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I hate to keep coming back here with similar, but slightly tweaked answers, but I'm getting towards the end of my bachelors in accounting and seeing as I will be 28 (and a half!) when I graduate, I want to get as much done in as little time. First, I'm considering switching from just Accounting to Corporate Accounting and Finance. It's not a double major, it just takes off a couple classes from each degree, but they're so similar that even in my second to last semester, I can switch. It just seems that it would appear more marketable on a degree. Whether or not I switch, studying and getting my CPA is the next step. (and seeking work in the field, obviously. If only part time) I am considering either trying to get into Northeastern's dual MSA in Finance/MBA program, or if not that, possibly Penn State's world campus MSA in Finance and then go for an MBA elsewhere. Do either of those sound like viable options? Moneyball fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Feb 24, 2012 |
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Feb 24, 2012 04:49
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What's the difference between the two? Honestly someone looking at your resume will probably just see accounting and go from there. Why are you looking for a finance degree of some sort? I mean when someone says "Corporate Finance" they generally mean accounting, you know that right?
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Feb 24, 2012 05:22
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I'm looking for a little mobility, because I don't have a clearly defined goal of "go the audit route, or taxation, etc" I'm not sure precisely what I want to do yet. Call it overkill, but I would like to get both an MSA and an MBA after graduating
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Feb 24, 2012 05:30
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If your goal is to be involved in corporate accounting, getting an MS or MBA in Finance isn't a shabby thing to have (I got one), although when you're low enough in the corporate totem pole, it doesn't really have that much sway (and it may not at all in some firms). Not 100% sure what the course differences are between the Corporate Accounting and General Accounting tracks, though - as long as you can qualify to sit for the CPA exam, more power to you, I guess. Edit: For disclosure purposes, I'm a career corporate accounting guy (never did public accountancy). Edit 2: OG KUSH BLUNTS posted:Around a quarter of the people that actually take the CPA exam pass all four parts.  Really? Only 25% of people that sit for the CPA exam pass all 4 parts? It's significantly easier than the CFA exams (IMO) and I would think 60-70% would end up passing all the parts even if they fail it once or twice en route to passing within the 18 month window...
Horseshoe theory fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Feb 26, 2012 |
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Feb 26, 2012 23:00
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I'll be participating in at least one Big 4 "National Leadership Program" this summer. From what I hear, participating in these programs, especially the more selective national versions, greatly increases your chances of securing an internship for the following summer. Anyone attended one of these and/or have any advice? I have heard that some (most?) participants receive an early internship offer after completing the program, or at least are granted an early 2nd round internship interview. That would be amazing.
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Mar 7, 2012 05:51
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Mush Mushi posted:I'll be participating in at least one Big 4 "National Leadership Program" this summer. From what I hear, participating in these programs, especially the more selective national versions, greatly increases your chances of securing an internship for the following summer. I work at a big 4 firm in Canada, and have friends in the other 3. I have never heard of someone not getting an offer after attending one of these events, save a few incidents of horrific lapses in judgement on the part of the recruitee. Could still happen, but that's outside my knowledge. Congrats, you have a job. Just don't gently caress it up.
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Mar 7, 2012 06:17
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welcome to kpmg
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Mar 7, 2012 06:46
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Mush Mushi posted:I'll be participating in at least one Big 4 "National Leadership Program" this summer. From what I hear, participating in these programs, especially the more selective national versions, greatly increases your chances of securing an internship for the following summer. Every single person I know who has attended one of these, myself included, got an internship offer at the end of the program. Makes the rest of college a lot less stressful.
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Mar 8, 2012 04:04
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hellboundburrito posted:Every single person I know who has attended one of these, myself included, got an internship offer at the end of the program. Makes the rest of college a lot less stressful. Well that is definitely encouraging, thanks. Did you fly home offer in hand, or were you contacted later in the summer?
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Mar 8, 2012 08:07
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Mush Mushi posted:Well that is definitely encouraging, thanks. Did you fly home offer in hand, or were you contacted later in the summer? I lived in the area of the one I went to, but I had my offer in hand when I left the program. You're going to love this when everyone else is interviewing like crazy.
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Mar 9, 2012 03:31
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A month left to go in this internship for a bigger firm and I'm just hoping to get an offer. Oh boy, it feels strange leaving early. It's like vacation if I leave by 6.
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Mar 14, 2012 04:56
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I am almost finished with the first year of my accounting degree, and had a few questions for some Canadian Goons. I am going to college in the states, and after looking up the requirements and talking to a few people in Canada it seems that after earning my Bachelors I will have to take 4 classes on Canadian Tax law to be eligible to take the CA exam. I have a few concerns though: How likely is it, that after becoming eligible for the CA exam, that I would be able to secure a job in Toronto seeing as I would not be graduating from on the top tiered schools in the area (York U of T etc)? I will not need the job to obtain a work visa if all goes well then I will already be a permanent resident before applying. The person that I got the information about being eligible for the CA was an advisor for the business program at Ryerson so I'm not 100% sure that she is completely knowledgeable. Is there an official person on the Ontario accounting board that I can get in touch with or perhaps an FAQ for people in my situation? I know that I will not be the most competitive person out there applying for accounting positions so I'm not getting my hopes up about immediately landing a job with the big four, but I do not want to be completely screwed when it comes time to venture out into the real world again. I will be 27 when I get done with my degree if that matters any. If anyone has experience with this particular situation I would greatly appreciate some help as I don't really want to fall back on my secondary option of becoming an electrician again. I have PM's and my email is jonathan bellucci 87 @ gmail
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Mar 18, 2012 17:06
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Starting to mull around the idea of going back to school for Accounting, mainly for the idea of stability (accounts are likely going to always be necessary I figure), don't mind doing the same thing day after day or doing office type work. What I'm looking for is a way to obtain an Accounting degree through online courses. I'm trying to steer away from the University of Phoenix/Virginia College type stuff, but Google searches bring up those type of schools right off the bat as results. Does anyone have suggests on what colleges/universities offer worthwhile online Accounting programs, or would it be better to go brick and mortar school for this? I'm in the Eastern Shore area of Maryland, and Chesapeake College is not that far away, but I was hoping to go the online route so I could more easily keep working my independent contractor jobs while I go to school. Any advice or suggestions are appreciated.
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Mar 20, 2012 20:44
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You say "go back" in your post. Do you already have a bachelors degree? If not, then depending on the number of credits you have right now, you could probably find a community college to take some online courses and then later on if you're able, go to a four year school. If you do have a bachelors, I believe you can take a few foundation accounting courses then apply to an MS program in accounting somewhere, and there are a good number of those out there. Gradschools.com should have some good resources. So far schools that stand out to me and don't seem to be for-profit schools are Auburn, U of Michigan-Flint, Rutgers, Umass Boston, SUNY-Utica, U of Maryland, Uconn. I'm sure most of the others I didn't name are also legit, but didn't stand out to me.
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Mar 20, 2012 21:06
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Moneyball posted:You say "go back" in your post. Do you already have a bachelors degree? If not, then depending on the number of credits you have right now, you could probably find a community college to take some online courses and then later on if you're able, go to a four year school. I do have a Bachelor's, in Mass Communications, and I got that in 2003. I figured that I'd have to start fresh, considering my previous degree is a BA. If that's not the case, then that's great to know. Thanks for the gradschools.com tip, I'll have to poke around there later. Nice to see that so many of the big name schools offer this type of program.
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Mar 20, 2012 21:11
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BlueArmyMan posted:I do have a Bachelor's, in Mass Communications, and I got that in 2003. I figured that I'd have to start fresh, considering my previous degree is a BA. If that's not the case, then that's great to know. You'll have to take the GMATs for an MS or MBA in Accountancy program, just as a heads up.
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Mar 21, 2012 05:09
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ThirdPartyView posted:You'll have to take the GMATs for an MS or MBA in Accountancy program, just as a heads up. I had a feeling. My wife had to do the GRE when she went for her Marine Biology Masters, so I figured there was an equivalent for an MBA. What is the GMAT like? I know the GRE was like the SATs on steroids, so is the GMAT similar?
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Mar 21, 2012 20:29
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Are you looking to go into public accounting specifically? If not, you could probably get by with an accounting certificate and your degree right now. I work in industry and spend quite a bit of time just proof reading various written reports.
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Mar 21, 2012 21:40
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Harry posted:Are you looking to go into public accounting specifically? If not, you could probably get by with an accounting certificate and your degree right now. I work in industry and spend quite a bit of time just proof reading various written reports. Not specifically public accounting, I suppose, at least not yet; probably wiser to get a certificate and work in industry and then go back to school later if I do want to go the CPA route. I actually had a job as a proofreader (more of a legal proofreader though), so what you're doing is something I could certainly do. What all does obtaining an Accounting certificate entail?
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Mar 21, 2012 21:51
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Look at basically any community college, they probably have some program. I'd imagine it involves like Financial accounting, managerial accounting, intermediate I & II, and maybe corporate tax.
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Mar 21, 2012 22:51
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BlueArmyMan posted:I do have a Bachelor's, in Mass Communications, and I got that in 2003. I figured that I'd have to start fresh, considering my previous degree is a BA. If that's not the case, then that's great to know. I'm not necessarily bringing this up as a recommendation, just a consideration, but I think you could also just take specific business and accounting courses and pay for them separately in order to be eligible to sit for and take the CPA exam. You don't *necessarily* need a BSBA in accounting or an MSA to be an accountant, though at least one of the two could make you a more attractive job candidate. If you got the required credits and classes for the exam and then passed all four parts, you would likely still be looked at for quite a few jobs. In terms of the logistics of it, I think in many states if you take additional courses in business/accounting at an accredited four year school, you can submit your undergrad transcript and transcript(s) from the other schools for the purposes of applying for and sitting for the exam. After I got my undergrad degree I took a few general online courses at another school to get my required credits, and it was sufficient for me to become a CPA.
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Mar 22, 2012 03:13
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Harry posted:Look at basically any community college, they probably have some program. I'd imagine it involves like Financial accounting, managerial accounting, intermediate I & II, and maybe corporate tax. Here is my school's certificate Program Requirements (30 Credits Total Required*) REQUIRED COURSES ACC106 Financial Accounting 3 ACC202 Managerial Accounting 3 ACC300 Intermediate Accounting I 3 ACC301 Intermediate Accounting II 3 ACC305 Federal Taxation 3 ACC306 Cost Accounting I 3 ACC364 Accounting Information Systems 3 ACC400 Advanced Accounting 3 ACC407 Auditing Theory and Practice 3 CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: ACC350 Forensic Accounting 3 ACC414 Advanced Federal Taxation 3 ACC417 Accounting Theory Seminar 3 ACC420N Accounting for Government and Non-Profit Entities 3
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Mar 22, 2012 04:03
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Moneyball posted:Here is my school's certificate That looks like what the accounting curriculum I had to take for my degree in accountancy (besides being required to take both individual and corporate/partnership tax classes and the accounting seminar - I also had to take a comprehensive business law class and didn't have to take both managerial and cost accounting, only managerial). hellboundburrito posted:I'm not necessarily bringing this up as a recommendation, just a consideration, but I think you could also just take specific business and accounting courses and pay for them separately in order to be eligible to sit for and take the CPA exam. You don't *necessarily* need a BSBA in accounting or an MSA to be an accountant, though at least one of the two could make you a more attractive job candidate. If you got the required credits and classes for the exam and then passed all four parts, you would likely still be looked at for quite a few jobs. It depends on the state - I'm 99.9% certain that in NY I had to do a formally accredited program in order to meet the educational requirement. BlueArmyMan posted:I had a feeling. My wife had to do the GRE when she went for her Marine Biology Masters, so I figured there was an equivalent for an MBA. What is the GMAT like? I know the GRE was like the SATs on steroids, so is the GMAT similar? I thought it was easier than the SATs, honestly - a math section (with stuff from high school algebra and geometry studies), an english section (with grammar and reading comprehension) and a writing sample (which is pretty hard to screw up unless you really try, honestly). Horseshoe theory fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Mar 22, 2012 |
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Mar 22, 2012 04:22
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I'm an accounting major here in Texas and I'll be getting into the internal accounting side (MIS stuff). I've been going through recruitment and interviewing but I'm still not exactly sure what the jobs are. Can anyone here fill me in on what they do if they're involved in the field? Also, opinions on the big 4 firms are appreciated. I interviewed with all 4 and should get into the next step of recruitment for all of them, but right now they all seem pretty great.
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Mar 29, 2012 00:19
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They're pretty much all the same. If you can give general locations of where you're looking to work (i.e., NY Metro, Southwest, etc. if you're not staying in TX), lines of service and industries you're interested in, you would get a more objective answer  If you're interested in MIS stuff, from a high level I can pretty much say you'd be wanting to find positions in Risk Assurance/IT audit. On a high level, for an audit engagement to be able to rely on a client's accounting system reports and such, you generally need "reliance" over them. Risk Assurance consists of a lot of controls testing around the accounting systems and ITGCs that a given company utilizes to track their financial data -> financial reporting to gain that reliance.
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Mar 29, 2012 00:58
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Thanks, I'll be interning in Dallas but I'll be open to moving anywhere once I get out of school. All of the internships I've interviewed for have been for more of the Risk Assurance/ITRA stuff like you've mentioned, but I'm also interested in Security as well. I'm on track to intern for this next fall semester and then go back for my MIS Master's and finishing up the acct bachelors. The controls testing is what I've been telling people so far, I just say that auditors check the financial statements while I'll be checking out the system generating the statements. I just don't know if I'm signing up for a few years of sifting through excel files daily to find errors or if the work is a bit more engaging.
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Mar 29, 2012 03:10
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Democratic Pirate posted:I just don't know if I'm signing up for a few years of sifting through excel files daily to find errors or if the work is a bit more engaging. Accounting probably isn't for you if you don't want to be looking through excel files for the rest of your life.
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Mar 29, 2012 03:16
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Democratic Pirate posted:Thanks, I'll be interning in Dallas but I'll be open to moving anywhere once I get out of school. All of the internships I've interviewed for have been for more of the Risk Assurance/ITRA stuff like you've mentioned, but I'm also interested in Security as well. I'm on track to intern for this next fall semester and then go back for my MIS Master's and finishing up the acct bachelors. The controls testing is what I've been telling people so far, I just say that auditors check the financial statements while I'll be checking out the system generating the statements. I just don't know if I'm signing up for a few years of sifting through excel files daily to find errors or if the work is a bit more engaging. I'm not in Risk Assurance, but I think it's a little more engaging than Excel files all day. Based on what I see when I ask a RA team to come into one of my clients, they do a lot of walkthroughs with accounting personnel, test accounting system security and other good stuff. I have always been interested in this aspect of accounting too and almost switched into that group a little over a year ago but didn't, and I think I'm a little too far into my current path to switch.
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Mar 29, 2012 03:28
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I'm currently wrapping up my second busy season, and also want to make the jump over to Risk Assurance myself. I think I'll have to be held back at the associate level for another year or two since the skillsets I would imagine are pretty different (especially since my market team handles exclusively private clients that are not SEC registrants/don't have many controls/ITGCs in place), but I'm willing to take that hit... I find auditing in general fairly interesting, but I definitely know that I don't want to do "rote" accounting for the rest of my career. Just another month to go 
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Mar 29, 2012 04:47
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Sukashi posted:I'm currently wrapping up my second busy season, and also want to make the jump over to Risk Assurance myself. I think I'll have to be held back at the associate level for another year or two since the skillsets I would imagine are pretty different (especially since my market team handles exclusively private clients that are not SEC registrants/don't have many controls/ITGCs in place), but I'm willing to take that hit... I find auditing in general fairly interesting, but I definitely know that I don't want to do "rote" accounting for the rest of my career. Private companies eh? Sounds like you work for the same firm and in the same group as myself. Risk Assurance aside, I know I find my current role more interesting than anything in industry at my current level (Senior). I've looked into some other groups at my firm and am considering a move, but so far travel requirements are a hang up for me.
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Mar 30, 2012 03:30
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It is ok that I am going to be waiting until my junior year to do the whole recruiting and internship thing, right? I am in what would probably be described as a sophomore year now, but I'm not going to be attending full time until the fall - so my options now are somewhat limited. I know I will be missing out on summer leadership programs, but other than that, internships don't really happen till the summer of junior-senior year anyway, right? This whole business school recruiting pageantry is so strange to me... my first degree was a media degree, and the idea that companies want to come find you is blowing my mind still 
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Mar 30, 2012 04:07
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So I went to an accounting info session today.. the prof basically said that Intermediate I would be ultimately what helps me decided if this is the field for me or not. Thoughts? I cruised through financial and managerial accounting.. if I wanted to get a taste for Intermediate I, can I just find a copy of Kieso and go through it? Would it be more appropriate to take the class, or a cheaper summer/distance class? I don't have infinite time to take it as an undergrad right now, which is why Im trying to figure out how to get a taste of it without actually committing to the class.
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Mar 30, 2012 04:44
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Turkeybone posted:So I went to an accounting info session today.. the prof basically said that Intermediate I would be ultimately what helps me decided if this is the field for me or not. Thoughts? I cruised through financial and managerial accounting.. if I wanted to get a taste for Intermediate I, can I just find a copy of Kieso and go through it? Would it be more appropriate to take the class, or a cheaper summer/distance class? I don't have infinite time to take it as an undergrad right now, which is why Im trying to figure out how to get a taste of it without actually committing to the class. IMO, the hardest class of the Accounting curriculum was Intermediate II, not Intermediate I (which was 80% rehashed from introductory financial accounting).
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Mar 30, 2012 05:30
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Ok, point taken, but would you agree with the statement, "If I like intermediate i, I'll probably like a career in accounting"? (as much as one can like it, heh).
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Mar 30, 2012 08:16
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ThirdPartyView posted:IMO, the hardest class of the Accounting curriculum was Intermediate II, not Intermediate I (which was 80% rehashed from introductory financial accounting). Some universities have Intermediate I, II, III. So his intermediate might go up to bonds and maybe leases.
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Mar 30, 2012 13:51
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abagofcheetos posted:It is ok that I am going to be waiting until my junior year to do the whole recruiting and internship thing, right? I am in what would probably be described as a sophomore year now, but I'm not going to be attending full time until the fall - so my options now are somewhat limited. I know I will be missing out on summer leadership programs, but other than that, internships don't really happen till the summer of junior-senior year anyway, right? NO, check the dates for big4 internships soon because they interview semesters before. There are other accounting internships that you could do every other semester. Start doing them as soon as you can and you will have a much larger salary coming out than your peers. You still have to network. You still have to be involved in student organizations. Don't think your accounting degree is an automatic job. Internship mostly yes, degree no. Turkeybone posted:So I went to an accounting info session today.. the prof basically said that Intermediate I would be ultimately what helps me decided if this is the field for me or not. Thoughts? Intermediate I was basically where they rolled out the complex but logical accounting (lower cost or market, percentage of completion, stuff I've forgotten that wasn't that bad). If you liked accounting so far, this class is fun, but rigorous. Intermediate II was all about looking at bullshit financial engineering like AOCI, operating leases, PBOs [gently caress these], and stuff I've blocked out. If you've liked accounting so far, get prepared for something different. Turkeybone posted:Ok, point taken, but would you agree with the statement, "If I like intermediate i, I'll probably like a career in accounting" No. There is so much specialization in accounting that it doesn't come down to that. Do you like accounting so far? Intermediate one is just a more rigorous version of that. Is accounting about what you like but not exactly? Check out finance then. You probably need to take a course in it anyway. quote:(as much as one can like it, heh).
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Mar 30, 2012 15:41
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My intermediate really wasn't that bad, the main problem I had was when my prof flew through the hardest and longest chapters at the end of the course because we went too slowly early on in the semester. A bunch of it was rehashed 229(financial) and a few new concepts. It took more work than financial and managerial, but getting an A wasnt that hard.
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Mar 30, 2012 17:42
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Turkeybone posted:Ok, point taken, but would you agree with the statement, "If I like intermediate i, I'll probably like a career in accounting"? (as much as one can like it, heh). It is not that simple. I have found that making a living as a CPA is far, far more enjoyable than going to class. Intermediate does seem to cause trouble for a lot of people in school. If for no other reason it is somewhat more intense, and I think individuals that are not really accounting oriented choose to drop out along the way by then.
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Mar 30, 2012 19:46
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seymore posted:It is not that simple. I have found that making a living as a CPA is far, far more enjoyable than going to class. Intermediate does seem to cause trouble for a lot of people in school. If for no other reason it is somewhat more intense, and I think individuals that are not really accounting oriented choose to drop out along the way by then. Okay, thanks. I guess this is what I was looking for. The professor/CPA didn't really clarify what he meant by "intermediate I is when you'll decide if you want to be an accountant or not," but this all helps.
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Mar 30, 2012 19:54
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N.N. Ashe posted:Intermediate II was all about looking at bullshit financial engineering like AOCI, operating leases, PBOs [gently caress these], and stuff I've blocked out. If you've liked accounting so far, get prepared for something different. IMO, the 3 hardest topics in accounting were Leases, Pensions & Deferred Taxes (although the last one made sense after I took Individual Taxation the following semester). Basically, the Intermediate II (and III if you have that) stuff relate pretty heavily to the time value of money.
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Mar 31, 2012 03:52
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