Need Some Advice Urgently...School/Career

[Aspirer*]

I currently have a BS in Accounting. I want to get qualified for the CPA asap, but instead of taking extra incremental credits (120 + 30), I think it would be wiser to just pursue graduate degree and use some of the graduate credits to satisfy the incremental 30 credits.

I also come to think that a MBA with finance OR Accounting concentration might do the job plus providing me the benefits of career flexibility as well as preparatory skills in a management-level financial-related career. I want to be flexible for any of these key focus areas: controllership, CPA (with own practice or in a firm). I also need flexibility to operate in any or all of these areas: financial advisor or consultant, taxation, mergers & acquisitions, or auditing.

I'm really asking for an experienced professional adviser who can help me decide if the MBA will most likely give me those credits, and also which concentration you think will give me that flexibility.

If I, say for instance, go with MBA in finance, will the BS in Accounting already satisfy my ability to operate in technical areas like merger & acquisitions, corporate taxation, etc (which finance does not address)? Thanks much and HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone.

[Omar Little]

Where did you get your undergraduate degree? Most accredited colleges and universities do not offer an accounting undergradate degree anymore, because of the 150 credit hour requirement to sit for the CPA exam. Typical accounting majors get a Masters in Accountancy these days.

What's your entry level career objective? Do you want to go work for the Big 4 (KPMG, EY, PWC, or DT)? Or one of the larger regional firms? Or a small mom and pop local firm? Or do you want to start out in corporate?

Is getting your CPA license important to you? Do you plan to publicly practice with a CPA firm or is it just a matter of accomplishment?

Most MBA programs are the most beneficial to people that have worked in the real world for a couple of years and then want a boost at advancement.

Your stated career goals have thrown a pretty wide net to include M&A, taxation, auditing, financial advising. Each of those are pretty specialized areas that you need to devote several years working in each to master.

If accounting is where you want to start, I would recommend finishing up with a Masters of Accountancy or Masters of Taxation. These would definitely help you when sitting for the CPA exam. Get your first job, see how you like it and move on from there.