[Anonymous]

I live in a state that requires me to have 150 credits to qualify for my CPA. I plan to begin taking the CPA exam next year, but I am unsure if I should first go for my Master’s; or just put my time and effort into passing the CPA. I know that the Master’s degree is more costly, but I have not been in college for quite sometime and I am unsure if the CPA preps would be enough to help me get into a rhythm and study effieciently. Any advice?

[TommyTheCat]

how many units do you need to hit the 150 credits?

[Anonymous]

Anarchy, I don't know what the curriculum for a Master's of Accountancy includes, but the review courses focus on exactly what you need to know to pass the exam. Even the undergraduate courses in accounting go into much greater depth than the exam reviews. A wise old CPA once told me that the CPA exam is a mile wide and an inch deep, and that is true for the two sections I have studied for, so far. It would be interesting to hear from someone who has done the Master's.

Also, studying for the exam by yourself isn't comparable to a degree program in which you participate in seminars, write research papers, etc.
It's mostly about practice, practice, practice.

I went back to school after 30 years, so I understand what you are experiencing. I honestly don't think the extra expense of the Master's is worth it unless you intend to teach. (That said, I would certainly do the Master's myself, but AFTER getting my CPA, if I could afford it!)

[atrain531]

I got my bachelors in economics and wanted to get my CPA. I decided to go for my CPA by attending community college to finish out the course requirements. I figured a masters in tax wouldn't gear me towards passing the CPA exam, which was my ultimate goal. I am currently hoping to go get my MBA now that I have completed my CPA, and the certification should be able to get me into a much more competitive program. Ultimately, it comes down to your personal goals. I would recommend just doing your CPA without doing your masters.

[Anonymous]

I am not 100% sure, but I believe I have around 127-130 credits. I was thinking the Master's program would be a huge help, but to spend 2-3 months studying the Gmat to get a great score for graduate school, I am better off spending that time studying for the CPA exam. I am a staff accountant right now, but I would like to eventually move up to a Senior Accountant role. I see that it would help me to be more competitive if I pass the exam already.

[TommyTheCat]

my personal advice is to just find the right CPA review course for your learning style and rely on that as your educational supplement to conquer the exams. You should be able to sit for the exams now with the units you have, so you can knock out the exams after the review course and then tackle the extra units you need easily after the fact from a community college.

I don't know if the extra work with the GMAT plus the cost of the program plus the time the program takes will be worth it to you. Just my 2 cents though.

[Pete]

If you're currently working at a CPA firm and they don't pay for the MBA, definitely focus on passing the CPA exam; it will be much more benneficial for you to pass it. They're also more likely to pay for the exam review course. The information you gain from an MBA program won't be the same stuff you'll see on the exam (I think). If your firm pays for the MBA program, then it would make sense to take those classes-they're free.

The only time you might want to pay for an MBA program, aside from the cost being covered, revolves around getting a job, which you already are fortunate enough to posses.

B=84 This exam was such a b**** that I thought I failed-don't know how these things work
A=76 Slacker I am, I'll happily take it
R=81 I LOVE taxes
F=80 I don't wanna get banned for an expletive I'm thinking with "yea" proceeding it

[Anonymous]

I want to chime in here.

The CPA Review Courses put you in a great position to pass, but some topics are not covered in enough depth to have a thorough understanding about the material – especially with the NEW SIMS. I passed both FAR and BEC on my first try because I was reviewing 60-70% of what I had already covered in Undergad. However, REG and AUD were True Beasts because I had probably only seen 25% of the material needed to pass during my Undegrad. As a result, both REG and AUD have been very difficult for me compared to FAR and BEC. But, I do expect to pass all 4 exams soon (hopefully) due to my relentless work ethic and my refusal to quit.

I sometimes regret not getting my MPAC from a good University of California school because I feel like I would have been much more prepared for these exams. But, I would be another $30k in debt!

Anyhow, there are pros and cons with both paths. I guess saving money and jumping into a good Review Course is the best option due to the high cost savings. However, be prepared to really, really work your butt off in areas that you have not studied much and are weak in. I basically lived out of the Internal Revenue Code (online) and A71 to clarify certain Tax topics because Becker did not cut it and I had never studied them in Undergrad.

Goodluck and know that the key to passing is NEVER giving up, having a RELENTLESS work ethic, and making many SACRIFICES!! 🤓

[ultrarunner]

I did both. I finished my CPA first. I am doing my Masters now. I don't think Masters will help you to prepare for the exams. For the exams, you will need to choose the CPA review, which will work the best for you. I never planned to work for public accounting while I was working in industry. So I did my CPA to have a better opportunity in industry. Once I have my CPA, I got many emails from the recruiters. But then I wanted to work in public accounting, so I started Masters. If you stay in industry and move up, you should go for the CPA. Or if you get into public accounting, you may consider Masters and do the CPA later.

FAR 72,67,79 (Roger+Wiley test bank)11/15
AUD 80 (Roger)10/15
BEC 80 (Roger)4/16
REG 63,78 (Roger+Ninja MCQs)5/16

[murd]

I'd just get my CPA using a review course and then obtain credits as cheaply as possible (WGU… I have earned 13 credits in one month, need 8 more to reach 150)

Master's programs are great, make you stand out vs. those who do not have one, etc. But I think the biggest benefit of a Master's is recruiting from that school. If you are already in the firm that you like, then just get the CPA and remaining credits. Your career thereafter will be based on your experience you obtained at your firm.

[Anonymous]

I think your time is better spent doing additional studying for the exam rather than taking masters courses just because you are studying how to pass the test which really does make a difference. Also once you have the CPA, as far as I know it trumps the Masters degree in most situations. Now maybe if there are two candidates who are both CPAs and one has their Masters, it could make a difference.

[Tncincy]

My answer is money and time. Who doesn't want as many letters behind their name as great accomplishments, but these letters cost money and sacrifice. You will have to study to pass and you will have to pay to enter the race either way. what kind of time are you predicting. Working right away? CPA

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[CPA2BEE]

Just go for your masters

FAR - 80
AUD - 82
BEC - 80
REG - 85

ETHICS - 90
EXPERIENCE - COMPLETE
Application for California license mailed 8/4/2016

[Anonymous]

This is an older thread so I hope it's OK if I post on it. I'm new here so I'm not sure. Anyway…

The most obvious reason somebody would go for the masters is that they want to teach accounting. Many job offerings only require a masters in accounting (or 18 grad acct credits plus masters in other subject) to apply. I want to teach acct so that is what I'm doing.

Another reason to go for it is that the expense is reimbursed by the employer, and the content is applicable to the job/career.

Another reason is the contacts and opportunities that come along with it. I guess these will vary somewhat depending on the school. Better schools will have better opportunities. Not a primary reason though.

So those are good reasons, but they won't apply to everybody. For example, it's not needed for CPA licensing requirements, because the 30 additional credits can be earned in other (easier and less expensive) ways.

Just my $0.02.

[jdub]

I got my MBA before starting on my CPA for a couple reasons.

1) My undergrad required 124 hours – so I was well short of the 150 upon graduating. I had all the required accounting and other courses but was short in total. My MBA program was 34 hours.. so why waste my time and money getting to 150 if it wasn't going to matter for anything else. I got my MBA, had all the required hours and courses and had 158 hours.

2) I wanted to learn more about business as a whole. My undergrad had TONS of accounting courses – which was nice and obviously expected since I got an accounting degree. But what happened when I didn't want to be down in the weeds and manage a company? I needed to know about business practices and not just accounting. Which is why I chose an MBA instead of a Master's of Accountancy.

Couple of pros to how I did it.

1) I felt like an MBA made BEC a breeze. I still studied, agonized, and freaked out because I'm a horrible test taker (yay test anxiety that developed because of Intermediate Accounting II and has never gone away). I had to take BEC twice because I lost a credit (for various reasons). The first time I took it I was fresh off my MBA and really didn't study as much as I probably could have. The second time was this past quarter where I'm almost 3 years removed from my MBA and studied a little harder, but still felt it was a review of my MBA itself.

2) I got a promotion over others once I finished my MBA without my CPA for the reason that I knew more about business as a whole and they only knew the accounting aspect. (Private company).

3) I got TWO jobs in which my managers valued an MBA over a CPA, again because I knew more about the business as a whole instead of just a small piece of the pie (Public Companies). Don't get me wrong – they liked that I was working on my CPA to become more versed in accounting as well, but I brought perspective to their team that wasn't just accounting.

4) Within 1 month of graduating with my MBA I was approached about teaching adjunct on the side. Extra money. Not super hard. (More hours than I expected though). And it was in accounting since that's what my undergrad was. I was also approached about economics but that is not my cup of tea so I didn't feel comfortable teaching students on that subject.

Couple of downfalls to getting my MBA first.

1) When I started the CPA journey I was 4 years removed from my undergrad degree and 6 years removed from my last tax class – THIS MADE REG DAMN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME. I also had 1 audit class and no audit experience so audit has also been very difficult. I passed FAR the first time but attribute this to my only “real world” experience being in preparing financial statements and business operations – no tax and no audit experience for me.

2) Adulting is hard. I started working full time in the industry 2 months before I finished my undergrad. I got used to money, was living on my own, bought a house super young. So I didn't have an option to quit. Most of my peers passed all 4 exams on the first try, in record time and then went out and got a job. I've been struggling with the work/life/study balance for 2 years now because I can't seem to do it all – no matter how hard I try! Hopefully I'll be done this time next month though.

I know this is an old thread but just wanted to share my experience!

[Author]

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