Weekend Open Thread

431 Comments

1. Any CPA corporettes here that can answer a few questions for me?

   Background info – I’m a senior in college who will be graduating in the spring with a Bachelor’s in Accountancy. I plan on attending grad school in the fall to earn my Masters in Professional Accountancy. I will also be starting a job in the fall as a staff accountant for a regional accounting firm. I plan on working full-time while working on my MPAc part-time (probably one or two classes per semester). I’m currently employed at a local jewelry store as the head bookkeeper. I’ve been there for 2 years. I do this while attending school full-time. I’m also involved in various extracurricular activities, so needless to say, I’m quite busy!

   My question is – With all of these things on my plate, when on earth should I be taking the CPA exam? I would like to enroll in Becker if that makes a difference. Also, when you pass your first section, you then have 18 months to pass the remaining three sections. Should I start taking parts of the exam during the summer after graduating? Should I attempt to do it while I work and go to school? I intend to get my MPAc within two years after beginning the program, but I have no idea what my CPA exam time line should look like. Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!

   1. I just finished the CPA exam so I feel like I have pretty good authority to dispense advice on this one —

      I did my Masters in Accounting while working full time and then did the CPA exam. The CPA exam requires your full attention so I would not do it while doing the Master’s. I would do it either before or after – I did it after b/c my undergrad wasn’t in accounting, but truthfully everything you need to know on the exam is going to come from Becker. Becker is the bible, and if you do the course and the studying then you can pass (I did all 4 on the first try) regardless of the master’s.

      Since you’re in public accounting I would do the CPA exam first since there’s usually an automatic pay bump and you can’t get promoted w/out it and then do the master’s

      Good luck!

      1. Thank you!

   2. I agree with Shayna. I’m a CPA who took the exam spread over fall ’08 and spring ’09. I work in government and have no personal experience at a public firm, but here are my two cents :) I would plan to take the exam over the summer if possible, and not while going to grad school. Working full-time and studying for the exam is hard enough, without adding grad school to the mix. In addition, I would avoid taking any parts of the exam during busy season. From what I hear from my friends at CPA firms, you will be swamped and the last thing you’ll want to do is make time to study more accounting. It’s also possible that during the summer (usually the slow time at a CPA firm), your firm will give you time to study during the workday.

      Becker is jaw-droppingly expensive, but totally worth it. I used the self-study books and DVDs, and they were fantastic. I passed all four parts on the first try. (FWIW, I have a bachelor’s in accounting, but no master’s.)

      I also agree that it’s more valuable to do your CPA before your master’s, so you can advance at your firm. At many firms here, you only have two years from when you start to get your CPA , or you are out (not sure if that’s common in your area).

      Good luck! I’m sure you will do well.

      1. Also, the best advice I got was to start with the hardest section first. That way, if you don’t pass it on the first try, your 18 months doesn’t start running right away. I had a friend who did the (for him) easiest part first, then lost credit and had to redo it when it took him several tries to finish the hardest one at the end.

   3. I would check with the firm where you will be working… our firm’s policy is that you must be eligible to sit for the exam before starting…. so do you have your 150 hours? Some students need the Masters before they have the 150 hours.

      Also.. you might see if there is some unwritten rule at the firm. We expect our Staff Accountants to pass the exam within two-three years after being hired. We understand certain delays ….children, etc, but they need to be explainable. I can tell you that there is a large national firm nearby that fire staff if they don’t pass the exam the first two years…we get the resumes all the time. You need to know the expectation of your employer.

      Also… I can tell you that very few of our CPAs could take classes during tax season…. the work load is incredible so good luck with that… I certainly won’t try to study for the exam at the same time.

      1. In my state you are required to have 120 hours to sit for the CPA exam. I will have 120 hours when I graduate in the spring. I will have my 150 hours upon completion of the Masters program.

         Do you think it’s feasible to take all four parts of the exam in one summer (i.e the summer after graduation)? If so, when is the ideal time to start studying? As I mentioned I do plan on using Becker, but I’m not sure how many months or weeks should be dedicated to it.

2. i understand why you’re questioning this, but it sounds to me like she’s asking for help with things that she used to do but now has difficulty doing b/c of her medical issue. (you say she was on leave and can’t lift things.) she’s probably worked for your judge a long time, and sees clerks come and go every 1 – 2 years. i really wouldn’t make an issue of this. would you rather let the poor plants die? at most i would do it sometimes cheerfully, but other times say “shoot, i’m really swamped right now and just can’t help out at the moment”.

   p.s. and i have no idea what that helicopter rant was on about.

   1. Without excusing the “helicopter rant”, I suspect it was a reaction to an unusually large number of posts from people who are clearly new to the working world. While I read them as being more in the vein of “should I be objecting to this on principal or just let it go” I can see the source of the frustration. A few years ago, when I took a new associate out to lunch and tried to impress upon her that she was going to lose the fight she was picking with the managing partner’s long-time secretary, I might have authored it myself. It can be really hard to watch bright, motivated young women who you want to help commit professional suicide (or get fired, which is what happened to the associate I tried to warn.)

      Having said that – this blog is a great place for people who are genuinely open to input to come and ask for advice and (IMO) they should not be shot down for doing so. They should also try not to take it too hard when the advice is “get over yourself – newbies are a dime a dozen and (particularly in this economy) we can replace you next week.”

      1. Well said, 20years.

         Temp Anon seems to be channeling the “get off my lawn!” point of view :-) I can sympathize sometimes, but also remember being fresh and new and full of questions.

         My mother’s generation hit the work force in the 70s, and changed the way women were seen in the corporate world forever. I suspect some of us from of an older cohort can’t even imagine how millennial generation women will rock the work place.

         Each group of new hires has to learn the ropes and the rules, either to accept them or to change them. It’s good to be reminded that the answer, “That’s the way it’s always been” must be frustrating to hear.

3. I’m the anon who posted the fake-names conversation about “is she sleeping with him” mid-day on Saturday. I’m on a blackberry, so I can’t figure out how to make this part of the thread, but I want to thank you all for the feedback. Just writing the post was helpful to me: it let me sort out who is who and exactly what was said more clearly than when I was just stewing about it. I’ve been really reassured by your responses, it’s nice to have third parties available to provide a detattched analysis. Thanks, Corporettes!

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