Guys, I am an Indian National taking my L3 this June after that I may plan for an MBA or an Masters in Accounting which would also get me CPA . So an CFA with MBA or CFA with MS (Accounting) and CPA Need your valuable comments thanks. I wont get my Charter till 2.5 years since I have only 1.5 yrs of work ex
i dont understand y u wud want to take the accounting route???if ur takiin ur level 3 in June u must have made up ur mind to be on the investment side…i wudnt advise u to do ur mba either…cuz u will only repeat wat u learned with CFA…unless ur doin mba from the IIMs or another Ivy league school…but honestly accounting wud be a step down… u need to rethink ur career path
onlygodknowswhy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > i…but honestly > accounting wud be a step down… u need to > rethink ur career path so accordingly doing a CPA would be a step down?
My goodness, “onlygod” has such annoying net-speak. I’m qualified to take the CPA exam as well and from what I know, there are only positive benefits in taking both. The CPA knowledge is very good, especially for ER. Just don’t go into accounting for one or two years to actually get the “Stamp”. Just pass the exams and get into finance.
MBA for sure. CPA may strength your skills, but will de-value your CFA title.
Really? Why would getting a CPA de-value the CFA designation? Wouldn’t the CFA just carry more weight than the CPA in the job search?
Get the MBA from top 20 school.
I’m not sure where you live, but you can do the CPA without the masters’ in many states. In fact, I think in Vermont (or some other state) you don’t even need a bachelor’s degree. You can take the exam in your home state and state the CPA for another state. Since you are not planning to work in public accounting, you can take courses at a community college (one that has an online program) to complete the requirements. There are certain states like Deleware, etc. (I believe the becker website (or one of the CPA course provider websites) ) has a neat way to find out the most relaxed state requirements. Then pass all 4 CPA exams on your own and add it to your MBA.
"Really? Why would getting a CPA de-value the CFA designation? " I don’t think having a CPA devalues the CFA designation. I think it most likely increases it as accounting skills are essential for ER. In any event, in order get the official “CPA letters” you need 1-2 years of public accounting work experience. Which is not worth it if you want to get into ER.
Sternwolf - I agree with most of what you said, but it doesnt have to be public accounting experience to be a CPA (at least not my state), in can be industry, etc. The work experience isnt that stringent of a requirement (I think it just needs to be under a CPA).
AlphaSeeker Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > MBA for sure. CPA may strength your skills, but > will de-value your CFA title. Stating that the CPA will “de-value” your CFA title is like saying that getting a masters will de-value your bachelors. The CPA is a great compliment to the CFA and vice-versa.
so you’re working in the industry, right? you’ve got a year and a half of experience. why do you feel you need to do either? if you’re in a small shop and want to be in a much bigger one, get a top mba and be done, assuming you can’t get there otherwise. i can’t see why you think it’ll help to get a cpa. first of all, you likely won’t get the cpa; the best you’ll do is pass the exams and add that you did so as a small note on your resume. if i were hiring, i wouldn’t care much about that without some kind of experience to back it up. we need to stop thinking that just passing an exam or two is inherently impressive to a large group of people. people think that passing cfa l1 is going to help them get their foot in the door on the buy side when they’re coming from IT or something. at best it tells the employer you don’t have to do quite as much training and that you’ve got some motivation to study on your own. but are they really that impressed that you passed the test itself? Sure, they’ll acknowledge that its tough, but a whole lot more people could pass that thing if they put in the necessary hours. i’d guess that lots of people get into it and start to feel lazy, or overconfident, or they are just too busy to devote the time. i would say the same thing about the cpa exams. if i were an employer, i’d care much more about the formal education (macc) than the fact that you studied and passed some exam. at the end of the day, the thing that, in my opinion, carries all the weight with the cfa and the cpa is the experience requirement. the cpa also carries, to a degree, the continuing education requirement, but the work experience is much more valuation. so if i were you, i’d first decide how much i actually need this education, considering you’re already in the industry in one way or another. then, if you decide you need the education, i’d pick the direction that gives the most bang for the buck. i’d choose the mba for a few reasons, esp if you can get into a top (however you wish to define it) school. 1 - the macc is overly focused on accounting if you want to go into research (do you really need to know how to book the entries for a sales-type lease or the capitalization of interest on a construction job? i’d guess the important industry-specific issues will be taught on the job). also, b/c the mba is broad, you get to understand more of a business (strategy, marketing, ops, etc) from a holistic viewpoint, rather than just starting with the numbers. in other words, you will see some of the cfa finance, but you get different opportunities to apply it. 2 - recruiting. if you’re going to finance, there will be much more recruiting opportunities from an mba than from a macc. i’m not saying it can’t be done, but its easier from an mba. a lot of the macc recruiting will be for accounting firms for audit or tax. sorry this is kind of long and rambling, but i hope it helps a bit. for what its worth, i got an acct undergrad, got my cpa with a big 4 firm, started the cfa, moved to a valuation firm, and am going to get an mba from a “top” school, hoping to end up on the buy side.
mlh97, did you transfer to valuations within big 4 from audit or did you leave the big 4 to do valuations?..I am just wondering as I dunno how hard it will be for me to transfer to valuatons from audit. I would try and ask for it after I get my CA and have done lvl 2…so it wont be for a while but your thoughts would be appreciated.
i looked into staying with my firm, but they really didn’t have any openings at the time (that or they thought i was crap and didn’t want to tell me the truth; could be either one). i ended up going with a smaller local firm, and i’m glad i did. 1, the hours were better. i was leaving three months after my first son was born and i wanted more reasonable hours. 2, the work we do is a little more diverse, from what i hear. in the big firms, they do a lot of sas73 reviews (i don’t know if they do the same thing in canada or not. do they?) granted, i don’t always like the different things, like litigation support/forensic acct, which i really don’t like, but the diversity is good. i joined the firm after i passed lvl 1. my boss really liked the cpa b/c there isn’t anyone else in the office with it. they liked the acct perspective.
Whodey and Wanderingcfa - I don’t disagree that CPA will be a compliment to CFA, but it’s only so to the skill set. The title part is a funny different thing. There is no secret that a lot of people rightfully or wrongfully “perceive” accountants (or CPAs) at business schools as bean counters, losers, etc. While the CFAs are the hot and sexy buy side or sell side investment decision makers. (The reality may not be true.) So putting a CPA after your CFA title is diluting the CFA value. How many people proudly advertise that they got a master in Accounting from, say Cal State NOWHERE, after they’ve got a master in financial engineering from, say Wharton or Chicago. It’s better that if you do get a CPA (after CFA) and just not put it after your name. Sorry this post may be hard to swallow, but it’s honest. AlphaSeeker, CFA
Doing the three semesters of college courses, getting at least Bs in them, and putting another 400-500 (or more) hours of studying on top of that doesn’t make the CPA a walk in the park…
It does, when you compare it to the 3 levels of gruelling exams, the discriminating passing rates and the four years of related experience. I got to run. The market is taking a turn at the last min…
The CPA, including the ten or so courses you have to take, is more work (and equal at best) compared to the CFA charter… The pass rates are only slightly higher than the CFA. As for the experience part, that’s different.
sternwolf, no need to haggle on this. The job/salary market determines the outcomes on this “debate”. Have fund and keep the alpha high and the tracking error reasonable, buddy. AlphaSeeker, CFA
There is no reason why John Doe, CFA, CPA should look worse than John Doe, CFA.