[wng1885]

I have a bachelors in Accounting and have currently passed 3 out 4 of the CPA exam. I’m currently debating my options to finish off my education requirement. I do not have any experience in Public accounting so I will likely have the Controller at the company I am working at sign off on a form so I can get the experience requirement. I’m looking to stay in the corporate world.
From my understanding Master programs in accounting are typically designed to get you ready for the CPA exam is that correct? So therefore taking a Masters program in accounting would be a bit redundant?
Whereas an MBA I would be learning and developing new skill sets.
Many of people that I have spoken with say that I should specialize in something therefore going with the masters in accounting would be the better choice unless I were miraculously get into a top MBA program. PLEASE ADVISE!!

[Anonymous]

An MBA is more beneficial, unless you plan to stay in Accounting forever…

Some of the crowd will say everyone has an MBA..so what? Who's the odd man out without one.

I have an MBA, and I am doing a Masters in Finance with some advanced Accounting courses sprinkled in.

[Missy]

The only benefit imho of an MBA (unless from a top school) is that it may just be the difference between you and another candidate to get a job offer. It won't make your earnings potential high enough to justify the cost (not my opinion, it's a fact you can easily research) but if it's something you WANT you don't need a ROI analysis to justify it. You are correct a master's in accounting (which I have)is redundant.

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

[CPA2BEE]

If you're staying in corporate, get the MBA instead. Once you're a CPA, I don't know how valued your masters in accounting is going to be anyway. For the people I know that have the masters in accounting, it really didn't do anything for them, even before they were licensed CPAs, other than maybe get their foot in the door at an entry-level position somewhere. If you're keeping the corporate role, I think the MBA/CPA combo is just a lot sexier. Good luck

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[jivexturk3y]

If I have no public experience, would an MST program be a great way to get my foot in the door?

[M123]

Everyone is different but a Master's is enhanced with experience. If someone is driven and has a vision they can turn an MBA or MA into something amazing. It is less effective if it is simply going through the motions. Give it a few years and see what works. Some will want diversity of education – so MBA. Some will want to really hone their skills. Give it time and you will know.

[Anonymous]

The MBA is not really considered a prestigious degree anymore, largely due to the fact that anybody can pay to get one from any accredited online university. I've known some DUMB MBAs.
Getting an MS or MA in Accounting is, I would guess, even more expensive than getting an MBA and by and large, I don't think it's what most employers look for.
If you want to be a CFO, controller, or something like that, the CPA will get you your job of choice, along with your prior experience. I've known only 1-2 people who had master's degrees in accounting. They didn't really seem to know a lot more than I did, despite having taken 600-level accounting theory courses that were of absolutely no use to them in their jobs.
And, they were not CPAs.

[Anonymous]

Get an MBA-Finance if you decide to further your education. If you have your CPA do not bother with an MSA. I may earn an MBA-Finance in the future, but having a BS-Accounting and the CPA are the most important. Goodluck.

[wng1885]

Does anyone have a CPA paired with a Financial Engineering Masters degree or Data Science degree? As unique as that combination might be I'm wondering if that is beneficial in the corporate world. I was told by NASBA that I have all my accounting education requirements and am just missing 14 credits. Therefore I have the freedom to pursue other non accounting/finance related degrees I'm assuming.

[Anonymous]

Wei, that might be a good combo. My personal take on it, is degrees are not rites of passage, but they give you access to apply to those jobs. It's all about how you market yourself and the education you have.
I'm looking at a sort of similar route, but I am thinking of Operations Research. I like Finance, but I want a more diverse exposure.

[CPWAT]

If I really have to do a master, I would do coding..

[cwlanders]

@wei ng I have accounting and finance undergraduate degrees, an MBA with an emphasis in data analytics and have now qualified for CPA licensing. In addition, I have 2 years of audit experience specifically in the investment management sector (Private Equity, Hedge Funds, Retirement Systems, REIT's, etc.). I was looking in public accounting, not corporate accounting but you could definitely tell that people perked up when I started mentioning my data analytics experience. I pretty much got an interview everywhere I applied and got an offer from my top choice. While that background didn't get me the job it sure put me at the top of the list of people they wanted to interview.

BEC - 91 (2/29/16)
AUD- 74, 74

[wng1885]

MBA with an emphasis on Data analytics is an interesting combination. Is that something many MBA programs offer? I'm assuming that is a similar concept to when you minor in a certain field, correct?

[ultrarunner]

If your goal is to become a CFO in industry, MBA is a must. Both previous CFO and current CFO in my company have MBA from the very prestigious schools. The current CFO has CPA too. It all depends on what your goal is.

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[cwlanders]

@wei ng Yeah, essentially all of the elective/Non-MBA classes that you are supposed to take are geared toward data analytics. I'm not sure if many programs offer it or not. We had classes on SQL, building databases and data warehouses, SAS, Hadoop, training IBM's Watson, etc. It was super interesting and made it feel like I wasn't just going to get some MBA that everyone else has. If you are an accounting or finance major and working on the CPA exam, any MBA program will feel like a breeze so it is good to add something like that to help differentiate yourself.

BEC - 91 (2/29/16)
AUD- 74, 74

[Anonymous]

Basically just repeating what most have said…I would go with the MBA, but find an interesting field to specialize it in. I got my MAcc to meet the education requirements, and I don't necessarily regret it but in hindsight I probably would have gone with the MBA. Especially for people who want to climb up in the corporate world, the MBA is almost becoming a must. Once I finish the CPA, I've thought about taking the few classes that bridge between the MAcc and MBA in Accounting.

Anything IT related is good to be able to put on the resume, so the data analytics mentioned above might be interesting and good for your career.

[Author]

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