I guess we’re both in the same boat as far as certs go, kkent. I’m also trying to finish up the CPA as soon as possible. Except I’m shelling out big money for it…
Dang. Well, at least when you get it, you get it. I know paying for the CPA out-of-pocket can add up to the thousands of dollars, but it’ll definitely make you more marketable and I’d think it would have quite a large NPV and a solid IRR (God I love corporate). In the post-Enron era of Sarbanes-Oxley, you can never have too many CPAs on your team (in fact, I hear there’s a trend now toward appointed CEOs being CPAs just for the current regulatory atmosphere).
How does the CPA cost thousands of dollars? Should’t cost that much
I’m taking it at NYU Stern. It’s costing me 18,000 USD…I could’ve graduated earlier. The reason it’s expensive is that you have to take the accounting core courses and have 120 or 150 credits (depending on state) with 60 general education credits just to SIT FOR THE EXAM. The actual exam itself is cheap. So it’s pretty bad for people in certain states who need to basically have their master’s to sit for it. At my school, the accounting core is around 10 courses (mostly 3 credit, two or three 2 credit) which adds up to a lot of $. My goal is to get the CFA/CPA/CAIA. Maybe FRM later for the sake of learning, and Maybe CMA very far down the line. BTW, kkent, how much does it cost to take it at a CC? I imagine a fraction, I presume?
Ptrainer, a huge cost of the CPA exam is the prep, which can run into the thousands of dollars. Most CPA firms can get their employees large discounts on the exam prep, so out of pocket can be quite expensive. stern, for 6 classes at my community college, the entire cost is $1,500 (less than $84 per credit). I graduated with something like 140 credits and 3 or 4 core accounting classes, so I need 6 more accounting classes and 10 more credits (I’ll have around 158 with 6 more classes).
Jesus Christ. 18,000 vs ~1500 Am I retarded… And yes, I did 5 core accounting classes already and was up to the early 130s credits. That’s a great deal you got there kkent, especially for an exam that can be taken very readily(nearly any week) and with a good deal of hard work and career value.
Well, stern, you’ve always got NYU next to your name forever. I’d love to have an accounting degree from there; so there are some trade-offs–you’re not totally getting screwed. Plus, I’d argue the quality of your NYU accounting classes is far far far far far superior to my community college online classes that barely pass as credit-worthy classes. But, yeah, I’m definitely blessed and I’ll thank the Good Lord for my fortunate circumstance.
Well, the thing is that people see CPA and nothing else matters, right? As for stern accounting courses, they’re pretty goddamn vigorous. Basically, to coast with a B we have to read and know almost everything flat. And there’s a ton of work. Hence many nyu grads clear the cpa with relative ease. But the cost is a little insane… I was considering finishing up my third major at Zicklin CUNY for half the price but the curriculum didn’t match…:*(
LOL, I just realized what your screen name means. NYU Stern. That never clicked before. I know NYU is expensive, but man do I have a lot of respect for that school–fantastic business programs (and a great Theatre Arts program to boot). B.S. accounting from NYU automatically gets you an interview if I’m the hiring manager. But I digress…lol.