Has anybody taken the CPA? Do you think its worth the time? How hard is it and how long does it take versus the CFA? (Ive already got an MBA so please don’t suggest that as an alternative)
Depends on what you want to do. If your ‘transition’ plan into investment management includes a stint at a big 4 or consulting firm on the accounting side, it might be worth it (in my state, you have to have 150 hours of college credits and certain class requirements, which means I’d have to take like 8 classes which would result in a MACC - if there was more overlap in my MS Finance I’d do it but it’s fairly stand-alone coursework and the CPA exam doesn’t align with my long-term objectives or hopeful path). What do you want to do, and how do you plan to get there will dictate the answer.
Well, I want to get into investment management, but there is a lot of clout with the CPC. Many of the jobs I’ve seen listed like it if you have a CPA, esp some of the private equity stuff. In the short term, I may move to our company’s finance dept - they all like the CPA and would probably want me to get it, so I was wondering if its worth the hassle and if its as hard as this miserable b*tch all of us in this forum have been trying to conquer…
need 1000 audit hours to become a CPA…
mcap11 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > need 1000 audit hours to become a CPA… Texas requires 1 yer of work experience in accounting that includes all sorts of disciplines, not necessarily anything specific like audit. Bean counting, tax work, etc, in our finance dept would suffice for the work requirement…
It also requires a degree in accounting, according to my Texas CPA wife. rolo550 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > mcap11 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > need 1000 audit hours to become a CPA… > > > Texas requires 1 yer of work experience in > accounting that includes all sorts of disciplines, > not necessarily anything specific like audit. > Bean counting, tax work, etc, in our finance dept > would suffice for the work requirement…
Drz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It also requires a degree in accounting, according > to my Texas CPA wife. > > rolo550 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > mcap11 Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > need 1000 audit hours to become a CPA… > > > > > > Texas requires 1 yer of work experience in > > accounting that includes all sorts of > disciplines, > > not necessarily anything specific like audit. > > Bean counting, tax work, etc, in our finance > dept > > would suffice for the work requirement… Nope, No degree in accounting either…there are just core business requirements, a minimum of 150 hours college courses, as well as a minimum number of accounting courses. Ive met everything except for a semester or two of accounting classes to hit the minimums… http://www.tsbpa.state.tx.us/
rolo550 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Drz Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > It also requires a degree in accounting, > according > > to my Texas CPA wife. > > > > rolo550 Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > mcap11 Wrote: > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > ----- > > > > need 1000 audit hours to become a > CPA… > > > > > > > > > Texas requires 1 yer of work experience in > > > accounting that includes all sorts of > > disciplines, > > > not necessarily anything specific like audit. > > > > Bean counting, tax work, etc, in our finance > > dept > > > would suffice for the work requirement… > > > Nope, No degree in accounting either…there are > just core business requirements, a minimum of 150 > hours college courses, as well as a minimum > number of accounting courses. Ive met everything > except for a semester or two of accounting classes > to hit the minimums… > > http://www.tsbpa.state.tx.us/ I think he’s saying meeting the requirements qualifies you for and is typically associated with a major in accounting for BS or MACC (which would be silly to turn down IMO).
Well, either way, you gotta have a crap load of accounting and business… Anyone got any input on the difficulty, etc?
rolo550’s right about the requirements. According to my wife, the CPA exams are difficult. She gets really pissed when I make my CPA = Can’t Pass Actuarial exams jokes. She’s fairly smart – probably about average smartness for a CFA exam taker, I’d say – and she passed the 4 exams in 5 sittings. More important then her being “fairly smart” is that she is extremely dedicated, and put in a good amount of hours studying for each exam. In general, it’s hard to say the CPA designation is worth the time unless you want to do something that involves accounting. But if you were to do something that involves cross-disciplines (for example, our VP financial officer presides over both an actuarial valuation unit and an accounting unit) and had both designations, that’s a HUGE plus, as those people are pretty rare.
i have a cpa license. test is way easier than the cfa. way way easier. You’ll still have to study, but you don’t have to take all parts at once, and i believe now you even have leeway in what day you take it. the accounting stuff on there is really not much harder than any FRA you’ve see on L1 & L2 of the cfa… it will get more into the rules (for example, when to do a capital lease vs operating lease, etc.) but its really not that bad… i also was an accounting major in school, so i may’ve found it easier. If you sucked at FRA on the CFA exam, you’ll have a tougher time.
I don’t think that’s true anymore. mcap11 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > need 1000 audit hours to become a CPA…
Difficulty is just subjective matter. Why don’t you just go for it? Some says CFA is harder. Some says CPA is harder. I’ve heard one says that CFA is easier to study, NOT in terms of content, but for they offer LOS which helps you to tackle the material. You’ve already gotten the best alternative, which is an MBA. If you don’t have a specific path or field in mind, compare to CAIA or FRM, I think CPA has the best payout for your effort. Besides, doing something is better than doing nothing. Just go for it. Of course, you might have to give up another year or two of your social life.
It is not way easier than the CFA exam. There will be biased opinions from accountants given the fact that L1 and L2 consist of tons of accounting. I would say it is comparable to Level 1 and not quite as hard as Level 2. If you had to sit for all 4 parts at a time(which I thankfully did not), then were talking on par with CFA IMHO. With that said, you have to put in time to study for it whether youre brilliant or not.
Wake - what are you some kind of accountant? 
Thanks guys. I am a married dude with no social life anyway, and a bit of a nerd, So i don’t mind the studying. I want to get into PE or investment/portfolio management, but in the short term I’m parking it at my current company, I may try to move into corporate finance/accounting here to get a little experience. If I do, they are big on the CPA, hence my line of questioning. Plus, I’m interested in the tax aspects and don’t think more accounting can ever be a downside… I figured the CPA would be a little easier, simply because it is so wide spread. Sort of a “hey a lot dumber people than me have passed” - not that I feel that smart, but I have met many CPA’s I didn’t think were geniuses. The CFA seems to be a more exclusive crowd…
rolo550 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks guys. > > I am a married dude with no social life anyway, > and a bit of a nerd, So i don’t mind the > studying. > > > I want to get into PE or investment/portfolio > management, but in the short term I’m parking it > at my current company, I may try to move into > corporate finance/accounting here to get a little > experience. If I do, they are big on the CPA, > hence my line of questioning. Plus, I’m interested > in the tax aspects and don’t think more accounting > can ever be a downside… > > I figured the CPA would be a little easier, simply > because it is so wide spread. Sort of a “hey a > lot dumber people than me have passed” - not that > I feel that smart, but I have met many CPA’s I > didn’t think were geniuses. The CFA seems to be a > more exclusive crowd… If you’ve got the education and other criteria met, I’d do it for sure (just one test at a time - and assuming it doesn’t interfere w/CFA studying). You might look at the CAIA exam though as well.
rolo550 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >I have met many CPA’s I > didn’t think were geniuses. I couldn’t agree more.
I asked the same question around the same time last year, and then engaged the CPA exam. I am not a good candidate. This year is my third trial of Level 2. Considering that I have studied the stuff for two times, I started to study CPA and take the exam around this time last year until April this year, left me 2 mths for the CFA. Generally, I think it is similar to CFA L2 in terms of difficulty. But it is actually difficult to say, as you can take one of the four exams in different time. For the volume of study material, it is comparable to CFAI material. However, it is more flexible as there are 4 exam seasons each year. Some of the subjects are easy but some are difficult, requiring to memorize a lot of stuff. In CFA, you normally can derive the ans from the principle. For CPA, you need to memorize a lot of situations, especially for Regulation. It is surely not easy. But in terms of probability of pass, CPA has higher chance of pass as you can try 4 times each year. skycfa is quite right. CPA is based on current GAAP and law, no LOS. Different textbook may have different focus and may be contradictory.
CPA is a easy, why? Because of all the accounting courses you are required to be eligible to even sit for it.