt. We had this debate regarding extension of the 18-month rule. Why does this person get selected, but not that person? Same concept applies here. By setting a rule (3 year hiatus), you keep the human component out of the process.

[mla1169]

I will say this about the idea-I tried doing this while I was working full time and going to school for my masters (and a girl scout leader, and a bookkeeper for a friends' business, etc). My timing was awful for trying to take this on. In hindsight I would have waited until at least school was done, maybe even until my kids were older. I dunno. It obviously was less to do with my ability to pass since I did, and more with burning the candle at both ends and in the middle at the same time. I think thats the case for a lot of people especially moms. Now I'll make whats likely to be an unpopular comment, I LAUGH when guys say they did this with kids. Dads are great people and all, but not even close to a mom trying to do this.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

@mla

I agree with you. When I first tried to take the test I only did it because my job made me attempt so I just didn't studying and took the test. Now with that said, if there was a hiatus rule then I think I would have tried harder.

[Minimorty]

@mIa – Unless we are talking about a situation with a newborn whom the mom is nursing, I don't see any difference between a mother or a father going through this with children. It all depends on the level of involvement of each of the parents. I will give you that, on average, mothers are more involved with the children/household.

[mla1169]

Mini I'll concede that some dads are every bit as involved as moms, especially when it comes to activities (nothing more attractive than a dad who coaches his kids' sports IMHO).

Those dads are a rare breed……………..

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Author]

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