Hey guys, I’m a senior Accounting/Finance major and was wondering if there is any value in taking the CPA exam (and paying it myself), if I will likely be going for an MSF degree out of undergrad (have a decent to good shot at Ohio State, Boston College, Florida, and Vanderbilt) and I will be pursuing the CFA accreditation (taking Level I in June). There’s a chance I can get a scholarship for the exam fees, but even with no exam fees will it be worth it to put in a whole month of studying? I heard the CPA is valuable if you go into Corporate Finance but I’m not sure if I will end up there. Suggestions?
Probably cant hurt you, but as you said if you arent in corp finance or even some jobs with big 4, it probably wont be worth it. I have done both the CPA and CFA and am on the corp finance side, so mine is reversed in that the CFA doesnt do much for me. But it doesnt hurt me either.
Don’t do it. You should concentrate on getting a high GPA instead.
Passing the exams doesn’t make you a CPA, you have to have public accounting experience as well. So, unless you plan on working as an accountant, or at least in an accounting firm where you could fudge your actual duties, you won’t be a CPA. I don’t think being able to say that you passed the exams will do you much good, other than the knowledge you gain.
Why would anyone want to do that?
not all states require public accounting experience…but I believe in some you must work under the supervision of a CPA. In my experience on the corp finance side even saying you passed the exams does offer some benefit.
If I were to take the CPA exam it would be over the summer (if I don’t get an internship) but from what I understand it is not worth just taking the exam if I don’t plan on getting the required work experience. Financial Advisory with the Big 4 crossed my mind but from what I’ve read it requires banking hours without the pay. I wish I would’ve known/thought about this a while ago so I wouldn’t have this crapload of hours (approaching 150 semester hours). Now I just need to decide if I should take Advanced Accounting in the winter or just take a prereq. for some of the MSFs like Linear Algebra or Differential Equations. Thanks guys.