[Hens2000]

Hello,

Coming out of my masters in accounting program I went to a mid tier firm. During my one year with the firm I passed all parts of the CPA exam. I have recently accepted a position with a Big 4 firm and was wondering if I would be eligible to receive the bonus for passing all parts of the exam as I passed all parts prior to accepting the position with the Big 4 firm? I am in the process of getting my CPA application approved so I don’t have a CPA license # yet but was curious if anyone knew if I would be eligible for the Big 4 CPA bonus or not.

Thanks in Advance!

[lam2848]

From my understanding, the bonus is only for people who pass while they are working with the firm. So if you passed before you started working there you probably will not receive a bonus.

[Josh]

The bonus is really just to compensate you for your CPA process costs. I was a Becker rep and it seemed like employers who provided study materials up front reduced the bonus after by that amount so instead of 5k it was $2.5k or 2k. Employers who didn't provide materials up front would toss up to 5k back as all inclusive reimbursement/reward.

My firm gave us 8 hours of CPA designated time off to sit for each test to use separate from our PTO banks. Reimbursed us for each section passed, and reimbursed us for Becker. Then when we passed we got a pass party (open bar, food, ect.) and the firm paid all of our licensing costs and tossed us a lump bonus check which covered all the mentioned expenses and left about $1k over as a monetary reward.

The other bonus being that you were able to make manager and pay increases were 7% to 10% as opposed to 4% to 5% for non-license.

[lam2848]

@Josh I guess every firm is different. My firm pays for Becker for us and gives us a $5K bonus if we pass the exam within one year of employment (which gets cut in half if its after a year)

[Anonymous]

@Josh – I second what Lam said. My firm still pays for Becker and offers that $5K bonus + additions CPA exam expenses (i.e. exam fees). One of many perks at working for a large firm.

[Author]

Replies