[WileyoleYaeger]

I know that now coming off of the down economy the market is flooded with MBA’s, and it appears from all of my 5 accounts talking with friends in the HR world that having certifications cell more than your MBA’s or your PhD’s.

For those of you holding an MBA first and then going for the CPA, did you find this to be true? Did you find that you needed the CPA to be more competitive, or was it just another challenge?

Those with a CPA, did you find that you had to go back to school for that MBA or MAcc to get to where you wanted?

I am wondering as I am working towards my CPA, but do not have an MBA (heck, I do not even have a degree in accounting), and was debating the merits of going for my MBA.

[lude4life13]

IMO, Bachelors, then Big 4 experience with CPA. The only difference between myself and my MBA colleagues is that they spent more time in school and have more debt. Master's program should be taken if they are needed, not to give you an edge in the market. Experience paired with the CPA will ALMOST always be better than no experience and every certificate/license on the planet.

[M.O.D.]

I was wondering about this too. From the two business schools I went to, a CPA is more valuable than an MBA, because many MBAs are just paper degrees for many schools, and for many employees.

I think it depends of the GMAT requirements for the schools, because that determines the quality of the students, thus the quality of the MBA.

That being said I also met CPAs with no clue about business theories, management, etc, things that one (should) learn in business schools.

My issue is convincing HR that although I went to a bad school, with bad students, I really did study and earn the A+, etc. Their comeback would be why did you stay though? Why not transfer to a better school?

BA Mathematics, UC Berkeley
Certificates in CPA and EA preparation, College of San Mateo
CMA I 420, II 470
FAR 91, AUD Feb 2015 (Gleim self-study)

[Study Monk]

From a cost/benefit perspective the CPA is the better choice. A CPA can be attained for less than $2000. A good MBA program starts at around $30k. I have a friend who is looking at an MBA program that costs 120k. It also depends on what your endgame is. If you want to be an accountant then a MBA might be helpful, but it is not guaranteed. A CPA WILL be helpful if you become an accountant.

If you want to be an accounting manager then the MBA may be valuable. Then again a CPA/CMA might be more beneficial and cost less than 5k to obtain. If you don't want to be an accountant than a MBA might be a better choice. The question will then become can you get into a good enough MBA program that will help you stand out from the other 1000's of candidates who have MBA's? The school you get an MBA from does matter….

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Anonymous]

^^ agreed with Study Monk.

MBA does cost more but the most important thing is getting an MBA from a good school.

CPA is valuable in the eyes of those people that are hiring. Most job postings say CPA or MBA preferred.

[Study Monk]

Kenada grats on passing the CPA exam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Anonymous]

Thank you Study Monk !! You have one more left right ? Pretty soon you will be done too 🙂 and It will feel so goood……….

[Study Monk]

BEC is my last one. Ironically I am guilty of buying into an expensive masters program(MST), so I will be taking my time on my last one as I balance school with preparing for BEC. August 30th may be my last exam. The end is in site!

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[M.O.D.]

Hey, Monk, are you going to GGU for your MST?

BA Mathematics, UC Berkeley
Certificates in CPA and EA preparation, College of San Mateo
CMA I 420, II 470
FAR 91, AUD Feb 2015 (Gleim self-study)

[How many letters do you need]

An MBA from a top 20 will open doors and a lot of them. so will the CPA. If you are talking accounting in industry (and especially so in public) I think the CPA holds more or as much value for less money. However, in corp fin…and on the management levels of corp accounting you will run into a ceiling later on without an MBA, even with a CPA. I would say if you are a late bloomer CPA (such as myself) I would plan to just get both, probably the MBA or MS first. If you are younger, you have time before needing a masters but if you need the 150 anyway just to get the CPA I don't see why you would want to mess around with piece mail classes when you can just go get a masters and kill two birds with one stone.

So basically…II guess what I'm saying is you may as well get both because if you plan to run a Finance/Acct department one day I think you will probably need both…

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[Study Monk]

EDIT :sight not site

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Anonymous]

CPA then top 25 MBA program to aide transition into Finance.

[Anonymous]

My dad is a corporate executive, and he tells me almost every day that he regrets getting his MBA and not his CPA.

[lude4life13]

Thank you Bronx! Finally someone with valuable input, but im sure everyone here will still argue about how they are getting their MBA, then post about how to find an entry level job as an MBA CPA CFA CIA etc etc…

[lude4life13]

double post X__X

[WileyoleYaeger]

My last job was a consulting job on a major project which included our firm and PwC. The people on my level had regular bachelors, and maybe 25%-40% had MBA's. There were only 2-3 with CPA's, and considering it was a consulting gig you wondered why there were so few CPA's, or why there weren't more. It was very confusing, so maybe that is why I am no longer on that project. Either way, it seems like now hiring departments want to see that you are certified more than you are a “master” at something.

[Author]

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