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CPA firms do not care if you have passed the test for entry level audit and tax staff positions. They expect that you will take the exam in due course and you have to get your experience requirement met anyway. More than half of the audit staff in Big 4 firms do not pass all parts first time. But you won't stand a chance in a medium or large CPA firm with a mediocre GPA. I had a 4.0 in accounting and a 3.6 overall and felt as though I was on the edge. And that was a long while ago before grade inflation.
Step daughter is working and moving up in her career without a CPA so far. Something she did note is that having the course work done to be eligible to sit for the CPA exam is a selling point (and she's in that position).
An analogy would be accountant = medical doctor, CPA = surgeon. If a hospital wants to hire a surgeon, only doctors with that additional qualification need apply for that job. A surgeon *could* apply for a regular MD job but is not likely to - could make more money using the additional qualification.
But to repeat myself, for a young accountant, having enough credits to be qualified to sit the CPA exam (and this varies by state) is a very good thing, makes you look like a "keeper" to employers, makes you promotable.
Talk to your professors about all this, and see if you can't get your grades up. If there is some sort of external problem keeping you from concentrating on your studies, try to get rid of it or at least put it on ice till you get done with your degree.
Step daughter is working and moving up in her career without a CPA so far. Something she did note is that having the course work done to be eligible to sit for the CPA exam is a selling point (and she's in that position).
An analogy would be accountant = medical doctor, CPA = surgeon. If a hospital wants to hire a surgeon, only doctors with that additional qualification need apply for that job. A surgeon *could* apply for a regular MD job but is not likely to - could make more money using the additional qualification.
But to repeat myself, for a young accountant, having enough credits to be qualified to sit the CPA exam (and this varies by state) is a very good thing, makes you look like a "keeper" to employers, makes you promotable.
Talk to your professors about all this, and see if you can't get your grades up. If there is some sort of external problem keeping you from concentrating on your studies, try to get rid of it or at least put it on ice till you get done with your degree.
Errrrrr..... not quite. I'm a CPA and my wife is an MD. A surgeon cannot apply for a "regular" MD job. A surgeon is only qualified to be a surgeon. They cannot be a primary care doc as they aren't trained in primary care (I'm assuming primary care is what you mean by a regular MD job). If you wanted to us a medical analogy you could say an accountant is like an internist whereas a CPA is like a IM specialist (endocrinology, cardiology, Hem/Onc, etc.). As these docs are required to complete their internal medicine residency first then a fellowship in their specialty. They could always practice as a regular internist if they wanted to...
Ok, I was trying to figure out just how much weight a CPA liscence had and how important it was in the field of accounting. I kept hearing that a CPA is what most employers care about for the most part. It's seems its not
CPA really comes into play after you have a few years experience under your belt. Right out of school, GPA is king, but doesn't matter after your first job. With that said, that first job is your stepping stone to everything else.
I guess I'm saying that right out of school the 4.0 no CPA is going to trump the 2.9 CPA, however, the CPA removes the glass ceiling further down the road. I think the difficulty of the CPA exam is way overblown and I know more than one incompentant CPA...but perception is everything.
CPA really comes into play after you have a few years experience under your belt. Right out of school, GPA is king, but doesn't matter after your first job. With that said, that first job is your stepping stone to everything else.
I guess I'm saying that right out of school the 4.0 no CPA is going to trump the 2.9 CPA, however, the CPA removes the glass ceiling further down the road. I think the difficulty of the CPA exam is way overblown and I know more than one incompentant CPA...but perception is everything.
I agree, it's really only an indicator that you have attained a certain modicum of accounting knowledge. It's not that difficult if you spend the proper amount of time studying and you get multiple chances to pass each part. But as a CPA it certainly helps that its difficulty is overblown since that perception = more $ for me.
OK, so it is my understanding you must pass the CPA exam and then get 2 year's experience with a CPA firm to get certified. If I'm hiring new accountants for my accounting firm, I'm probably looking for the kid who got the highest score on his CPA exam, assuming he's a good fit otherwise.
Let's just say that, like my accountant, you live, sleep and eat accounting. Maybe you aren't at all interested in any other sunject you were required to take in college, and so you just squeeked by. As long as your grades in accounting were good, I wouldn't hold it against you if your GPA was less than dazzling. I'm assuming you can spell, write and speak well, etc.
Let's put the CPA exam into perspective. About 90% of the people who take the bar exam pass it the first time. When I took the CPA exam about 10% passed the first time. About 50% ever passed it. Most gave up. I am proud to say I did pass it the first time and was the only male employee in the firm to pass it first time. It is a difficult test to say the least.
OK, so it is my understanding you must pass the CPA exam and then get 2 year's experience with a CPA firm to get certified. If I'm hiring new accountants for my accounting firm, I'm probably looking for the kid who got the highest score on his CPA exam, assuming he's a good fit otherwise..
There are FIFTY different states and fifty different requirements on what it takes to become a CPA. I have had licenses in three states and the requirements were different in each state.
Personally, when I hire an accountant, I am looking for the right attitude and someone who can resolve issues. The highest score on the CPA exam is way down on the list of my requirements (in a corporate setting). I do like to see someone who has passed the exam or who has some ambition to professional development.
And I would agree with Wilson that passing the 19 hour CPA exam was certainly one of the more challenging things I have done.
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