[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

This question has had me thinking a lot – and I really don’t know what to make of it. I am an auditor in my big four firm’s financial services group, which has me working with large mortgage banks, private equity firms, etc. Finance plays a big part in what I do – and with the CPA credential – I naturally gravitate toward it being logically consistent to pursue a credential in finance as it compliments my audit specialities.

My plans are to remain in public accounting – forever – and pursue a deeper speciality in the audits of private equity / alternative investment funds. With that – once the CPA exam is over – I’m caught between investing study time into my clients, audit guidance, and Codification – or delaying such limiting it to the “normal big four hours” and prioritizing the CFA during the evenings.

In my opinion, the prior can be accessed throughout my career – nonetheless – it is essential knowledge. The CFA is much more of a “bell and whistle,” but I also believe there is a limited opportunity to pursue it as I will gain additional responsibilities and have more asked of me. With a lot of levers to weight out – at it’s core – do you think having a CPA and CFA would aid you in a long term career as a private equity auditor? This can include listed and unlisted reasons.

Thanks

[thebigguy1992]

im not really sure of the answer to this…but…i work at a big4 as well in the north east. and one of my friends managers who had his CPA and CFA just left the firm after 1 year of manager and now he is making 280K.

 
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