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Ok gals and guys, my long term goal is to be a CPA I think maybe - I want to have my own set of clients (personal and small business) whose finances I take care of basically entirely, so I can work from home forever without coworkers except maybe a couple employees down the road if I need them. That is the gist of it all, right? I hope so. I'm currently in a bookkeeping position at a University, so I don't really ~do~ any accounting other than bookkeeping (it's a lot of bookkeeping though), but I took an intro accounting class because it was free and it was very easy and pretty fun, I like making the numbers look right it tickles my OCD needs, and I could see myself going deeper into the number hole. My understanding is that, to become a CPA, I need to a. pass the test which I'll be doing later down the road, b. have a degree (bachelor's or master's) in accounting, and c. have some experience or something (this is vague in everything I've read) - so I have to questions: 1. Generally, do I have any misconceptions that I've revealed above? Please set me straight, I just want to fiddle with spreadsheets and do lots of arithmetic in sweatpants with my cats as a career. 2. I have a BA in English, so I'm either about to start applying for a second bachelor's, or for a master's program - a second bachelor's would take less time since I already have the general education I need, plus I will probably have an easier time getting in; is there a reason I should try for a master's instead? Also taking any unsolicited advice w/r/t anything above, or even a more detailed layout of what I need to do starting now to get a CPA as quickly as possible. Thanks!
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Aug 24, 2015 16:33
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My state wants 150 hours of coursework, 30 hours of which should be accounting - if I go back to school for a bachelor's, that'll be at least 30 hours of accounting credits for my core classes and by then I'll have well over 150 total hours, so that's basically two semesters of work and I'm there. I was hoping that my bookkeeping experience would tick my "work in an accounting position for a year" box but I guess not... I assume I should figure that out using my school's resources (whichever school that may be) as I finish up the degree? Is it going to be much easier to get work if I go to a "prestigious" school vs. some random school in the mountains? Same question, but for a master's instead of a bachelor's?
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Aug 24, 2015 19:04
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Whats changing in 2017?
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Sep 2, 2015 19:42
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SarutosZero posted:This is what was in the update I got about it: Well I guess I have plenty of time to study 
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Sep 3, 2015 15:08
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About to start my MSA in Accounting with an eye to eventually getting my CPA, I've been accepted to two programs, both state schools (out of my state) but the programs are entirely online. They have my pre reqs built in and once I start the actual Grad coursework, itll only take me a year to finish. Already have a "mentor" who is a CPA and has her own practice (business? idk what you call it in the accounting world) so I should be able to step right into my work experience, and then be eligible to do the CPA exam thing. My ultimate goal is to do what she (my mentor) does, which is accounting for individuals and small businesses (emphasis on small businesses) - I wanna be mah own boss and help strengthen small biz in my community etc etc. So it doesn't really matter what school my Masters is from, given my goals, yea? Are there any glaring flaws in the above plan? e: One of the programs I'm looking at is AACSB accredited, the other is not (they're a "candidate") - does this really matter? I've already checked that the credits for either would count for my eligibility to take the exam. black.lion fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Jan 7, 2016 |
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Jan 7, 2016 15:16
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Hmmm my state says I need 1800 hours working under a licensed CPA to sit for the exam, so I think I do need the work experience My ultimate goal IS to hang my shingle, but I don't plan to do it right as I get my license - the business I want (individuals and small businesses) is exactly what my mentor does, so if all works out well, I'd work with/under her for a couple of years before even thinking about lancing out on my own. Right now I'm looking at Colorado State University Global Campus and Texas A&M Commerce for online programs - both are regionally accredited state schools, but only Texas is AACSB. They seem reputable and the curriculum for each looks legit.
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Jan 8, 2016 13:20
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Hey y'all I have a couple questions about accounting school - so I'm about to complete my Masters after Spring semester; I have some experience as a bookkeeper but none that (I don't think) will qualify as "experience" for CPA etc. So, a few questions: 1. Someone's told me to go ahead and try to knock out the CPA exam right after I graduate, and worry about the work experience after, since all the schooling will be fresh in my head. Opinions? Can I take the exam before I have the work experience? I'm in NC if that makes a dif, I can't find any information that says I HAVE to have the work experience before I sit for the exam, just before I actually get the cert 2. My professor says I should go ahead and knock out the CFE exam while I'm in school, for similar reasons (I'm eventually hoping to get into forensic/investigative, basically as soon as I can but understand I likely need years of experience first) - is anyone here a CFE? How hard is the exam? He's making it out like a child could pass. 3. My program has a comprehensive exam, and if you don't pass after your second try you don't get to try again and you don't get a degree, just a year of wasted time. Is this normal/standard for MSA programs? Has me a bit nervous, especially because I didn't know about it until I was a semester deep into the program. Thanks in advance love ya.
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Oct 26, 2016 03:56
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Ya the thing is I'm paying for tuition/living off of my savings now, and I can mb squeeze another 2 months out of it after graduation but then I'm basically depleted financially and will really need the paycheck. I don't think that's enough time to study for/pass all four, plus paying for them, plus paying for Rogers, etc etc. But since I'll prob be getting an entry level sort of position right out the box I'm hoping I have time/focus to spare for getting it done. Maybe I'll try to overlap the studying with my final semester of classes, and try to take a section as soon as I graduate to get a jump... Honestly I'd skip the CPA and just get the CFE and roll onwards into the sunset but I'm told that, if my eventual goal is to work in the litigation side of things, I basically need the CPA for credibility. I'm not at Wake I'm doing my program online through Texas A&M (it was my cheapest option and, as I said, doing this on my own dime - debt free and trying to keep it that way) Any feedback on the CFE or the exit exam for my program?
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Oct 26, 2016 16:52
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TBeats posted:i am about to finish another semester of accounting. i had intermediate 2 and auditing this semester. i had tax last semester. I'm finishing up my Masters in accounting with a 3.7 or so and I often feel like I don't know what I'm doing, but I keep producing correct math so idk man... just roll with it.
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Apr 26, 2017 19:56
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I don't expect any employers to care about my GPA, I was just saying, that person isn't the only one who feels sorta clueless even though they're apparently doing well. I need a job 
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Apr 26, 2017 23:56
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PatMarshall posted:Poster finishing the MAC, any luck with internships or just going in cold once you graduate? The firms I've worked for do take master's grads straight out of school, but obviously harder to get your foot in the door than if you've already done an internship. This is tax, no idea if audit is different. I'm not considering an internship because I need money. I've gotten this far without any debt and I don't intend to take any on if I can absolutely help it. Option A is to try to get a job at a CPA firm where I live now, a smallish but popular mountain town with probably 5-6 main firms; I have no idea what their need for or attitude toward new blood is, but one of the firms has a section on their website encouraging new graduates and CPA candidates to apply, citing reimbursement of CPA exam study materials, strong work-life balance, mentions how close the office is to breweries downtown, etc. Good sounding things. So basically I can tie my resume to six pigeons and send them away to the six Great Houses of Accounting we have around here, and hope for the best. That'll get me into the "network" around here making connections etc. for the future, and businesses around here are steadily growing (along with property value) so there should be a increasing need for accounting peeps for years to come. Option B is a standing job offer I have back in my hometown (~3 hours away from here) working under a CPA who has sort of been a guiding force/hands-off mentor to me. Perks are that I won't have to apply or interview, my boss will be invested in my growth and success, I can wear what I want and won't have to worry about covering my tattoos (yes I know I'm in the wrong industry if I want to dress like a teenager, but here we are). Downside is the practice is basically just her, so the networking opportunities wouldn't be quite as great, but I'd get to work closely on tax prep and strategy for all different kinds of small businesses; I wouldn't be left out of any client, so I'd get a greater depth of experience than being in a 100 person firm and being sent whatever they think I can handle. These are both for tax, I like tax So yeah I'm thinking my best path is to go with Option A and see if I can get an interview/position at one of the firms here, if for no other reason than networking for future opportunities, but would love to hear all y'all's thoughts! e: My mom is a graphic designer at E&Y but I'm not sure she really knows anyone in a position to get me a job outside of graphic design so I haven't really thought of that option. Plus I'd have to move to Seattle or somesuch. black.lion fucked around with this message at 14:18 on Apr 27, 2017 |
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Apr 27, 2017 12:47
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What is the most lucrative accounting career path? Accounting specific, not like "be a CFO or a trader" or something. Just curious, someone asked me and I was disappointed to not be able to give them an answer.
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May 12, 2017 02:05
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I guessed with high-end forensic or valuation stuff, so not too far off. Yeah he was asking in terms of best paid accounting "trade" or "specialization" I suppose, as opposed to "position that is likely an accountant" What's the best way to get into forensic? Just do a lot of everything for 6-10 years and then give it a go? My prof. for forensic and investigative told me to just go get my CFE now, which makes me feel like it's a sort of meaningless cert.
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May 12, 2017 13:09
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My gut instinct is get an offer from competition before you ask to be moved, in case you dont like the answer.
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May 12, 2017 19:16
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Hey y'all, got my final grades so wooo I have a MS Acct now how exciting. Today's task is resume. I know there's a resume thread but I generally know how to write resumes, but I'd love some feedback specific to where I'm at. My goal is to work in tax initially (I just prefer it to audit) and start studying for and taking the sections of the CPA exam shortly, with a long term goal of getting my CPA and then doing whatever the hell I want with it at that point in time (possibly more tax). - first question requires a brief history - went from BA Literature > internship > a couple admin/editing jobs > pastry/dessert chef > bookkeeping at a state university, where I was trained by "figure it out yourself" and ultimately decided I'd rather go back to school and learn properly and make more money, then Masters and now here; I know my bookkeeping is relevant obviously, but pastry/dessert chef? editing and proofreading health services research grants? I'd rather leave them off but... Do I leave a huge gaping hole in my resume before August 2014, since nothing before that is relevant? Or do I lay out my whole meandering path in summary? I'm 30 so the question of what I did with my 20s is going to need to be addressed at some point, but don't know if I'd rather do that on resume or in person. - second question, related to above lack of experience to put on a resume: I finished my program with a 3.7 GPA... should I put that on there? Does anyone care? - third, I'm having trouble getting an idea of what compensation to expect, in order to negotiate properly and gauge if I'm being ripped off (or being offered a good deal up front); searching glassdoor indeed etc. I'm having trouble separating CPA-having positions and CPA-hopeful positions, and the range is pretty wide. Plus no CPA firms in this area post openings on those sites. Is there any way to derive a reasonable estimate/range for a CPA-candidate type position that I'm just missing?
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May 15, 2017 16:48
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Idk but I want your career. My Forensic prof said a CFE and CPA is what you need to get into the litigation side of things, if youre on or want to stay on the investigative side I think CFE is less important. I dont think its a hard cert to grab in either case.
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May 23, 2017 11:30
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Public jobs are required to post a range (universities etc) and stick to it, but lots of private sector postings just say "Salary is commensurate w experience" or some such bullshit so they can lowball you weeks into the interview process.
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Aug 10, 2017 14:22
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Not sure what kind of audit you're into but the CFE is pretty easy to get and may have relevance in your field or related fields if you decide to move jerbs. http://www.acfe.com/cfe-membership.aspx I'm gonna get it at some point bc I think it'll be fun and cool
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Aug 18, 2017 19:39
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You have to work under a CPA (who signs off on your year of experience), so if you can find a company with a CPA inboard you can get the xp needed, but obviously not many companies keep CPAs on the payroll
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Aug 25, 2017 12:34
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Hey so I'm fresh out of school and settling in at a nice little firm that does mostly individual returns with some S Corps in thurr. I'm gonna start studying for and working toward the CPA after this upcoming tax season because I prob won't have time to get any meaningful studying done during. That being said, I'm going to try to pick up the EA designation before 2018; I've been told that there are free study resources all over the place, but I'm having trouble finding any of value. Can I get some advice on where to get study materials fo free fitty, and/or any general advice on passing the 3 sections for the EA? Suggestions for how much studying I need to do to be prepared? ....moral and emotional support?? black.lion fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Aug 25, 2017 |
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Aug 25, 2017 16:31
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I'm basically doing it a. to get SOME credential as I'm going to be preparing like 300+ returns myself this season and I'm young, and we feel clients will be more chill about it if I have something, and b. to basically have my studying for the EA stand in for studying for REG. I don't really feel like I need the EA for precisely the reasons you cite, but my coworker (who has done tax prep for awhile but doesn't have a relevant degree so he's never going to get his CPA) is doing it and I think we're going to study-buddy about it, and ofc I'm not paying any expense out of pocket so I guess I'm doing it because why not? I have my PTIN obvi I'm waiting to study for the CPA because I just am not going to have time to properly study before tax season; I came into this firm early August and have been helping clean up tons of extensions, sales and use, payroll etc that had backed up because they were severely understaffed this past season. Basically we're super busy getting everything in order for January, and I have to put firm business before my CPA study schedule for the moment. We're also switching to new prep software (gently caress you forever, Intuit) and integrating other new systems that require my attention as the only tech-savvy person in the building. And re: your survey, I finished my MAcc with zero progress completed in the CPA, and having zero of my coursework directly addressing any aspect of the test. I'm properly terrified of failing sections and possibly, subconsciously, i'm looking at the EA as a confidence builder as well. But you'd have to ask my therapist/hypnotist about that, and I don't have one.
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Aug 25, 2017 21:24
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Hellblazer187 posted:Oh, EA chat. I'm an EA. I don't usually mention it because I'm an attorney and a CPA and adding EA on top of those just seems like overkill when I talk about it but yeah I'd say it's worth getting because it literally takes like 1-3 months of study and you'll know more about taxes than most CPAs. In my work we've got a mix of EAs and CPAs and usually tbh the EAs are better. Hey thanks for the study rec, definitely looking into it. But! Perhaps this thread could give me some advice on how to structure studying for/taking the sections of the CPA. Some background: Finished my MS Acct in May, started work at a small firm doing tax prep and other stuff for individuals & small businesses a month ago; currently trying to finish up the last few biz extensions we have (que ten clients showing up with piles of unorganized documents at noon on the 15th...); presumably by mid-October we'll have some downtime while we prepare for war come January (this will include switching over from ProSeries to Drake prep software, as an aside if anyone here uses Drake I'd love any advice, warnings, general impressions!) So I could study for and try to take a section this winter, knuckle down for tax season, and then knock the other three sections out after... Or I could study for and take the EA and wait until May to start studying for and taking sections of the CPA... Or I could study for the EA and REG simultaneously and try to take them both this winter... I'm also trying to decide how to order the sections: BEC and REG I'm not too worried about, I work in tax and enjoyed it in school so REG should be doable, and BEC just seems like not every challenging material... as for FAR and AUD, gov't accounting stuff is tedious and annoying, and my professor for auditing was useless so I retained almost nothing from that class (despite getting an A-...?) ...so mb my plan of attack is BEC > REG > AUD > FAR? How many weeks/hrs per week of study is recommended? Thoughts, suggestions, better ideas? e: And also, what study product should I buy?? So far I've been tempted by the Ninja CPA Review by Another 71, because I am a goon and I like ninjas black.lion fucked around with this message at 14:41 on Sep 5, 2017 |
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Sep 5, 2017 14:31
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I actually was originally planning to do FAR>AUD>REG>BEC to do my hardest sections first, until someone suggested I knock the easy ones out first... I'll prob end up doing FAR and AUD first because if I'm going to burn out on studying halfway through I'd rather it be during the sections I already know pretty well. I'm definitely doing this on my own dollar which is why I was considering doing the Ninja 10 Point whatever, because it's ~300$ per section and I can just buy it as I go instead of having to lay out however many thousands of dollars now (on top of the test admin fees etc to schedule my first section) - do you think using those standalone puts me at a disadvantage in any way? If not I'm going to go that route, especially since I'm only a few months out of school so I'm hoping I'll rediscover all kinds of non-tax things I didn't think I retained as I start studying. I'm on the smart end of things by my own extremely objective evaluation, so I'm hoping I can keep it toward 70 hours/section. Can you give me an idea of how many hours/week you studied, and for how many weeks per section? If you remember ofc. And what did you do about studying during tax season? Or are you not in a position where tax season is ~a thing~? I'm not great at studying for hours on end so I'm hoping I can break it up into little bite size bits every day... I mean, at 90 hours per section, that's still only an hour every day for 3 months per section... which doesn't seem that bad? Thanks a ton for the detailed response!
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Sep 6, 2017 01:05
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Hellblazer187 posted:Hey I've got a client with a sort of complicated corporate/investment structure, and I'd really like to draw out a diagram of what entity owns what entity so I can wrap my head around all of it. Anyone have software recommendations for something like that? If your company has one of those flow chart programs I'd try that, but it may just be easier to do on paper/in MS Paint. Or hell, do it in Powerpoint, they have shapes that you can leash lines to!!! e: New page should prob quote and put something interesting so let's put up a picture from this very realistic film depiction of an accountant's life  "Do you know what it feels like to make someone whole again?!" "YES I DO (financially)"  e2: Also I've asked this before, but does anyone here have experience with forensic accounting, either on the hunting/gathering side or on the litigation side? Something I'm really super duper interested in long-term and just interested to hear anything about it whatsoever. black.lion fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Sep 8, 2017 |
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Sep 8, 2017 21:48
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Didnt the IRS say yesterday "nope nvm cant prepay anything except mb sales tax, mb"?
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Dec 29, 2017 16:34
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Covok posted:No, they said that your bill must be assessed in 2017. This simply means that the bill must be created before 2018. So, you can prepay things. You just have to have the bill already assessed. There's still a lot of people who can prepay. Hell, there was a lot of people who pay on January 10th normally and received a bill months ago. They are 100% an example A of the article you linked. Hmm well this CPE sesh ive been in all day says otherwise but who knows its the wild west out here now Moneyball posted:The IRS has a website?! Barely e: "The conference agreement also provides that, in the case of an amount paid in a taxable year beginning before January 1, 2018, with respect to a State or local income tax imposed for a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017, the payment shall be treated as paid on the last day of the taxable year for which such tax is so imposed for purposes of applying the provision limiting the dollar amount of the deduction. Thus, under the provision, an individual may not claim an itemized deduction in 2017 on a pre-payment of income tax for a future taxable year in order to avoid the dollar limitation applicable for taxable years beginning after 2017.” https://www.eisneramper.com/reform-prepayment-1217/ http://www.tennlaw.com/12/prepaying-state-and-local-taxes-in-2017/ In conclusion, who the gently caress knows black.lion fucked around with this message at 22:11 on Dec 29, 2017 |
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Dec 29, 2017 22:05
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Covok posted:Update one actually says that it could be a viable strategy. And the IRS website actually it says they will honor those prepayments according to their own article. Which is what we were going off of. I didn't know about the section in the bill. I read it over, but it's a very long bill. But, it looks it is even disagreement amongst the article writer, according to that first update. Full text doesnt limit to income tax tho, per update 2 that lists the full text of the bill "For purposes of subparagraph (B), an amount paid in a taxable year beginning before January 1, 2018, with respect to a State or local income tax imposed for a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017, shall be treated as paid on the last day of the taxable year for which such tax is so imposed." Sub para B doesnt specify income tax from property or sales, just references the aggregate 10k cap Good thing this was so thoroughly analyzed and considered before becoming law  e: ok i re-read that and it agrees w you but my point abt this all being unclear af stands
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Dec 29, 2017 22:22
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I mean, do you work in AR? Agree that if you're doing that on behalf of your clients, that's unusual and definitely not something I'd ever agree to do for a client (of course I work in a small local practice and I get to decide those things to some extent, understand not everyone can)
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Jan 11, 2018 17:53
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How much of your time are you expected to spend chasing people? I'd be salty too if my boss told me I was now a one-man collections agency, with my success/failure tied directly to advancement in that company.
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Jan 11, 2018 19:54
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Possibly a better place to ask this but maybe someone here has run into a similar problem, so whatever: My office has Quickbooks 2017, one of our clients uses Quickbooks 2015, and (you guessed it) I inadvertently updated their file to 2017 before doing a whole bunch of tedious bookkeeping. So I'm dumb bc they can't open the file now. So, I'm trying to figure a way to avoid reentering all the transactions again - do y'all think if I export the transactions to a QBOnline account and then try to import them into QB2015 from QBOnline....will that work? Other/better ideas? Better thread to post this in? TIA
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Feb 22, 2018 22:16
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Moneyball posted:Hi friends. How's busy season? 600 clients, 3 tax preparers, 1 bullet in the gun - SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
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Mar 13, 2018 21:51
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efb Most of our clients are Scorps toooo
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Mar 14, 2018 11:52
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Moneyball posted:Mods?! Tell me about an accounting career: The Accountan-sea is Accrual Mistress Or spell it accountancy mb people are better at jokes than I'm giving them credit for e - alternatively: Tell me about an accounting career: Audit Sucks HAHA TAX 4 LYFE
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Mar 14, 2018 21:04
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Good Citizen posted:Yo Covok please stop telling management that our one day spreadsheets really only take an hour to prepare tia
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Jun 26, 2018 15:09
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I'm supposed to be studying for my first the past month but I've only got maybe 5 hours of actual studying done, because work still exists and buying a house apparently also takes time. Sigma, did you keep track of how many hours you studied for each section? I'm trying to settle on an arbitrary goal because in the past arbitrary goals have been the foundation of me actually doing anything.
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Jun 28, 2018 18:58
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Clients are the worst. Just had a new client on the phone telling me to tell our admin to "do her job" and follow up with her... after telling her off I found that our admin had called and left messages, and sent email, and our boss had sent email to this woman. Like I don't know who you think you called but I'm not in customer service I don't get paid to absorb your lovely attitude, and we have too many clients already to be trying to acquire ones with bad attitudes that don't read email or listen to voicemail. In the end I told her that her time must be very valuable and I hung up. Thanks for letting me vent now I'm off to drink, oooooooooo it's an accountants life for meeeeee
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Nov 7, 2018 19:59
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I'm super into my classic wooden ruler, it really helps when someone prints a P&L or something with the item and amounts too far apart to accurately read across without a ruler. Also rulers have numbers on them and accountanters love numbers, we do.
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Nov 16, 2018 19:17
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Hey y'all! My co-worker is considering becoming an EA; has anyone around here done that exam? How long did you study for it/what materials did you use? TIA!
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Dec 6, 2018 16:50
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Hellblazer187 posted:I came in here to talk about the 2018 1040 redesign Its a postcard!!! just staple these 4 schedules to the back of it look what an improvement 
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Dec 29, 2018 13:15
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8 days into January and my clients are already calling like their hair is on fire for nearly nothing only 13 weeks left e: Hey does anyone here work in a small firm? We're having the discussion rn about how to adjust our per-form pricing to accommodate this fantastic new.... ahem... "postcard" and its accompanying 47 schedules. Just curious if anyone else is doing the same sort of adjustments rn and how they're handling it, PM me if so I'd love to get some outside-my-office opinions! Thanks love y'all 
black.lion fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Jan 8, 2019 |
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Jan 8, 2019 19:53
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