[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.

[Lindrobe]

I am an MBA and chose to get to get this degree for two reasons:

1) Meet 150 credit hour requirement – my undergrad in accounting gave me 122 credit hours, so getting MBA was a way to meet the credit hour requirement for CPA exam

2) Open additional doors for me in the future – I like the diverse array of classes that I was exposed to with the MBA degree as opposed to a MSA or MTA.

I would not say that getting my MBA did a whole for my career instantly. I got my MBA from a fairly highly regarded state school and spent about $10k out of pocket since my employer offered some tuition reimbursement. I don't regret my decision at all, but I would not spend $120k to get an MBA from one of these highly ranked schools.

FAR 12/3/14, 87
AUD 2/3/14, 90
BEC 4/1/14, 88
REG 5/27/14, 94

Licensed CPA, Indiana

"Successful people do things that unsuccessful people don't want to do"

[Anonymous]

The CPA is an instant Vitamin B shot for your career….both with your present employer and others. It has immediate benefits and will open doors to you which are closed to others. The CPA is about 20 times more valuable than an MBA to me.

The MBA….oh the MBA. When people find that I have one I get the “Awwwww, bless your heart” in the same way that I would if I told someone I just got over a flaming case of the crabs. I often wonder if it hurts my career, so much so that when I was trying to get back into Accounting from IT, I took it off my resume. I fear it has become the mark of a moron who didn't know better.

I'm told that the MBA will not help you get a job but will help you keep one and will ultimately increase your topside potential. Well, we will see.

[How many letters do you need]

Bronx: That's why you need both. IMO it really isn't a question of which one to get…it's what to get first.

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[fuzyfro89]

Depends on your goals.

If you want to work in accounting, then no. MBA will not help you much (beyond getting more credits to meet 150 hr requirement).

If you would eventually like to progress into a leadership role in finance (Corp. Controller for a large company, Finance Director, Treasurer, FP&A director, etc), then getting your CPA will be very helpful, and a well regarded MBA (top 25) won't hurt.

All MBAs are not created equally. An MBA from Arizona State and an MBA from UC Berkeley are NOT comparable, and each will provide a different set of opportunities to you.

Of course, you still have to work hard, prove your worth, and navigate office politics in order to progress up the ranks.

From talking with friends/acquaintances who obtained, plan to obtain, or work with top 25 MBA holders, the degree is helpful. There is a dichotomy of sorts between lower ranked MBA programs and higher ranked ones. Top MBAs are seeing very good job opportunities, as demand has really picked up from the past 3-4 “lean” years. Lower MBAs are not regarded in the same playing field.

So to repeat, get a degree/certification that is commensurate with what career goals you have.

[Anonymous]

@How many letters: I agree, and that is my goal. I want to get both eventually. But my dad majored in Economics (again, something he regrets) for his BS and went with Finance MBA, so he doesn't have the educational experience (though he is way beyond accounting courses). He wanted to do Accounting undergrad, but his dad dissuaded him from that.

[How many letters do you need]

Bronx: It's so hard to look forward a generation though. Your dad sounds like he made some pretty solid decisions at the time, unfortunately the workplace is always changing. Finance is melding with Accounting (in corporate) and Econ is really only good in government anymore but he didn't know that at the time, how could he? It makes me wonder what our decisions are going to look like in 25 years

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[How many letters do you need]

Fuzy: I agree with the MBA thing. Although the perception in the difference between MBA rankings is vastly different than the actual difference. As with any program it depends on the individual. The problem I've seen with top MBAs is that they often rely on their school to get them through while the bottom MBAs are still in a dog fight and they know it. If it's me doing the hiring I'm not sure I take the Stanford MBA over a Cal State MBA….but then again I'm a little untraditional with my hiring and management practices…

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[WileyoleYaeger]

I work in forensic accounting and am working towards getting my CPA however I do not wish to stay in accounting. I got my undergrad in Business Administration, and thought that with having experience in accounting I could move around and do whatever, but trying to transition away from accounting is not as easy as people see 5 years in accounting and no business management experience.

[Anonymous]

I did both. (Got my MBA to satisfy the extra accounting course requirements.)

[jaredo155]

As several posters have mentioned I think it is really all relative to the area you want to work in (i.e. public vs corporate vs government and tax vs audit vs general accounting). I have worked in corporate and government (never in public), and I can tell you in both those arenas if you are generation X or younger the expectation if you want to move in to even mid level management is that you will get a masters degree of some sort. In corporate the MBA is valuable if you are in any accounting or finance related department, the only degree that might be more valuable is a MST in a corporate tax department. In government they don't really seem to care what your degree is as much (MBA, MPA, MST, MAcc, etc), but many promotions/grades are very specific on having obtained a certain number of graduate hours. If you are looking to get a Masters to progress (check the box to move in to management) in either of these fields, then ranking is almost completely irrelevant. It is only valid the ranking of the school if you are looking to break in to a new industry or trying to progress in an extremely competitive field like high finance or consulting. With that said I still wouldn't take out a bunch of student loans unless you are trying to get in to one of those highly competitive fields.

I know your question is which is valued more the MBA or CPA, and again that is going to depend on your area. In corporate the CPA is valued more in tax, audit, or general accounting than the masters, however as I already mentioned to progress to Manager or above it is usually preferred that you have both. In corporate finance they would much prefer an MBA (even from a mid ranked state school) than they would someone with a CPA. In government my perception was that the Masters was much more valued than the certifications, but a lot less people were certified in that environment.

As I said I have never worked in public, but I have numerous friends who do, and all of them will tell you if you want a career in public accounting (in other words not transitioning to corporate later) then a masters is pretty much a complete waste of time (other than possibly a MST if you want to work in tax or the MBA if you want to work in consulting).

AUD - 2/2013 - Passed!
BEC - 5/2013 - Passed!
FAR - 8/2013 - Passed!
REG - 11/2013 - Passed!
"Do or do not, there is no try." - Yoda

[lude4life13]

If you have a CPA and show your employer that you are an asset by increases revenues, decreases expenses, changing methodology, or however you do it, there is no way they are going to not promote you because you don't have an MBA. They could care less, because what you have is REAL industry knowledge, and you know how to ACTUALLY make the company more profitable. Why would they want you to waste time going to school to learn something that you already do? They would want you at work making the company more successful…

[Study Monk]

@M.O.D.

Yes I am at GGU…let me know if you have any questions 🙂

@lude4life13 “Finally someone with a valuable input”- you are quite the diplomat lol

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]

Companies/clients legally NEED CPAs to provide a service that others can't.

Nobody NEEDS an MBA.

Supply & Demand.

[Anonymous]

lude4life13 – conquer!

I think I will only time I will considering doing an MBA is if the company I work for will pay a large portion of the cost. Doing it on my own isn't financially feasible.

[Study Monk]

Well schools on the brink of bankruptcy need MBAs, but otherwise its a valid point.

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"

[Author]

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