[HoosierCPA]

First off I know I am going to get mixed reviews on this topics.

I suppose this is more geared towards people that are in a position to hire. Do you value a candidate with a masters and a CPA that much more then a candidate with only a CPA? This has been a some what hot topic in my dept. Our cost accountant has her masters and thinks if she were to get her CPA it would clearly set her apart from just a CPA. Also, I have another co-worker who is working on his masters then proceeding to sit for the exam–he said there is a ton of literature that would basically disagree with my thoughts. I went to a university where they had a 5 year program in accounting that gave you the 150 credits that you need to sit in Indiana. There pitch from day 1 is that the CPA is the gold standard and if you have it then the masters isn’t important…essentially saying CPAs don’t get their masters. Since this is all I knew I always stuck with this logic–my college buddies agree with this logic but co-workers don’t. What do you guys think? I suppose where you get a masters can hold value–the people in my dept went the cheap route and did some online courses (nothing wrong with that)…if someone got a masters at a tech school that 90% of employers never heard of does it really hold that much value?

FAR - 78
REG - 72,74,71...please just go away REG nobody likes you!
BEC - 82
AUD - Aug 16

[SomeSomeCPA]

https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/cpa-vs-masters/

FAR: 39,59,TBD
BEC: 74,79
AUD: 77
REG: September

[Missy]

I think it really depends. For some managers it matters (particularly if they have a master's themselves.) But in general no. The problem lies in the initial screening (usually someone with neither a master's or a cpa) who's looking at a pile of resumes and deciding which ones to move forward. If they're comparing two resumes and one has a master's and a cpa, the other has a CPA will they favor the additional credential? Quite possibly. But it's not like you'll get a big bump in pay for having both so it's strictly a competitive edge that can be compensated for in dozens of other less expensive ways.

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

[Track55]

At my company a Masters is worthless. The only grad degree they would value is a Law degree. That's why I decided on getting certifications instead of an MBA once I started working.

AUD - 74, 99 !!
REG - 74, 92
BEC - 83
FAR - 73, 86

Studying for Ethics exam

California candidate
Business and Industry

[HoosierCPA]

@somethingsomethingcpa thanks for the link! Looks like by far the consensus is the masters doesn't hold a ton of value. I debated after a little break where my next step would be. I think I would be more likely to pursue a CMA over a masters…especially after reading that thread!

FAR - 78
REG - 72,74,71...please just go away REG nobody likes you!
BEC - 82
AUD - Aug 16

[Cruzer]

It looks nice because you have another certificate on your office wall and a company would probably choose you over another candidate that both has a CPA.

[SeattleCPA]

This is my experience… note that some of the info is very dated.

I graduated in '81 from a small university with a really good accounting program (from Central Washington), passing the exam May of my senior year.

At the time, coupling a CPA with a graduate degree was a bit more novel because there wasn't a fifth year requirement. But because I wanted to work in the consulting division of Arthur Andersen, I got an MBA in finance (from University of Washington in '82). That helped lots with my first jobs, including when I moved from AA to a VC funded startup and then into real estate development consulting.

Roughly two decades later, to buff my skills, I got an MS in taxation from GGU… and also taught in their graduate tax school briefly.

My take on all this stuff is that graduate degrees can really help with personal branding because people know what a masters degree or law degree or Ph.D. are. My credentials have helped lots of times over the years. Especially when selling to new clients or new publishers.

But I'm not so enthusiastic about certifications. The problem with credential acronyms is that most are very poorly branded. In many cases, only the people who hold them know what the letters stand for.

And this final comment: I still am super glad I have my two masters degrees… But in today's economy, I think sometimes graduate degrees (especially those held by old guys) can be pretty dated credentials. We all need to be learning stuff faster than universities develop formal programs. Someone who's really smart and a true self-learner can easily stay ahead of some researcher in a big university.

[Author]

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