[Anonymous]

I had a job interview yesterday. This morning, they emailed me and said “your skills were perfect, exactly on par with what we needed…but you said you were going after your CPA license and we need somebody who will be fully committed to the job.” Well DAMN…. Ok, I’m over it already. But is this a common thing? I think it’s common amongst hiring manager who don’t understand the process or that 95 percent of us who are studying also work 40+ hours a week. I think some firms just want “pure staff accountants”, they don’t want anything to do with CPAs. Fine. I did not include “Studying for CPA exam” on my resume but perhaps from now on, I will just avoid the topic. I’ve also talked to hiring managers who said “I usually try to find somebody who is going for their CPA or who has taken all the courses for the CPA qualification and now is just deciding what they want to do.”

[Missy]

At the same time you have to understand that the stereotypes about cpa's are reinforced by too many cpa's. Just read the comments on this forum in other threads. “I didn't get my CPA so I could scan documents for the CFO” (as if a CFO should do it themselves because some 24 year old newbie passed a test). Or “how many years until I make six figures??” as if it's guaranteed that regardless of your work ethic or turnover at a company someone will say Dave's been a cpa for 36 months, time to bump him to a quarter million. I'm not even sure anybody knows I'm a cpa where I work especially when I'm taking out the trash or hauling up the spring waters. That said there are going to be many layoffs after the first of the year,and I know for a fact I'm not one of them. In fact I'm getting the biggest raise in the entire company.

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

[Anonymous]

That's interesting you know that your raise is going to be the biggest in your company…but then again I guess H.R./payroll is privy to info that nobody else is. CPA definitely means job security and a lack of unemployment! Some of these young CPAs and CPA candidates are extremely cocky. I've seen it before myself. New grads, already passed a couple sections and will be licensed within next year or two, making big bucks at their Big 4 job while other (older and more experienced) CPAs get 1% raise every year at their job…definitely not easy. I don't know. There's no rhyme or reason to much of what happens in the workforce today. Be in the right place at the right time and you can have it all. Be in the wrong place and have next to nothing.

[Missy]

Actually even if I wasn't hr I would have known. Created the budget with the president of the company but then I had to present it to and negotiate with the board of directors in the UK. My boss put me in with a 20% increase which I knew wouldn't fly but they came back with 5% and we settled on 10%. It's coincide that I happen to do HR and payroll too LOL when I get to hire someone for that, they won't know the increase until after the annual reviews in January.

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

[Anonymous]

Many companies don't even do reviews or significant raises anymore unless you get promoted. I think that trend started during the economic crisis of 2008 and which lasted until…2013? Some say it's still going on, or that the world will never get back to where it was before '08. In the 7 years I was at one job (2008-2015) I never had a performance review and nobody else did either. Got a bit more money as the years passed but not much.

[Jdn9201]

Go elsewhere – they don't deserve you as an employee if they can't support your goals. I could see being concerned about someone getting trained then leaving, but even if that were your plan you probably wouldn't leave until after you have your exams done. More likely, they are threatened by your ambition. I've been in industry my entire career and all of my managers have been supportive. I wouldn't have even gone to grad school by now had one director not bugged me about it. I was kind of fuzzy regarding test dates in the beginning because I didn't want the pressure of coworkers knowing about it, but I felt supported everywhere I've worked. On my resume, I'd refer to myself as a CPA candidate in my objective and put my progress in my education section. Beyond putting it on my resume, I wouldn't talk about it unless asked though. The CPA is a great achievement but it speaks almost nothing to the quality of work you do. I've seen some CPA's who are morons and wouldn't be able to do debits/credits if their lives depended on it! Good luck – you deserve a job that supports you.

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[Anonymous]

@jdn9201 Interesting story/history you have…that's good that you were supported by your superiors/senior coworkers.
At my last job, where I was employed for literally the duration of the recession and a tad beyond, they cared nothing about the employees except if they came to work every day. They did fire under-performers but it usually took a long time (a year or more) before they pink-slipped them. Anyway though, that's also interesting about some CPAs being morons who don't know Dr/Cr. I didn't think anyone could pass the exam unless they were an expert at Dr/Cr. I often wonder about the CPA credential – yes it does mean that you went the extra mile and passed an extremely challenging four exams and did an audit/tax job supervised by another CPA. But, it's not a doctoral degree. I think the CPA has a higher standing than MBA (I've met plenty of idiot MBAs who hadn't a brain in their head) and if you have one, you will receive more financial compensation than an accountant who doesn't have one. But, if you don't happen to have the CPA credential, I don't know if your career/life will be completely different than if you do have it. I've worked with a good number of folks who, by rights, should have a CPA license but do not. At my last job, we had an MS in Accounting who basically knew it all, a real whiz. We also had a lady who was an auditor for E.Y. for years who was very good too…it was very surprising that neither had a CPA and had zero plans to get one. The one with the MS told me that it took him a ton of effort to get that degree and he was all burned out and couldn't imagine studying for any more exams, especially those as extensive as the CPA exams. He didn't even know what BEC and REG were (he knew FAR and AUD though!) Anyhoo, thanks for your reply and yes, I'm applying to positions where they will not diss the CPA/CPA candidacy.

[Anonymous]

@DEWDEWYAH Agree 100%

[Author]

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